Police to probe teen who blew out Hanukkah candles in Tel Aviv mall

The State Prosecution has authorized police to investigate a teenage girl for blowing out Hanukkah candles in a Tel Aviv mall, the Israel Police said Monday.

The announcement came as a rights group reportedly challenged the legality of the police probe, claiming it was opened without the necessary prior approval of prosecutors due to the religious aspects of the alleged offense.

Police said the suspect, 17, and a 19-year-old relative who was with her during the incident were called in for questioning. The pair, Arab Israeli residents of the Wadi Ara area, were then released under restrictive conditions.

They are being investigated for offending religious sensitivities. Police said the investigation was ongoing.

The incident occurred on Friday at Weizmann Mall, part of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), where a large menorah was set up in a roped-off area.

The woman was seen on CCTV blowing out the candles to the applause of her companion before walking away. She then returned to blow out the final flame, filming herself doing so on her cellphone.

המשטרה חוקרת תיעוד שבו נראית אישה מכבה נרות חנוכה בקניון בתל אביב. האישה שצולמה בקניון ויצמן בתל אביב נראית נושפת על נרות של חנוכייה שהוצבה. במשטרה צפויים ליחס לה עבירה של "עלבון דת", שהעונש המקסימלי שלה הוא שלוש שנות מאסר. האישה טרם נעצרה@_Gitsis_ | https://t.co/nGXEyi85Ku pic.twitter.com/dEVA8a4RrW

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) December 19, 2025

Police said on Saturday that they had opened an investigation.

Associates of the girl said she claims she put out the candles because she thought someone had forgotten about them, the Haaretz news outlet reported Monday.

The girl reportedly claimed she was not familiar with the Hanukkah festival and did not realize that the candles were part of a religious ceremony.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel objected to the investigation, alleging that police had opened their probe before identifying the violation involved. The offense they later specified — insult to religion — would have required State Prosecutor Amit Aisman’s authorization to probe. Hence, when the probe started, ACRI wrote in a letter to Aisman, police didn’t have the okay to proceed, Haaretz reported.

Laws prohibiting the destruction or desecration of a place of worship or sacred object with the intent to insult a religion can carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Police on Sunday also caught a minor blowing out Hanukkah lights set up in the entrance to a building in Ramle. Police said they called in the child along with his parents and explained to him the inappropriateness of his actions.

The eight-day Hanukkah festival, which ended on Monday, features the lighting of a menorah, an eight-branched candelabrum, at home. Each night, an additional candle is lit, beginning with one on the first night and ending with eight on the final night. Many organizations arrange candle-lighting ceremonies in public places, such as shopping malls.