By Josh Nathan-Kazis December 3, 2018

We know they meant well.

Catholic News Service, a news agency covering the Catholic church, celebrated the first night of Hanukkah made a little faux pas in making its Hanukkah greetings on Sunday night. The news agency illustrated their well-intentioned tweet with a photograph of the famous relief on the Arch of Titus depicting the Roman sacking of Jerusalem.

The relief features a depiction of Roman soldiers carrying off the menorah of the Second Temple. Unproven rumors have long held that the menorah is currently hidden in the archives of Catholic church in the Vatican.

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The Catholic news agency likely selected the image because of the presence of the temple menorah, which is replicated on the seal of the State of Israel, and is a symbol of the holiday of Hanukkah. The use of the full image by a Catholic news site, however, drew amusement from some, and anger from others.

The agency removed the image later that evening. “Earlier today, wishing people a happy Hanukkah, we posted a photo that offended many of our followers,” the agency wrote. “The tweet has been removed and we apologize for any offense caused.”

They did not provide any hint as to the whereabouts of the missing Second Temple menorah.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis

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