A Berkeley man who has an extensive criminal history and has been linked to antisemitic incidents in the past is charged with two hate crimes for allegedly setting a Berkeley Hillel mezuzah on fire.
Berkeley Police Officer Byron White told J. that at about 7:20 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, a security guard witnessed David William Denton, 44, “put a lit pocket torch to a Jewish mezuzah scroll” attached to the outside of an entrance to Berkeley Hillel.
Rabbi Adam Naftalin-Kelman, executive director of Berkeley Hillel, told J. that students were inside the building celebrating Shabbat at the time but were able to continue their gathering “with no interruption.”
“I think we’re just grateful we were able to continue celebrating Shabbat,” he said Friday. “Sometimes the incidents outside become distractions, and we do lose focus on the majority of the students having really wonderful and meaningful Jewish experiences with Berkeley Hillel.”
According to White, Berkeley police were originally called about a separate incident involving Denton. He had allegedly robbed a man of artwork and hit the man in the face with a rock, causing him to bleed from a “deep cut to his eyebrow.”
On Feb. 10, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged Denton with second-degree robbery with a deadly weapon, arson of an inhabited building and
vandalism of religious property. He is also charged with a hate crime in the counts of arson and vandalism.
According to a public database of arrest records called localcrimenews.com, Denton has been arrested 26 times in Alameda County over the past five years.
In 2021, Denton was arrested for allegedly burglarizing and vandalizing Berkeley Hillel and damaging mezuzahs at Berkeley’s Congregation Beth El and at the home of UC Berkeley Chabad Student Jewish center director Rabbi Gil Leeds — all within 24 hours.
During the 2021 incident at Berkeley Hillel, Denton “wrote several bizarre messages in English and Hebrew that referenced Judaism, rearranged some items into shrines and also took some items,” according to a police report.
Leeds told J. in an email that he is “indeed concerned” to hear of Denton’s latest arrest.
“When someone who previously carried out an antisemitic vandalism spree, including damaging the mezuzah at our home, is arrested again, as you can imagine, it raises serious questions about what more can be done to protect the community,” he said.
The vandalism at Berkeley was the second incident at a Bay Area Hillel since early December.
On Dec. 5, 2025, a man allegedly set fire to SF Hillel while the student life team was inside preparing for the final Shabbat of the semester. The fire caused “significant damage” to the building and forced its closure, but the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said it did not find evidence that the crime was motivated by antisemitism.
Naftalin-Kelman said that there was no damage to the mezuzah case and that the burned scroll was replaced the next day.
Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Matthew Foley told J. that Denton refused to go to court for his plea hearing on Feb. 20. He is being held on $100,000 bail and is scheduled to be brought back to court on March 2.
“Hate-driven acts must be treated with the utmost seriousness, and stronger measures should be in place to prevent repeat offenses and keep our streets safe,” said Leeds. “At the same time, we remain committed to living proudly and openly as Jews, undeterred by acts of intimidation.”
