A Holocaust memorial in Center City Philadelphia was vandalized in an act of antisemitism early Sunday morning.
Around 1:30 a.m. in the morning, surveillance video shows an unknown suspect walk up to the building located on the 1600 block of Arch Street where the Horowitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza is and spray-paint a swastika symbol on the building.
The memorial is dedicated to those killed in the Holocaust and has been there for decades.
“This has been a sacred place since the 1960s,” Eszter Kutas with the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation said.
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At 2:21 p.m. police responded to the scene for a report of a swastika symbol spray-painted on a wall of the Verizon building adjacent to the Holocaust memorial, police said.
According to the police, the suspect was wearing an orange mask and a dark jacket, possibly brown, with a stripe across the chest and down the arms.
“To see rising antisemitism anywhere is of course very concerning to the Jewish community. But to have a hate symbol at the Holocaust memorial is especially upsetting,” Kutas said.
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The Philadelphia Police Department is investigating this act of vandalism.
“To see it firsthand is… it’s sad. It’s scary. But I think it's kind of the burden you’re born with being Jewish. And it’s a responsibility to teach people, to educate people that hate isn’t the way forward. And hate doesn’t help anyone,” Nataniel Lelentil, a Jewish man visiting from Washington D.C. said. “I just want to educate them. Like why do you think that symbolism is worth it?”
The Anti-Defamation League says antisemitic incidents skyrocketed 360% in the three months since Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel in October.
“We strongly condemn the disgraceful act of defacement near the Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza with a spray-painted swastika. This reprehensible act not only desecrates a symbol of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust but also highlights the disturbing rise in antisemitism plaguing our community. We must unite against such hatred, reaffirm our commitment to tolerance, and work collectively to eradicate bigotry,” Andrew Goretsky, Regional Director of ADL Philadelphia, said.
David Adelman, a Philadelphia developer and 76ers partner, also posted a response to the vandalism on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Citizens Crime Commission is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Anyone with any information about the suspect is encouraged to contact the police. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 215-686-TIPS.
