Police are searching for one or more suspects after a Holocaust memorial in Philadelphia’s Center City was vandalized for the second time in a week.
On Tuesday, the pedestal of the Horowitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial on Arch Street, one of Philadelphia’s busiest roads, was littered with trash.
Surveillance photos showed a suspect dragging bags and a trash bin toward the monument at around 11:30 in the morning, strewing all of the contents around it.
A few days earlier, at around 1:30 Sunday morning, a suspect was captured on surveillance camera spray painting a swastika on a building adjacent to the memorial.
“The second incident seems to be by somebody who is homeless,” Eszter Kutas of the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation told NBC.
“We have seen this person before, causing similar incidents at the Holocaust Memorial Plaza.”
While that suspect wore light blue denim, a red shirt, and a brown jacket, the suspect who painted the swastika wore an orange mask and a dark jacket with a pale stripe across the chest and down the arms.
“I don’t see a direct connection between the two unless we think about the larger environmental context in which we see rising antisemitism affecting the American community,” Ms. Kutas said.
The memorial was built in 1964 and is dedicated to the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust.
“This has been a sacred place since the 1960s,” Ms. Kutas said.
‘Spike in Anti-Jewish Hatred’
“This is heartbreakingly one of many acts of antisemitism that is part of a staggering spike in anti-Jewish hatred in Philadelphia and across the country,” wrote David Adelman on X, a Philadelphia developer and 76ers partner whose grandfather was a Holocaust survivor.
“Unconditional compassion is a core tenant in my life, so I am compelled to take action,” he said, adding: “These types of acts are dangerous and will not be tolerated,” before calling upon anyone who can help identify the suspects to come forward.
The Anti-Defamation League has recorded an increase in anti-Semitic incidents of 360 percent in the three months since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out in October, after Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, mostly Israeli citizens, in a surprise attack.
“We strongly condemn the disgraceful act of defacement near the Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza with a spray-painted swastika,” Andrew Goretsky, Regional Director of ADL Philadelphia, said. “We must unite against such hatred, reaffirm our commitment to tolerance, and work collectively to eradicate bigotry.”
Anyone with any information about the suspects is encouraged to contact the police.
The Citizens Crime Commission is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anonymous tips can be submitted at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
