Philadelphia Jewish museum vandalized with red paint

Rather than simply replacing the damaged display, they’re accelerating plans to install “Bring Them Home Now” messaging.

By Aaron Sull, Jewish Breaking News

A Philadelphia Jewish history museum was vandalized with red paint for the second time in eight days, marking the latest in a surge of antisemitic attacks targeting Jewish institutions across America.

Unknown vandals struck the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History at 4:45 a.m. Monday, spray-painting red graffiti across an Israeli flag and banner reading “The Weitzman stands with Israel” displayed on the museum’s exterior wall.

Police discovered identical damage at the same location on August 18, also reported around 4:45 a.m.

Philadelphia police confirmed both incidents remain under investigation with no arrests made and no suspects identified.

Located on Independence Mall at Fifth and Market Streets, the museum sits less than a tenth of a mile from Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the Constitution Center.

Cleanup crews worked to remove the paint while tourists walking between historic sites passed the vandalized building.

“Appallingly, vandalizing Jewish institutions has become a daily occurrence in America,” Dan Tadmor, the museum’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

“The Anti-Defamation League reported over 9,000 cases of antisemitism just this past year. Unfortunately, the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History has become part of that statistic.”

Museum officials emphasized they won’t be deterred by the attacks. Rather than simply replacing the damaged display, they’re accelerating plans to install “Bring Them Home Now” messaging calling for the release of hostages as the two-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks approaches.

“We had been planning to refresh the façade signage with ‘Bring Them Home Now’ hostage messaging as we approach the incomprehensible two-year anniversary of their inhumane captivity,” a museum spokesperson told CBS Philadelphia.

“In light of the timing of the vandalism, we are working to install that signage sooner rather than replacing the flag for only a short time.”

The spokesperson clarified the timing change is “NOT in acquiescence to vandals” but rather an expedited version of existing plans.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who himself survived an arson attack at his residence during Passover earlier this year, condemned the museum vandalism.

“The Weitzman Museum is literally steps away from the birthplace of democracy and a symbol of liberty and justice for all,” Shapiro told The Forward.

“Antisemitic vandalism has no place there — or anywhere in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — and must be universally condemned. Expressing views through acts of hate doesn’t further a cause.”

Shapiro’s own experience highlights the escalating nature of antisemitic violence in Pennsylvania. In April, Cody Balmer set fire to the governor’s mansion while Shapiro and his family slept, hours after they had hosted a Passover Seder.

According to court documents, Balmer told police he targeted Shapiro because he “will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.”

Founded in 1976, the Weitzman National Museum moved into its current 100,000-square-foot building in 2010.

According to its website, the museum’s mission is to “connect Jews more closely to their heritage and to inspire in people of all backgrounds a greater appreciation for the diversity of the American Jewish experience.”

Similar attacks have struck Jewish cultural institutions nationwide.

Recent incidents include blue swastikas sprayed on the Oregon Jewish Museum in Portland, “Gaza” scrawled on a Jewish art museum in New York’s Greenwich Village, and green paint splashed across Holocaust memorials and synagogues in Paris.