Philadelphia video captures Holocaust Memorial Plaza being defaced with swastika
Search underway for person who defaced Philadelphia Holocaust Memorial Plaza
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A vandal was caught on camera drawing a green swastika on a wall at the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, and police are looking for him.
Police are investigating what the memorial called on Facebook a hate crime.
The memorial called it "a disgusting act of antisemitism that comes amid a staggering spike in anti-Jewish hatred across Philadelphia and the country more broadly."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police responded to the vandalism scene around 2:21 p.m. Sunday, FOX 29 Philadelphia reports.
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The green spray-painted swastika was done by a vandal early Sunday morning. (Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza Facebook)
"The incident happened overnight around 1:30 a.m.," Eszter Kutas, director of the Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, told WPVI-TV. "A single individual approached the site with spray paint in his hand and very quickly put a two-by-two swastika on our site. We are the oldest Holocaust memorial in the United States, so obviously this incident is very upsetting to us."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The memorial plaza at 16th and Arch streets was built in 1964, CBS News Philadelphia states.
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Vandal suspect photo from the memorial. (Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza Facebook)
"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," Anti-Defamation League Philadelphia Regional Director Andrew Goretsky said in a statement on the social media platform X. "We must unite against such hatred, reaffirm out commitment to tolerance, and work collectively to eradicate bigotry."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The suspect, identified as a man, was caught on video conducting the vandalism on the Holocaust memorial. (Provided to FOX 29 Philadelphia from Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation)
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A suspect has not yet been identified, but police described him as wearing a black mask and a dark jacket, possibly brown, with a stripe across the chest and down the arms.
Anyone with information on the vandalism is asked to contact the authorities.