Antisemitic graffiti sprayed on sculpture at the entrance to the Jewish museum in Philadelphia
The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia was vandalized once again with an antisemitic message — about a year after it was attacked twice in one week.
The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia was vandalized once again with an antisemitic message — about a year after it was attacked twice in one week.
The incident occurred around 8:15 PM on Thursday. Philadelphia police stated that a man wrote the antisemitic message on the yellow OY/YO sculpture, located outside the museum near the Delaware River in Old City, the historic district of Philadelphia and the core from which the city developed, which includes the Independence National Historical Park, where Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell are located — some of the sites most identified with the founding of the United States.
The graffiti has already been removed, but the suspect has not yet been caught. The police have security camera footage in which he is seen committing the vandalism and then boarding a train at a nearby station. The police asked anyone with information that would help identify him to contact them. The text of the antisemitic graffiti has not been released as of now.
The person who noticed the vandalism and reported it to the police was Pennsylvania State Representative, Democrat Tarik Khan. "It just made my stomach turn," he told the TV station WPVI. According to him:
"Whether you are Jewish or not, people understand that we must stand up against hate in our community. We cannot show tolerance for hate, and when we see something wrong — we must stand up and take action."
Khan's connection, as a non-Jew, to the Jewish community is not coincidental. Khan describes himself as a "Muslim kid who grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, with a Catholic mother," and this experience, he says, shaped his perception regarding interfaith partnership. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Jewish Legislative Caucus, even though he is not Jewish.
Andrew Goretsky, the senior regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in Philadelphia, said that the case is "very frustrating, but unfortunately not surprising." According to him, the number of documented antisemitic vandalism incidents in Pennsylvania jumped from 29 in 2022 to 80 in 2025.
"As a Jewish community, we will not hide our identity," said Goretsky. "We will continue to survive and thrive despite these targeted attacks." He called on public leaders to condemn the acts, the public to report every incident, and residents to deepen their knowledge in light of the spread of misinformation online.
The OY/YO sculpture, the work of Jewish artist Deborah Kass, is made of aluminum, stands about 2.4 meters tall, and is about five meters wide. On one side it reads "YO" — the greeting very much identified with Philadelphia — and on the other side "OY", the exclamation in Yiddish that has also taken root in American culture. According to Kass, the work is intended to express the American promise of equality and the shared responsibility to fight hate and division. The museum is located on Independence Mall, near Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.
Last August, the museum's facade, the plaza, and a large Israeli flag above the inscription "The Weitzman stands with Israel" were sprayed twice with red paint. Leroy Hayes, 33, later turned himself in to the police and was charged with a hate crime, criminal mischief, and possession of an instrument of crime.
