Days after a swastika was spray-painted on the Holocaust memorial in Center City, police said the site was vandalized again Tuesday by someone who dumped trash near the memorial plaza's sculpture.
Surveillance photos show a man in a brown coat and dark boots dragging several trash cans and garbage bags to the site before dumping their contents in front of the sculpture. Police arrived at the scene around 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. The first incident, where a suspect spray-painted a hate symbol at the site, occurred early Sunday morning around 1:30 a.m.
RELATED: Temple University probed by U.S. Dept. of Education for alleged antisemitism stemming from pro-Palestine protests
The Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza, located at 16th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, was established in 1964 by the Association of Jewish New Americans. The sculpture at the plaza is called "Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs," and the site is the only Holocaust monument in Philadelphia.
"The continued vandalism at and around Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza is shameful and disgraceful," wrote Andrew Goretsky, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League's Philadelphia chapter. "Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza is a reminder of what happens when too many in society accept antisemitism and hatred as easy solutions to difficult issues. We can never forget the lessons of the Holocaust. Everyone must speak out and condemn those who spread hate in our community to help us push back the tides of antisemitism."
In the wake of the Israel-Hamas war and the polarizing discourse surrounding it, hate crimes and acts of discrimination have increased nationwide, including in Philadelphia. Both Jewish and Muslim sites in the city have been targets for vandalism. The U.S. Department of Education is investigating several universities for alleged discriminatory acts, with some notable Philly schools included in the department's list.
The department dropped the investigation into the University of Pennsylvania earlier this month, per The Daily Pennsylvanian, as a lawsuit filed by two Penn students contains the same allegations coming from the department's investigation.