The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia was vandalized on Thursday with an antisemitic inscription, about a year after the museum was attacked twice within a single week.
The incident occurred at around 8:15 p.m. Philadelphia police said a man wrote the antisemitic message on the yellow OY/YO sculpture outside the museum, which is located near the Delaware River in Old City, Philadelphia’s historic district.
Old City includes Independence National Historical Park, home to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, two landmarks closely associated with the founding of the United States.
The inscription has since been removed, but police have not apprehended the suspect. Police obtained surveillance footage showing him carrying out the vandalism before boarding a train at a nearby station.
Officers asked anyone with information that could help identify the suspect to contact them. The wording of the antisemitic inscription has not been released yet.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Tarik Khan, a Democrat, spotted the vandalism and reported it to police. He told television station WPVI that “it just turned my stomach.”
“Whether you are Jewish or not, people understand that we have to stand up against hate in our community. We cannot tolerate hate, and when we see something wrong, we have to stand up and take action,” Khan said.
A Muslim Democrat’s long-standing ties to the Jewish community
Although Khan is not Jewish, he has longstanding ties to the Jewish community. He describes himself as a “Muslim kid who grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, with a Catholic mother,” and has said that experience shaped his views on interfaith partnership.
Khan is also a member of the Pennsylvania Jewish Legislative Caucus, despite not being Jewish.
Andrew Goretsky, senior regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in Philadelphia, said the incident was “deeply frustrating, but unfortunately not surprising.”
According to Goretsky, the number of recorded incidents of antisemitic vandalism in Pennsylvania rose from 29 in 2022 to 80 in 2025.
“As a Jewish community, we will not hide our identity. We will continue to survive and thrive despite these targeted attacks,” he added.
Goretsky called on public leaders to condemn such acts, urged the public to report every incident, and encouraged residents to educate themselves amid the spread of false information online.
Vandalized sculpture intertwines Jewish, Philadelphian culture
The OY/YO sculpture, created by Jewish artist Deborah Kass, is made of aluminum and stands about eight feet tall and roughly 16 feet wide.
From one side, it reads “YO,” the greeting strongly associated with Philadelphia. From the other, it reads “OY,” the Yiddish exclamation that has also become embedded in American culture.
According to Kass, the work was intended to express the American promise of equality and the shared responsibility to fight hatred and division. The museum is located on Independence Mall, near Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.
In August of last year, the museum’s facade and plaza, as well as a large Israeli flag above the words “Weitzman Stands With Israel,” were twice sprayed with red paint.
Leroy Hayes, 33, later turned himself in to police and was charged with an ethnic intimidation offense, criminal mischief, and possession of an instrument of crime.
