76ers part owner David Adelman is joining the mission to find the vandal who drew a green swastika on the side of the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Nighttime surveillance footage shows the vandal approaching the wall of the memorial and drawing the swastika. Police responded to the scene the following afternoon and are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
Earlier this weekend, a vandal drew a large swastika on the wall at the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway — a disgusting act of antisemitism that comes amid a staggering spike in anti-Jewish hatred across Philadelphia and the country. pic.twitter.com/BB7YOQGwpw
— Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza (@PhillyHolocaust) January 14, 2024
Adelam, the grandson of Sam Wasserman, to whom the memorial is named, took to X to announce his determination to catch the person who drew the hateful symbol.
“Unconditional compassion is a core tenant in my life so I am compelled to take action following the antisemitic vandalism that defaced the @Philly Holocaust Memorial Plaza on Sunday,” Adelman wrote.
Unconditional compassion is a core tenant in my life so I am compelled to take action following the antisemitic vandalism that defaced the @PhillyHolocaust Memorial Plaza on Sunday. I have spent the last two decades championing the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Plaza and… pic.twitter.com/ZAn2oU3SEh
— David Adelman (@david_adelman) January 16, 2024
“I have spent the last two decades championing the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Plaza and Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation’s mission of educating people on the atrocities of the past, while working toward a future of tolerance and enlightenment. To know that a plaza, that was named for my grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, was vandalized with such hate, proves just how much these types of memorials and educational opportunities are needed and the compassion still lacking in our communities.
“This heartbreakingly one of many acts of antisemitism that is part of a staggering spike in anti-Jewish hatred in Philadelphia and across the country. These types of acts are dangerous and will not be tolerated so I am partnering with @PhillyTipLine to offer a reward to anyone that has information that will help us identify the vandal and hold them accountable for their actions. Please call the Citizens Crime Commission tip line 215-546-TIPS (8477).”
Adelman is an active member of the Jewish community in Philadelphia. He is the co-founder of the Jewish Federation of Real Estate and the co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
Josh Harris & David J. Adelman embrace after the game during Game 5 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference semi-finals on May 9, 2023, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.(Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
An Axios article citing a report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism found that antisemitic hate crimes had supplanted blacks as the most targeted group in America’s top ten largest cities.