Philly police investigate alleged vandalism of Israeli flag on the Parkway

July 19, 2024

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Concernered Jewish Parents and Teachers of LA

City officials confirmed the Israeli flag on Philly's Ben Franklin Parkway was vandalized on Friday, July 19, 2024, and replaced with a new flag.

Philadelphia police are investigating the vandalism of the Israeli flag along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Friday morning.

Lori Lowenthal Marcus, the legal director of the Deborah Project – described as a “public interest law firm that asserts and defends the civil rights of Jews facing discrimination” – shared a photoof what appeared to be red paint smeared on the Israeli flag along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Center City.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia also released a statement on Friday stating the flag was vandalized.

“The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia strongly condemns the vandalism of an Israeli flag on Benjamin Franklin Parkway this morning,” a spokesperson for the organization wrote. “This defacement following last night’s terror attack in Israel meant to threaten and intimidate the Greater Philadelphia Jewish community, further contributing to rising levels of antisemitism nationally. We appreciate the work of Mayor Parker’s office to swiftly remove the defaced flag, sending a clear message that there is no tolerance for antisemitism and hate in Philadelphia.”

A spokesperson for the mayor's office told NBC10 the city's department of Public Property took down the defaced flag and replaced it with a new one while police confirmed they were investigating the incident.

“Hate has no place in Philadelphia under Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. As soon as we learned of the defacement of the Israeli flag, our Department of Public Property took down the damaged flag, and replaced it with a new one," a spokesperson for Mayor Parker told NBC10. "It's been flying on the Parkway since earlier today. The defacement of the flag is under investigation by Philadelphia police."

NBC10 also responded to the Parkway Friday afternoon and spotted the new Israeli flag hanging on its designated flagpole, which is located near the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza.

The Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza took to social media Friday afternoon where they showed photos and a video of the alleged vandal.

In the video that was shared by the organization, the alleged vandal can be seen parking their bicycle in the middle of the road before walking toward the flag.

They appear to look up toward the flag while pointing a device at it as it becomes covered with red-colored paint.

The vandal is then seen stepping back and apparently using their phone to take a photo or video of the damaged flag.

Then, the person runs back to their bicycle.

The vandalism occurred hours after an Iranian-made drone sent by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday, leaving at least one person dead and at least 10 others wounded, according to the Israeli military.

In 2018, a man was arrested for allegedly spraying red paint on the Israeli flag along the Parkway.

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Is antisemitism in school settings illegal?

Acts of Antisemitism can be the basis of a legal violation, so long as those acts create an interference with the ability to do one's job or to participate in one's educational experience.

Don't teachers have free speech rights, so they can't be punished for saying antisemitic things?

K-12 public school teachers do NOT have free speech rights in the classroom or whenever they are performing their official duties. Private school teachers have greater leeway, as do college professors.

Do anti-Zionist/anti-Israel assertions constitute a violation of anti-discrimination laws?

It depends. The U.S. government has slowly begun to recognize that anti-Zionism can constitute antisemitism, and so is subject to anti-discrimination laws, when such hostility goes beyond merely criticizing the Israeli government for various policies but instead attacks Zionists or Israelis for things the speaker doesn't criticize other countries for doing. This is why it is so important for institutions and governments to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and its examples.

Discrimination in education is governed by Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. But Title VI doesn't include religion as a protected category. So is antisemitism not considered discriminatory under Title VI?

Someone who is Jewish and believes that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state may have a claim under Title VI under the protected categories of Shared Ancestry and Ethnicity.