NJ man surrenders to police in Jewish museum vandalism in Philadelphia

🚨The National Museum of American Jewish History was vandalized twice in August

🚨A New Jersey man turned himself for both incidents

🚨The flag display will be taken down early

WOODBURY — A New Jersey man was charged with vandalizing Philadelphia's Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History twice in one month.

The National Museum of American Jewish History, located on Independence Mall, said the Israeli flags on its facade and grounds were sprayed twice with red paint in August. The first incident was on Aug. 18, followed by Aug. 25, according to Philadelphia police.

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Woodbury man charged in museum vandalism

Leroy Hayes, 33, of Woodbury, turned himself in on Monday.

He is charged with ethnic intimidation, criminal mischief and possession of a surrendered to police on Monday and was charged with ethnic intimidation, criminal mischief and possession of an instrument of crime.

"Appallingly, vandalizing Jewish institutions has become a daily occurrence in America," the museum said in a message shared on Facebook. "ADL reported over 9,000 cases of antisemitism just this past year. Unfortunately, the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History has become part of that statistic. We will not be deterred from continuing to fulfill our mission."

The museum says it will remove the flag and will put up a sign ahead of the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, calling for the release of hostages still being held.

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