Israeli Flag Vandalized On Ben Franklin Parkway, Man Charged

PHILADELPHIA – A man is facing charges after allegedly vandalizing the Israeli flag flying on the Ben Franklin Parkway with red paint Tuesday afternoon, according to Philadelphia Police.

Antoine Guyton, 26, has been charged with institutional vandalism, criminal mischief, among other related crimes, police said.

Guyton is accused of spray painting the Israeli flag just before 4p.m. Tuesday, according to police and Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation officials.

When police arrived on scene the suspect, later identified as Guyton, was not in the area but while police were still at the flag Guyton showed up, police said.

Guyton was then arrested, according to police.

David J. Adelman, chairman of the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, issued a statement on the vandalism Wednesday.

"The flags of the nations on Benjamin Franklin Parkway are widely recognized as a message of global fraternity and a vehicle for mutual understanding that can help create peace between different communities," Adelman said in his statement. "We are therefore saddened by this display of vandalism, which was clearly rooted in intolerance."

The Israeli flag is located in close proximity to the Holocaust Memorial Plaza, North America's first public Holocaust monument.

"It is precisely for this reason that the Philadelphia Holocaust Memorial Plaza is currently expanding – because we as a community have no choice but to remember the atrocities of the past," Adelman's statement reads. "This vandalism is an unfortunate reminder that we must hold inclusion and tolerance as universal values and recognize that hatred will always be the enemy of progress."

Mayor Jim Kenney decried the vandalism as tensions are high after violence erupted in the Gaza Strip recently leaving 50 Palestinians dead and the United States officially moved its embassy to Jerusalem.

"I’m very upset to learn of the desecration of the Israeli flag that hangs along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Hate and anti-Semitism have no place in the City of Philadelphia," Kenney said in his statement. "While I understand that emotions are running high and there are many viewpoints stemming from recent violence against Palestinians and other protesters in the Gaza Strip, it doesn’t warrant hateful acts of vandalism. Fortunately, due to the swift work of the Philadelphia Police Department as well as concerned residents, a suspect was placed into custody shortly after this incident occurred."

Guyton's alleged actions are not being considered a hate crime.

Image via Philadelphia Police