Vandals remove benefactor's name from Drexel University Jewish Life building
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Drexel University's president said police are investigating a recent act of vandalism on campus as a potential hate crime after the metal letters of a notable benefactor's name were recently removed from a sign outside the university's Center for Jewish Life building.
The Raymond G. Perelman Center for Jewish Life at Drexel University, which houses the Jewish campus organization Drexel Hillel, was vandalized some time around the end of Drexel's spring break, university President John Fry said in an email to students and staff Tuesday.
The building on 34th Street near Arch Street was designed by architect Stanley Saitowitz and made to resemble a menorah, a candelabra and a religious symbol associated with the Hanukkah holiday.
Perelman's name can be seen on the sign in older images of the building, like on the Google Maps embed above. But on Wednesday morning his name was gone. The outline of the letters spelling Raymond Perelman could still be seen.
The building housing Drexel's Center for Jewish Life was made possible by a $6 million gift from Perelman, according to Drexel's website.
Fry said the removal of the letters was caught on video.
"It bears repeating that vandalizing centers of Jewish life and learning, defacing property with antisemitic graffiti, or ripping mezuzot off doorposts in residence halls does not constitute any legitimate form of protest," Fry said. "Such acts are antisemitic in their intent to disrupt Jewish life and intimidate our Jewish communities, and have no place at Drexel or in our democratic society."
Fry added that he wants Jewish people at Drexel to feel safe after the incident, and said the center can only be accessed via a Drexel ID swipe.
"We especially want to put those who vandalized the Perelman Center or other campus property on notice that they will never succeed in disrupting Jewish life at Drexel," Fry said.
Perelman, who died in 2019 at the age of 101, was a prominent benefactor around the city of Philadelphia - particularly at Penn's medical school. The school became the Perelman School of Medicine after Raymond and the late Ruth Perelman donated $225 million.