The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia has returned an Israeli flag to its façade after two incidents of vandalism. The flag, which hangs on an exterior wall of the museum with the words “The Weitzman stands with Israel,” was vandalized with red spray paint.

The museum had planned to swap the damaged flag with a hostage-focused sign, but drew criticism

on the premise that by removing the Israeli flag, the vandals had secured a victory.

“We certainly did not intend to capitulate to vandals,” said Dan Tadmor, the museum’s president. “As the nation’s Jewish museum, there can never be any misunderstanding as to our identity and positions: We are a proudly Jewish and proudly Zionist institution.”

The incidents came amid a string of vandalism at Jewish museums across the country. Last month, swastikas were painted on the Oregon Jewish Museum and the Center for Holocaust Education. At a Jewish art museum in Manhattan, a man wrote the word “Gaza.” A sculpture outside the Brooklyn Museum was tagged with pro-Palestinian phrases.