The National Museum of American Jewish History filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday seeking relief from what museum officials characterize as a crushing debt burden incurred by construction of its home on Independence Mall, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. In papers filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Philadelphia, the museum said that it owed a little more than $30 million to bondholders and about $500,000 to unsecured creditors. he Bridgehampton National Bank on Long Island holds about $16.4 million of the museum’s debt; a sheaf of donors and lenders who backed the museum’s mall construction in the years preceding the building’s completion in 2010 holds about $14 million. “Our museum, since it’s open, has been lugging around over $30 million of debt and it is a weight on our shoulders that we have to get rid of,” Phil Darivoff, chair of the museum’s board of trustees, said in an interview. “It affects the way donors look at us. It affects our confidence in our future. And frankly, the debt service is too big a burden for us.” Officials said that the bankruptcy proceedings would not affect museum operations or staffing.
