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White Supremacist Group Targets Maryland High School with Antisemitic Flyers for Second Time

Shortly after school dismissal on Tuesday, Northwood High School staff discovered an antisemitic flyer posted outside near the athletic field—the second found on the Silver Spring campus in February, according to Maryland county police.

The flyer found Tuesday and one that posted in the same area Feb. 2 contained “hate speech and antisemitic comments,” Principal Jonathan Garrick wrote in an email to the Northwood community. Montgomery County police are investigating both incidents, spokesperson Lauren Ivey confirmed to MoCo360 on Thursday.

Eli Schreiber, a senior at Northwood and member of the school’s Jewish Culture Club, told MoCo360 he was disappointed to learn of the flyers, and that other students responded with bewilderment to the email announcement sent by the principal on Wednesday.

“More than anything, people were a little weirded out,” he said. “Like, this just didn’t seem normal, and it felt very out of place.”

He added that the Northwood community has “really come together” to make sure Jewish students feel safe and supported in the wake of these incidents, and that he feels “very safe” under the care of the school security team.

Fellow Northwood senior Avi Berzofsky had a different reaction to the flyers.

“From the student body, I didn’t see much of a reaction from other students who weren’t Jewish,” he said. “It was a little surprising.”

Concerned by what he perceived to be silence in the face of hateful rhetoric, Berzofsky said he reached out to the president of the Jewish Culture Club, who helped him publish an Instagram story on the group’s account reiterating that “hate is not okay in schools.” He said between 80 and 90 of the school’s 1,784 students viewed the story.

Both flyers were found on a ramp leading to the athletic track, according to Garrick. Berzofsky said the entire sports field is fenced in, meaning “someone either had access to school grounds, or they jumped the fence.”

Berzofsky said he’s both surprised and not surprised by the incidents.

“Antisemitism has always been a thing, and it’s never going to go away. But someone thought it would be a good idea to bring this into school, and that’s what concerns me most,” he said.

Garrick wrote the flyers appeared to be “connected with a documented outside hate group.” School administration and security are working with local police to identify the parties responsible for their distribution, he said.

MoCo360 obtained photographs of both flyers from students. They contain language referring to the Goyim Defense League, a documented antisemitic group.

StopAntisemitism has identified the group responsible as the Goyim Defense League (GDL). The leader of the GDL, Jon Minadeo II was listed as their ‘Antisemite of the Year.’

In late January, similar flyers believed to be from the GDL were deposited on the porches of over a dozen Kensington residents.

Schreiber said when he saw photos of the flyers posted at Northwood, he noticed some of the language they used implied a denial of Holocaust-related history. He said adding more to the district’s school curriculum to teach about the effects of the Holocaust and its modern-day repercussions would benefit students.

“I understand that the Holocaust is a very touchy or uncomfortable subject for a lot of people, but learning about the after-effects—like the rejection of Jews that still happens today—might help prevent this kind of thing moving forward,” he said.