Web Analytics

Connecticut Jewish Cemetery Vandalized

Hartford Police have discovered Zion Hill Jewish Cemetery has been recently vandalized.

"You feel the emotions of something that was taken away," said Leonard Holtz, whose family maintain the sacred burial grounds.

Tombstones were moved around to use as a fireplace and it appears that someone has opened a Rabbi's mausoleum and took up residence inside.

Holtz says Zion Hill is a cemetery awash with all sorts of vandalism: "Homelessness, is one; drugs and vice, another; and then there's the criminal."

Holtz was heard on Channel 3, as was Hartford Police Lt. Aaron Boisvert, who said, "Any vandalism or crime is taken serious.”

Missouri Town Mayor Issues Apology after Antisemitic Reference

The mayor of Odessa, Missouri issued a public apology Wednesday for comments made this week at a council meeting that were derogatory to the Jewish community.

Odessa Mayor Stephen Wright’s apology letter was posted on the city’s Facebook page.

“Those statements were not in keeping with the beliefs and values of the City of Odessa and should not be construed to represent the views of our City,” Wright wrote. "It was not my intent to degrade or marginalize anyone, or any group of people, nor to further any negative stereotypes based upon their heritage or belief.”

The video of the incident was removed. However, NGO StopAntisemitism obtained the language that was used by Mayor Wright and shared it with their followers on Twitter. The antisemitic phrase used by the mayor is a hurtful stereotype that has been used against the Jewish communities.

The comments were made during the May 15, 2023, Board of Alderman meeting.

In removing the video, the city said the “City’s social media policy” was violated.

Swastika Found Inside Boston Area High School

School officials are investigating after they say a hateful image was found drawn on the wall of a Massachusetts high school bathroom Thursday morning.

In a letter sent home to parents, Newton High School South Principal Tamara Stras says a swastika was drawn “with chocolate or a similar substance” on the wall of the boy’s bathroom located in the 6000 wing of the school.

“I cannot express the anger and disappointment that we all feel because we have people who are continuing to perpetuate hate in our building,” she said.

School officials say they’ve contacted the South Human Rights Council, their incident response team, and their Jewish Staff Affinity Group for student support.

“I want to assure you that we as a school and district are deeply dedicated to addressing hate and discrimination issues and educating our students to stand up against hate,” Stras said. “South will always strive to be a place where all feel seen, heard, and supported.”

New Jersey Nazi Verbally Assaults Young Jewish Children

A Jewish family visiting the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library in New Jersey found itself the target of foul invective and Holocaust denial on Friday. Police identified the alleged perpetrator as mentally disturbed.

When the family, including three small children, visited the library, a man sitting on a bench near the entrance accosted an 8-year-old visibly Jewish boy. “Jews are vile and disgusting people,” he snarled, according to the boy’s father.

As the family was leaving (the library was closed), the father asked the man if he had a “problem with Jews.” The man retorted that he was protected by his right of free speech; and proceeded to loudly claim several times that the Holocaust was a Jewish hoax.

The father pointed out that it was clearly unacceptable for him to start up with small children, regardless of his personal opinions. “This led to more pronouncements about his free speech and opinions,” the father told LNN.

The man challenged the family to call the police. “They won’t do anything,” he claimed. “I can say whatever I want.” The family did call police, who asked them to wait on the scene. An officer arrived and took statements for a police report, and a senior investigator later called to follow up.

Police said the man was known to them as suffering from mental challenges; and was under restraining order not to be present in certain parts of the township. Apparently, the library is not one of those places- but it may become so; after this incident.

After reviewing the onerous burden of proof and odds of success, the family decided not to press charges. Nevertheless, Toms River police stress the importance of filing police reports, even if no action will be taken. Each report affects general statistics and the community’s ability to lobby for policy changes.

New York Assembly Member Advocates for Legislation Supporting BDS Against Israel

Zohran Mamdani who represents Astoria, Ditmars, and Astoria Heights in the NY State Assembly is pushing a bill he dubbed the “Not on our dime! Ending New York funding of Israeli settler violence act” to “prohibit not-for-profit corporations from engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity; allows for recovery of a civil penalty by the state attorney general; creates a private right of action for violations.”

A Muslim who was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, Mamdani moved to New York City when he was seven. He began his political career in 2017 when he volunteered for Khader El-Yateem, a PA Arab Lutheran minister who ran for the New York City Council in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. El-Yateem did not get elected, but Mamdani continued to volunteer for left-wing campaigns until in 2019 he announced he was running for the New York State Assembly in the 36th district, and ended up narrowly defeating the four-term incumbent Aravella Simotas. The race was so tight, it took a month before the results were called.

Mamdani is affiliated with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

His bill calls for NY State to punish not-for-profit groups that support Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, citing a long list of reasons, most notably:

  • Unlawful transfer of Israeli civilians into occupied territory

  • Acts of violence committed by Israeli citizens against protected persons living in occupied territory

  • Forced transfer or eviction of protected persons within the occupied territory, or eviction from occupied territory

  • Appropriation, expropriation, seizure, destruction, demolition, dismantlement, or confiscation, in whole or in part, of private Palestinian land or residential, business, social, or public structures or infrastructure, inhabited or uninhabited

In other words, the standard anti-Israel BDS drivel.

NGO StopAntisemitism shared a few of the measures this bill hopes to accomplish.

But Queens Democrat assembly members Daniel Rosenthal and Nily Rozic who are part of a group of 25 pro-Israel assembly members, including Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, chairwoman of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, and Helene Weinstein and Jeffrey Dinowitz, chairpersons of the Ways and Means and Codes committees (respectively), believe the bill is “dead on arrival.”

The group sent out a joint letter warning that Mamdani’s bill would punish Jewish not-for-profit groups that support the needy as well as pay for treating victims of Arab terrorism.

“This bill targets them all. In response, we say Not on our watch,” Rosenthal and Rozic announced, adding that “this bill is a ploy to demonize Jewish charities with connections to Israel. It was only introduced to antagonize pro-Israel New Yorkers and further sow divisions within the Democratic Party.”

White Supremacist Stickers Discovered in Philadelphia Suburb

Residents in a section of Drexel Hill awoke Friday morning to swastika stickers posted in their neighborhood.

“It’s a cowardly act,” Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy M. Bernhardt said. “It was done overnight. We’re looking for video. We haven’t found anything yet. There is no groups or persons that we know of right now.”

Bernhardt said swastikas were attached to stop signs and telephone poles along the area of School Lane and Brookfield Road in the Drexel Park section of Drexel Hill. He added that another was dropped on a driveway.

@UDPolice tweeted that signs had also been seen along Long Lane.

“Residents have recently discovered antisemitic literature posted on stop signs and lying about sidewalks and yards in both the Drexel Hill and Long Lane sections of the township,” the police tweeted. “We want you to know that we are aware of it, and we are working to identify the person or people who disseminated the items. If you have surveillance footage or any useful information, it would be greatly appreciated. You can call us at 610-734-7693.”

Bernhardt said these acts are not acceptable.

“It has all the workings of antisemitism and hate speech,” the police superintendent said. “My frustration is very high. This hatred towards any group cannot and will not be tolerated.”

Bernhardt said he would be reaching out to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer but said he is limited by the confines of the law.

“There’s nothing we can do criminally,” he said. “It’s their right. It’s their speech. It’s time for our state legislators to come up with something. This type of bigotry and propaganda should not be tolerated.”

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer condemned the acts.

“As the son and grandson of Ukrainians forced to flee their homeland because of the horrors inflicted by the Nazis, I condemn in the strongest terms the presence of this graffiti on our streets,” Stollsteimer said. “The ideology embraced by neo-Nazis has no place in our community, and the bigotry and intolerance that these symbols represent must be emphatically rejected. I have confidence that the Upper Darby Police Department will conduct a thorough investigation, and that the community will remain vigilant to determine the source of this graffiti. Delaware County is an inclusive and tolerant place, and law enforcement will work hard to ensure that those values continue to be respected.”

State Sen. Tim Kearney, D-26, of Swarthmore, said incidents like these are why he introduced S.B. 63 to expand Pennsylvania’s protections against hate crimes to more targeted groups facing discrimination.

He issued a statement following news of the Upper Darby swastikas.

“As an elected official representing the people of Delaware County, I strongly condemn the presence of neo-Nazis in our community,” it read. “Their hateful and bigoted ideology has no place in our society, and we must stand together to reject it in the strongest terms possible.

“As one of the most diverse counties in our Commonwealth, the presence of neo-Nazis in our county is not only a threat to the safety and well-being of our citizens, but it also undermines the values of inclusivity, diversity, and tolerance that we respect,” it continued. “We must remain vigilant and take decisive action to ensure that hate groups are not allowed to gain a foothold in our community … I call on all residents of Delaware County to join me in condemning neo-Nazism and all forms of hate and bigotry. Let us work together to build a community that is inclusive, respectful, and welcoming to all, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, or background.”

Bernhardt said all area police departments were notified of a similar event in Upper Dublin Township in Montgomery County earlier this year. He said he would also be reaching out to that police department.

He also said he would be checking with other departments in Delaware County.

In the meantime, residents reeled with the findings Friday.

“I’m horrified,” resident and Divided Equals Zero entrepreneur John Leister said. “I can’t believe it.”

Leister and other neighbors found swastikas posed on the back of street signs in the Drexel Park section of Upper Darby on Irvington Road and on Huey Road, in the area of the SEPTA Route 101 trolley.

Kerian Adamo said her husband saw swastika stickers on the back of stop signs while walking the dog Friday morning. She said he removed at least one of them.

Leister said that’s how he saw the stickers, too.

“My wife and I went out for a walk,” he said, adding that he saw stickers on signs and also found a flier on the stoop of a house.

Leister said the flier had a website on it and it said, “Stand up, white man.”

He said there was an advertisement for a movie on the back of it.

“We kept walking and a few houses later there was a police officer talking to a woman at her front door,” he said.

Leister said he found a swastika sticker at Huey Avenue and Irvington Road.

“I found that sticker that I scraped off the sign,” he said.

Charges Filed Against Two Men for Broadcasting Hitler Speeches on Austrian Train

Two people were charged in Austria for allegedly playing speeches by Adolf Hitler via the loudspeaker system of a train running from Bregenz to Vienna, Austrian news agency APA reported Monday.

The two suspects, who were not identified, also blasted the "Heil Hitler" Nazi salute via the train's intercom several times on Sunday. The authorities tracked them down by analyzing video from the train cameras. Spreading Nazi propaganda is a criminal offense in Austria.

The two are also suspected of responsibility for two other incidents last week on trains running from St. Poelten to Vienna, in which recordings were played over the train intercom. Two trains were manipulated to broadcast a "nonsensical, confusing mix" of children's songs and old, flawed announcements, OeBB spokesman Bernhard Rieder told AFP.

The suspects are believed to have opened the train conductors' intercom cabins with a key all train employees own and then played the recordings, APA reported.

Austrian rail operator OeBB declined to identify the suspects but said they are "not OeBB employees."

Missouri Pet Shelter Intakes Puppy Tagged with Swastikas

A 3-month-old dog rescued by law enforcement in Missouri arrived at a shelter shaved with swastikas and expletives drawn on her.

Rescue One, a nonprofit animal rescue and vet clinic in Springfield, said the swastikas were all over her body, along with a message on her back: "Don't feed this (explicit) dog." Swastikas have become synonymous with hate ever since Adolf Hitler and the Nazis wore them in Germany during World War II.

"She is heading for the tub to scrub-a-dub-dub all of this hate off. Only love here," the rescue said on its Facebook page.

Several baths later, the swastikas have faded a lot. NGO StopAntisemitism shared the horrifying pictures of the puppy to Instagram.

"We have named her Leslie, and she is perfect," rescue workers said.

Leslie has since been placed in a foster home until she’s ready for adoption in about a month.

"We have already begun to review adoption applications for her. She loves to play with the other dogs in her foster home and is a very friendly puppy," the rescue said. "We are thankful that law enforcement rescued this dog and that we get to be part of her journey to a great home."

'Black Hebrew Israelite' Arrested after Threatening Orthodox Jews with Knife in Brooklyn

A group of four young orthodox Jewish students were victims of an antisemitic incident by a knife-wielding man on Thursday evening in Brooklyn Bridge Park in downtown Brooklyn.

The young Israelis were in the park at approximately midnight, when they were approached by a black male, who proceeded to shout antisemitic slurs and insults at them.He shouted at the Jewish men to get out of the park, and then he took out a knife and demanded that they give him money, the victims said.

NGO StopAntisemitism released a photo of the antisemitic perpetrator. The slurs and insults overheard are similar anti-Jewish language used by antisemites such as Kanye West.

The man shouted rhetoric commonly heard from Black Hebrew Israelites, claiming that he is the real Jew. Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) are classified as a hate group by multiple advocacy groups, including StopAntisemitism. The Jersey City supermarket shooting in 2019 during which 6 people were killed was perpetrated by a man who identified as a member of BHI.

The victims called Shmira of Williamsburg, who arrived and called the police, who arrested the man. The charges were upgraded on Friday to include hate crime charges.

Passenger Screams "F*cking Devil Jews" in London Bus Attack

A Jewish bus passenger was called a “f*cking devil” in shocking abuse on Friday morning, video footage posted online reveals.

The attacker, who was brandishing a yellow pole, can be seen hurling insults and rambling incoherently on a London bus.

He said: “That's where you come from, you shouldn't be in Palestine, you're some f*cking murders. Kill children... you enslaved black people for 500 years. Jew. F*king Jew he’s a f*cking devil. Tell him all the f*cking Israeli people are dead in a bloodclart. Me tell you that, the black god tell you that. Record it, record all of it.”

Aware that he is being filmed, he then adds: “Bloodclart 10 Downing Street, tell them the black god said all of the people are imposter, deceive people that you are Jew.”

The footage, posted online by Jewish community watch group Shomrim, shows the man becoming increasingly irate.

“F*cking lying bloodclart and you kill them with black people,” he says, while attempting to hit the man filming him with his yellow pole.

“Take your thing off me before me mash it up,” he adds. “Don't bloodclart film me anymore."

The abuse reportedly took place at 9am on Friday morning on the 253 bus route.

The most recent hate crime statistics published by the Home Office show that March 2021 and March 2022, there were 1,919 hate crimes targeting Jews, an increase of 49 per cent from the previous year. 

German Iranian Charged with Arson Attack on Synagogue

German prosecutors on Thursday charged a German Iranian dual national in an attempted arson attack near a synagogue on the orders of the government in Tehran.

Babak J. was instructed by an intermediary "acting on behalf of unknown Iranian state agencies" in November 2022 to carry out an arson attack on a synagogue in the region of North Rhine-Westphalia, the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Subsequently, the accused is said to have sought to persuade an acquaintance to set fire to a synagogue in Dortmund using a Molotov cocktail but was refused.

Babak J.'s handler allegedly later named another synagogue — in the city of Bochum rather than in Dortmund — as a target, prosecutors said.

"The accused refrained from attacking the well-monitored synagogue in Bochum itself for fear of discovery," they said.

Instead, the suspect tried to set fire to a school building adjoining the synagogue in the western German city, according to prosecutors.

Germany has seen a series of incidents of antisemitic violence in recent years, bringing back memories of the country's Nazi past.

Germany this month reported a new record in the number of politically motivated crimes last year, although the number of antisemitic crimes declined by almost 13% to 2,641 incidents.

Most of the offenses, 84%, were attributed to the far-right.

The decline was however "no reason to give the all-clear," the interior ministry said in a statement.

Two Oregon Elementary Schools Defaced by Antisemitic Graffiti

Someone vandalized two Bend elementary schools over the weekend with graffiti with that included racist, antisemitic and homophobic epithets as well as sexual content.

Bear Creek Elementary and Ensworth Elementary were both hit. A letter was sent to Bear Creek parents.

“We are saddened to inform you that our school was vandalized over the weekend with substantial graffiti of a racist, antisemitic, homophobic and sexual nature,” Bear Creek Principal Lisa Birk wrote in the letter. “The graffiti, done with heavy black marker, was found on our front entry sign leading into our parking lot, on various signs in the front and on the side of the school, on a large playground wall, and on a play structure.”

Photos provided to Central Oregon Daily News show the graffiti included use of slurs against Black and gay people. There were also swastikas, a reference to Adolf Hitler and a drawing of male genitalia.

The graffiti was spotted Monday morning as students were arriving and some were already on the playground, Birk wrote. “Once we became aware, we immediately directed all students inside, and our custodian began cleaning and removing the graffiti. A couple of additional spots were discovered during morning recess and were promptly cleaned up.”

She warns that some students saw the graffiti before it was reported, so it may come up in conversations at home. Birk adds that it’s not clear if both schools were tagged by the same person or people.

Bend Police say they are investigating. It is considered second-degree criminal mischief, which is a misdemeanor.

Birk said a bias incident report has been made with the Bend-La Pine School District.

Jews Ambushed in Tunisian Synagogue Attack

Two worshipers were killed when a Tunisian naval officer opened fire at a synagogue on the island of Djerba Tuesday night, as hundreds of Jews held an annual pilgrimage there, Tunisian authorities said.

The victims from among the worshipers were identified as Aviel Hadad, a 30-year-old dual citizen of Tunisia and Israel living in Netivot, Israel, and his 42-year-old cousin, Benjamin Haddad, a French-Jewish businessman living in France, the chairwoman of the World Federation of Tunisian Jewry in Israel, Dr. Miryam Gez-Avigal, told The Times of Israel.

A guard was also killed in the brazen attack on the heavily secured El Ghriba synagogue, and nine others, including four civilians, were injured, the Tunisian Interior Ministry said early Wednesday.

Some news reports said four were killed in the attack, including a second guard, though it was unclear if that was the shooter or a victim.

According to the ministry, the officer, affiliated with the National Guard naval center in the town of Aghir on Djerba, first turned his service weapon on a colleague, then grabbed more ammunition and made his way to the synagogue.

When he reached the area, he began shooting wildly at security units stationed at the synagogue, who responded with gunfire, killing him. The synagogue was locked down and those inside were kept secure, the ministry said.

Authorities are probing what led to the attack.

“Investigations are continuing in order to shed light on the motives for this cowardly aggression,” the ministry said, refraining from referring to the shooting as a terrorist attack.

Videos surfaced online shortly after the attack showing alarmed worshipers inside the synagogue, where hundreds of Jews from France, Israel and beyond were celebrating the Lag B’Omer holiday along with the tiny local Jewish community.

Ghayda Thabet, a member of the Tunisian Association for the Support of Minorities, was at the El Ghriba synagogue and appealed for help on Facebook. “They are shooting with live ammunition. Help us,” she pleaded in a post.

Tunisian authorities maintain a permanent presence around the synagogue, situated near a part of the island where hundreds of Jews live. Security is beefed up during Jewish holidays and especially on Lag B’Omer.

Every year, Jews from around the world convene on Djerba for the Hilula of Ghriba – a feast that features a festive procession on or near Lag B’Omer. The procession traditionally ends at the El Ghriba synagogue, thought to have been established by Jews fleeing persecution some 2,500 years ago.

The current building was constructed in the 19th century and is sometimes referred to as the oldest existing synagogue in Africa, according to Georgetown University’s Berkley Center.

Some 5,000 people were taking part in this year’s pilgrimage, French outlet BMFTV reported, citing organizers.

Many of those visiting were from France, which has a large community of Tunisian Jews. The French embassy in Tunisia said it opened an emergency hotline for pilgrims following the shooting.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller condemned the incident early Wednesday, tweeting: “The United States deplores the attack in Tunisia coinciding with the annual Jewish pilgrimage that draws faithful to the El Ghriba Synagogue from around the world.”

“We express condolences to the Tunisian people and commend the rapid action of Tunisian security forces,” he added.

On Saturday, Tunisia’s Interior Ministry posted a video showing Minister Kamel Feki reviewing security arrangements on Djerba ahead of the pilgrimage.

Al-Qaeda terrorists set off an explosion outside the El Ghriba Synagogue in 2002, killing 20 people, including 14 German tourists.

Antisemitic 'GDL' Flyers Discovered in St. Louis County

People who live in parts of St. Louis County want to stop whoever is spreading antisemitic flyers across their neighborhoods.

Social media posts show many people were shocked and upset when they found flyers at their front doors. While the content is appalling, some activists are choosing to focus on messages beyond just what's written on the flyer.

This is especially alarming due to recent rises in antisemitism nationally, spreading among tragedies like a recent deadly Texas mall shooting, and social media posts like Kanye West's rhetoric about Hitler.

Hateful words are heavy, but the conversations that follow, can be hopeful.

“It was hate speech, basically," J.K., a resident who found a flyer at his front door, said.

“It’s one thing to have a violation of material, but this was a violation of soul, to have that type of hatred placed on my property," he said.

The strongest words come from what we take of such messages in our communities.

NGO StopAntisemitism has attributed the antisemitic propaganda to the Goyim Defense League. The League is led by white supremacist Jon Minadeo II. Minadeo and his followers travel the country spreading antisemitic messaging in the form of mass flyer drops.

“What it really alludes to is the larger context of these flyers and the messages they bring," Helen Turner, director of education at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, said.

She said these messages are alarming.

“Antisemitism began before the Holocaust, and it continues after," she said. "To learn this history is to really see the long thread of antisemitism.”

But she said while the messages appear differently, they’re all part of the same thread.

“There’s very little new that’s coming out here, it’s really just pulling on this historic thread of antisemitism," she said.

Turner said this is where we can decide how to act.

“How do we learn from the past, to make a positive future?” she said.

She said there is positivity within negativity, fueled by community.

“They should know they’re not alone,” she said.

The museum’s memories are dark.

“If we see them along as singular moments or singular narratives, then we’re missing the larger context of antisemitism which is what this is all threading back to,"' she said.

And so were the flyers.

“I for myself tried to reach out to the very people this flyer was attacking, and I told them, was there anything I could do to help?” J.K. said.

But the conversations like these that follow, can be led by light.

“Because of that flyer, I got to know some people that I normally would not have gotten to know," J.K. said.

Man Arrested After Shooting Jewish Teen with Gel Gun Outside Kosher Eatery

Englewood police have arrested the man they suspect of shooting a BB-gun at a Jewish teenager wearing a yarmulke in front of a kosher restaurant in the New Jersey township.

The mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, had said he is taking the incident “very seriously.”

“I don't take lightly that this happened in front of a kosher restaurant, to a young man wearing a yarmulke, and will see that this is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes said in a statement. “I have been in contact with Englewood Police… I have been in touch with the victims’ family.”

Shots were fired from a car moving down East Palisade Avenue, in Englewood, at a visibly Jewish teen standing in front of Zula Mediterranean Grill. The teen and another person were struck, and suffered “minor injuries.” Witnesses recorded the license plate number of the vehicle.

Wildes said he was “advised by police authorities in our City that there is not a perceptible threat to the general Jewish community based on this incident.”

At 11 AM the following morning, police arrested a 20-year-old male from Bergenfield, New Jersey, and charged him with two counts of aggravated assault, as well as possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. “The defendant has not been charged with a bias crime, and based upon our investigation, it does not appear that the victims were targeted,” a police statement said.

NGO StopAntisemitism reported the identity of the shooter as Jason Suarez. Suarez was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault, as well as possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

“As always, the Englewood Police Department will thoroughly investigate all reports of crime and vigorously pursue any incidents that appear to be biased in nature. We must commend the quick actions of the victims and witnesses who reported the incident. The detailed information they provided was crucial to our investigators in the identification of the suspect. We would also like to laud our officers and detectives for their aggressive investigation, which allowed us to quickly arrest and charge the suspect.”

Antisemitic 'GDL' Flyers Discovered in Virginia Area Town

Dayton Police stepped up in support of the victims of an antisemitic message that got thrown onto their doorstep on Saturday.

“Chief Trout from the Dayton police reached out and asked that we can speak with a Dayton Police to let them know what happened so that they could have a record of it,” Eastview Crew Member Lila Bradley said.

The flyer comes from a website with hate speech for different demographics. The corn added insult to injury since it is not kosher.

Doorbell cameras caught the bags filled with corn and hate speech thrown onto properties.

While the offenders tried to build tension with this hate speech, it actually brought the Eastview Crew better together to fight against things like antisemitism, understanding that things like this don’t belong in the neighborhood.

NGO StopAntisemitism has identified the antisemitic propaganda and has attributed the credit to the white supremacist group, the Goyim Defense League. The group is led by neo-Nazi Jon Minadeo.

Dayton Resident Lila Bradley herself is not Jewish but shared her neighborhood was not the only victim in this act.

“I know that other communities in Rockingham County received the same thing. There was a Facebook post about somebody in Belmont receiving the exact same package that we got,” Bradley said.

Bradley believes it is really important to be as calm as possible whenever there is a discussion about differences, even in the form of hate.

“This incivility cannot be disguised by the idea that they are trying to spread information but also that it is wasted on our neighborhood because there’s no tolerance for that kind of hatred here,” Bradley said.

While mad that this happened, Bradley and her neighbors feel it is better to increase the peace than to lash out.

All of the bags of corn were collected before children were exposed to them.

University of Delaware Investigating Swastika Drawn on Jewish Professor's Door

University of Delaware police are investigating after an English professor who is Jewish found a swastika drawn on a poster that hung on her office door, along with the words "We Are Everywhere."

According to an email sent to staff by the chair of the English department, the swastika was spotted Monday morning. It was drawn on a poster promoting a drag performance that the professor organized years ago.

Both the school's associate dean and UD police were contacted about the symbol, the email said. Police responded to the professor's Memorial Hall office and took the poster.

University Police Chief Patrick Ogden said while a detective was quickly assigned to the case, "everyone from our criminal investigative unit is also following leads on this." He said police are investigating the drawing as a potential hate crime, given modern-day swastikas are hate symbols.

Ogden added that he could not yet say whether the poster was chosen for a reason and if it was targeting the LGBTQ community. But he also said police were not ruling that out.

"You want to consider everything as a possibility, but you also don't want to assume anything," Ogden said. "It's certainly a possibility that we're exploring, but until we can identify who is responsible and what their motives are, I'm a little hesitant to say definitively that that's why this happened."

He pointed to an incident in November in which a quote from Ye − previously known as Kanye West − was written on a classroom chalkboard. To those who didn't know its context, it appeared antisemitic and some believed it was a death threat.

Ogden said through his department's investigation, police learned it had been written as part of a journalism class discussion.

"That's an example of, you want to consider everything so you can't be singularly focused in one direction," Ogden said.

He said police are taking Monday's incident seriously.

California School District Approves Controversial Anti-Israel Curriculum

The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) Board of Education approved two ethnic studies courses that Jewish groups say contain clear anti-Israel bias.

The course, titled “Ethnic Studies: World Geography,” passed by a margin of three votes in favor and one abstention; the other, “History 10 Ethnic Studies World Histories Course,” passed unanimously. StandWithUs alleged that the former course “promotes bias and bigotry against Israel and the Jewish people” and the latter “includes at least one book that promotes similar bias.” Unit 2 of the geography course, titled “Colonialism’s Impact on Migration,” states: “The concept of migration will be introduced and focus on the avenues through which colonial empires have maintained hegemonic influence over flows of migration within nations and internationally around the globe through genocides, tourism, wars, neocolonialism and settler colonialism.” It then provides several links to supplemental material, one of which is a January 2020 Middle East Monitor op-ed claiming that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank has resulted “a massive wave of ethnic cleansing that saw the forced removal of approximately 300,000 Palestinians from the newly-conquered territory.”

The op-ed particularly focused on Israeli military “firing zones” in the West Bank that have “ethnically cleansed Palestinians” and suffocated “the Palestinian way of life,” arguing that the sole purpose of these firing zones is to provide “an Israeli legal justification to confiscate nearly a fifth of the West Bank for future colonial expansion.” The op-ed cites the Palestinian villages of Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills as an example of this. Left unsaid in the op-ed is that there has been a legal dispute between the Palestinians and Israelis since 2000 on whether or not the Palestinian were permanent residents when the area was declared a firing zone––which Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) defined as a “firearms training ground”––in the 1980s, as Israeli law provides the military with the authority to declare an area a firing zone if the residents are temporary. In May 2022, the Israeli High Court of Justice unanimously ruled in favor of the Israelis, although JTA noted that that the United Nations, European Union, the Biden administration, some members of Congress and some Jewish groups were urging the Israeli government not to pursue further demolitions and evictions regardless.

The course then provides a list of “essential questions” about “European colonialism” and “American hegemonic actions” as well as the following question about Israel: “How has the settlement of Israelis after WWII changed the socio-economic status and sovereignty of Palestinians over time?”

Unit 4 of the course, titled “How Political Geography Marginalizes Minority Groups,” discusses “how the distortion of arbitrary geographic borders by Western colonial powers has caused famines, political corruption, and internal and external strife for first nations.” The unit includes a critique of “the plan by the United Nations to divide Palestine between Jewish and Palestinians areas” and “state sanctioned violence against Palestinians, Rwandans, and Kurds will be placed in their proper context as consequences of European imperial nation-making.” The unit also focuses on how the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip has affected Palestinians, providing a link to a video in the supplemental materials section on how it has adversely affected Palestinian fisherman in Gaza. Though the video acknowledges that the blockade is in response to Hamas, the terror group that rules Gaza, it doesn’t mention that, according to The Washington Institute, “Iran and Hezbollah have also smuggled weapons and rocket manufacturing materiel by sea, evading the Israeli blockade by dropping floatable items for Palestinian fishermen to pick up near the Gaza coast.”

“The World Geography course outline accuses Israel of state sanctioned violence against Palestinians, falsely framing Israel’s legitimate defense of its citizens against terrorism,” Jany Finkielsztein, a researcher for the CAMERA Education Institute, said in a statement to the Journal. “The Santa Ana School Board approved the Ethnic Studies World Geography course outline with clear evidence of its anti-Israel slant. CAMERA is alarmed by the upsurge in attempts to embed anti-Israel content into social studies courses.”

As for the World History course, the book referenced by StandWithUs is sociologist Michael Mann’s 2004 book“The Dark Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing,” which will be used for teacher reference. Mann calls Israel “the main contemporary example of settler-conquerors,” arguing in the book that “for half a centuryIsraelis have been cleansing the occupied territories of native Arabs, most murderously in the late 1940s, renewed again in the Jewish landgrabbing of the past few years. Israelis have mainly cleansed within their own occupied territories, devising the typical settler state: democracy for the settlers, lesser rights for the natives.”

“The ethnic studies courses approved by SAUSD’s board falsely portray Jews as colonizers in Israel, erasing 3,000 years of their history and connection to their ancestral home,” StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein said in a statement. “They cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a deeply one-sided and inaccurate way, and completely ignore Jewish refugees who fled or were expelled from Arab states and Iran. This violates the spirit, if not the letter, of California law regarding K-12 ethnic studies, as well as SAUSD policy about how to teach controversial issues.”

Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda Rabbi Abraham Cooper said in a statement, “Perhaps the SAUSD is unaware that this curriculum masks its anti-Jewish and extreme anti-Israel propaganda as historical fact. American Jews across the US are the #1 target of religious-based hate crimes according to the FBI. We cannot have young impressionable students indoctrinated to such biases, distortions, omissions and lies about the Jewish people and the Jewish state of Israel.”

AMCHA Initiative Director Tammi Rossman-Benjamin similarly said in a statement to the Journal, “It is really a shame that California school districts are rushing to approve biased and bigoted curricula that will only serve to spread further hate, division and antisemitism among students throughout the state when it appears that the law mandating that such curricula be taught is not now, and may never be, operative. Unfortunately, school districts don’t know this yet. They are being misled into thinking they must act quickly to abide by the law by groups like the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Coalition, whose anti-Zionist educator activists are ideologically and financially motivated to ensure their curricular development and professional training services are widely adopted. But in fact, school districts do not have to, and should not move forward with costly, divisive, and bigoted ethnic studies programs unless and until the state legislature makes this bill operative.”

Rachel Lerman, general counsel and vice chair of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, told the Journal, “We suspect that Santa Ana’s curricula embraces the discredited antisemitic ideologies that were contained in the rejected first draft of California’s Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. We are currently investigating. If that turns out to be the case, then Santa Ana is taking a very ugly road and one which they may come to regret.”

The board did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment.