VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Some Virginia Beach residents woke up Sunday morning to a disturbing message in their front yard: flyers with antisemitic rhetoric.
When Greg Golden went outside to get his paper Sunday morning in the Middle Plantation neighborhood, he found a flyer with names and pictures of Disney executives and political figures with antisemitic messages and images on it.
"It was just filth. It was just dirt and it was just not wanted in this or any neighborhood," Golden said.
He said he and his wife immediately threw the flyer away and reported it to their neighborhood civic league.
"I realized that several other people had received the same flyer and had reported it as well," he said.
Meredith Weisel with the Anti-Defamation League said the flyers came from a group called the Goyim Defense League. She described them as a loose network of individuals connected by their antisemitism. She said they've done campaigns like this on and off over the last few years.
Even in 2022, Weisel said hate is still prevalent.
"Unfortunately, it doesn’t surprise us and that’s why the best thing that we can do is make sure the community is educated," she said.
She said the group was responsible for 74 anti-Semitic propaganda incidents last year and has shown up in 17 different states. Just this past weekend, she said flyers like the ones found in Virginia Beach were also spread throughout Richmond and other states.
Weisel said getting the word out about these incidents and groups like this one, has alerted people that these hate groups are still active.
"It's also made more people aware and more willing to speak out," she said.
Rabbi Roz Mandelberg with Ohef Sholom Temple said a few of her congregants received the flyer.
"They were very upset and it was extremely disturbing," she said.
She said antisemitism has been around as long as Judaism has been around.
"I tell them that we always remain vigilant. We know that there’s dangerous people out there who mean to do all good people harm, including Jews, but we can’t stop living our Jewish lives," Rabbi Mandelberg said.
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said they are aware of the flyers and the Virginia Beach Police Department is looking into who dropped the flyers off.
“This is Virginia Beach. We just don’t tolerate this type of stuff, obviously. You know there are people out there nowadays that are just extremists and just want to spread their poison around. You know, Virginia Beach, we’re not gonna tolerate it," he said.
Betty Ann Levin, the Chief Executive Officer with the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, said they will not stand for hate towards any group.
"The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, and our Jewish Community Relations Council, reject antisemitism and ANY form of hate. We are greatly appreciative of the swift response of law enforcement to this incident, as well as of the support of friends and partners both in our community and around the country."
If you receive one of the antisemitic flyers or any other hateful flyers, Weisel said you can report it anonymously to the Anti-Defamation League.