RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — As of Tuesday, hundreds of anti-Semitic flyers have been distributed across several Raleigh neighborhoods.
The flyers have been spotted over the last several days and the last couple of weeks.
CBS 17 was told that it has happened at least three times during 2022, but this round comes at a time when recent anti-Semitic comments by singer Kanye West, continue to make headlines across the country.
CBS 17 showed up at the Jewish Federation of Raleigh-Cary not long after someone dropped off a garbage bag full of anti-Semitic flyers found in their neighborhood.
In plastic baggies, filled with rice to prevent them from flying off in the wind, several different flyers were inside. Each one showcased different anti-Semitic rhetoric.
“They’re basically flyers that are regurgitating centuries-old anti-Semitic tropes that the Jews are in control of politics or the media or the world, and the problems that we’re facing with COVID or the government, are all because of Jewish power,” said Phil Brodsky, who is the CEO of the Jewish Federation.
He said the flyers are concerning to many Jewish and non-Jewish people in the community.
“It may not be illegal, but it’s very dangerous,” Brodsky explained. “Anything that makes hatred or hate speech feel normal or okay.”
Anti-Semitic statements recently made by music artist and fashion designer Kanye West have sparked backlash and concern.
“We’re not going to be owned by the Jewish media anymore,” he told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo in an interview last week.
West has since been dropped by several brands, including Balenciaga and Adidas.
The recent comments are why Brodsky, and others in the Jewish community, are even more worried about the developments.
“Kanye West has more Twitter followers than there are Jews in the world,” he added. “We saw an organization, an anti-Semitic organization, put a banner up on the freeway in Los Angeles, saying something along the lines of ‘Kanye was right.”
That same organization is now distributing hateful flyers in the Raleigh community.
“The language, the falsehoods…it all leads to violence against Jews,” said Brodsky. “We’ve seen synagogues targeted in the past couple of years. It’s scary times. We have to be very vigilant. We spend a lot of money to make sure we’re protecting our community. It’s unfortunate, but it’s something we have to do.”
The Raleigh Police Department said a detective has been assigned to these cases.
Police officials also stated that “Year-to-date, the department has received six reports of anti-Semitic incidents. Year-to-date in 2021, [the department] had three reports.”
Brodsky is asking anyone who sees one of these flyers, or flyers with a hate message, to report it.
