Perpetrators behind the hundreds of antisemitic flyers dropped in specific residential neighborhoods of Beverly Hills and Pasadena over the weekend remained at-large as police continue to investigate.
The latest hate message faults Jews for Covid-19.
“Every Single Aspect of the COVID Agenda Is Jewish,” reads the flyer, followed by a list of names of Jewish federal and corporate officials.
Three weeks ago, on the eve of Hanukkah, Beverly Hills police reported a similar incident. “The flyer, a single 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper, contains propaganda-style hate speech related to the Covid pandemic and the Jewish people,” the police statement said. “Police and Public Works personnel canvassed the area and collected the flyers. Police are continuing to investigate and attempt to identify the persons responsible for this disturbing act.”
The Los Angeles Times reported similar antisemitic flyers have been distributed in Texas and North Carolina. A Pasadena police spokesman told the Times the leaflets were enclosed in plastic bags, weighted down with pebbles. The more than 200 flyers were concentrated in a four-block area and had been dropped overnight.
Lt. Giovanni Trejo of the Beverly Hills Police Department said rice was used to hold down the plastic bags with the flyers.
Since this is the second recent similar incident in Beverly Hills, where do the police begin searching for suspects? The most obvious starting point, Trejo told the Journal, is to review the city’s surveillance cameras. “But since there are 2,000 of them across the city, it is labor-intensive, and it’s not going to be done overnight,” he said.
When Rabbi Yossi Eilfort, founder and president of Magen Am, a protection and security organization for Jews, learned of the weekend strike, he said he was unfortunately not surprised. “Antisemitism is a constant, and we always are fighting it.”
“Antisemitism is a constant, and we always are fighting it.” – Rabbi Yossi Eilfort
There is nothing unique about blaming Jews for COVID, according to Eilfort. “People say two things always will be there: taxes and antisemitism,” he said.
The Jew-hating group believed to be behind the latest storm of flyers is not being secretive, said Eilfort. Its identity is revealed at the bottom of each sheet.
But the rabbi prefers not to name them.
After the November 28 hate flyer incident linking Jews and Covid, Rabbi Chaim Mentz of Chabad of Bel Air said, “Jew or non-Jew, you should be outraged. How can this happen?”
Jason Moss, executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, said it is “abhorrent to blame the Jewish community for the spread of Covid and the institution of safety protocols and measures to help our country confront a worldwide epidemic that is affecting everyone.”
Moss added that it is, “repulsive to promote a long-standing belief that there is a worldwide Jewish conspiracy.”
Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo issued a statement, saying, “The Pasadena City Council stands united in our zero-tolerance position against all forms of hate speech, which has no place in our city. The distribution of antisemitic flyers in Pasadena and other Southern California communities is abhorrent, and it totally goes against the values of our city and residents. We will stand together and speak out against hatred in all forms.”
Beverly Hills Vice Mayor Lili Bosse spoke out on Instagram: “As a daughter of Holocaust survivors, this cuts to the core of my soul. I know it cuts all of our hearts to see hatred in humanity still exist.”
She added that in Beverly Hills, the “police department is thoroughly investigating and will be providing additional patrols along with private security throughout the city to ensure a safe holiday season.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pasadena Police Dept. at (626) 744-4241 or the Beverly Hills Police Dept. at (310) 550-4951.
