A poster explicitly denying the Holocaust was found on a sign for Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Cleveland on July 18, Cleveland Jewish News (CJN) reports.
The poster stated, “Holocaust = Fake News” and that “people that lied about soap and lampshades are lying about gas chamber ovens.” The poster also said it was “brought to you by your local Stormer Book Club,” which are groups that support The Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website.
David Schafer, managing director of the museum, told CJN that the poster was “clearly an act of hate” and that they’re currently working with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and law enforcement on the matter.
“People of conscience and of faith need to speak up to call out people that want to label and dehumanize the other,” Schafer told Cleveland 19. “Hate groups are proliferating right now. It’s sort of the environment we’re living in today. The reason the Maltz Museum exists is to be a response to this hate in society and our community.”
Maltz Museum Director of External Affairs Dahlia Fischer told Cleveland.com the museum will start implementing “additional security measures” in response to the flyer; she didn’t specify what those measures will entail.
Anti-Defamation League Cleveland Regional Director James Pasch told CJN that the flyer was “a targeted attack” to instill fear into the Jewish community.
“When it comes to messages of hate, we could try to avoid some of the online messages that we see, but the purpose of specifically attaching a flyer to Jewish institutions – in this case probably one of the most visible Jewish institutions in our region – is so that we can’t avoid it,” Pasch said.
Beachwood Police Chief Gary Haba told Cleveland.com that such posters have been found in other parts of Ohio throughout the year; similar flyers were also found at myriad Washington synagogues on July 16. Other anti-Semitic flyers were found in Michigan on July 24.
The Maltz Museum’s website states that they aim to forge “an understanding of Jewish history, religion, and culture and builds bridges of tolerance and understanding with those of other religions, races, cultures, and ethnic backgrounds.”
