Second round of antisemitic flyers distributed to U.S. homes by hate group in less than one week

A second round of antisemitic flyers has been distributed to homes in the United States in less than one week.

Earlier this week, Campaign Against Antisemitism reported that antisemitic flyers accusing Jewish people of masterminding the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly identical to those that were distributed to Beverly Hills homes last month, had been disseminated to homes across the United States in at least five states so far. The states included North Carolina, Texas, Idaho, Maryland and California.

Written at the top of each flyer reads “Every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish” alongside the domain “goyim.tv”, a website affiliated with the “Goyim Defence League” (GDL), a group whose membership reportedly contains several neo-Nazis and is understood to be led by Jon Minadeo II. The group is responsible for stunts such as visiting a Chabad centre to claim that “these Jewish terrorists” were behind 9/11, and hanging a banner on a Los Angeles overpass reading “Honk if you know the Jews want a race war.” Earlier this year, Mr Minadeo II created t-shirts carrying antisemitic slogans such as the Holocaust was “a hoax”. Recently, they hung a banner from a bridge in Austin, Texas that read “Vax the Jews”.

We can now report that the same flyers have now been redistributed in Maryland and California, with Vermont, Alabama, Illinois and Florida also having been targeted.

The Montgomery County Council in Maryland released a statement in which it said: “The Council stands in solidarity with our Jewish community and condemns all acts of hate and ethnic or religious bigotry aimed at Jewish residents. Furthermore, the Council condemns the spread of COVID-19 disinformation in all its forms, and the use of erroneous connections to ethnic, religious and other groups to fuel abhorrently racist agendas.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin, who represents Maryland’s 8th congressional district, thanked the council for its support and tweeted: “Some hateful bigot is mixing the oldest anti-Jewish conspiracy theories with sick new lies about COVID-19. We reject this filth.”

In addition to Montgomery, it was reported that for the second time in less than a week, the flyers were sent out to homes in Beverly Hills, where the flyers were also distributed on the first night of Chanukah, which is when the flyers were first believed to have appeared. 

A statement signed by all five members of the City Council said: “The Beverly Hills City Council would like to remind all who commit acts of hatred toward members of our community that these cowardly acts and any divisive attempts of intimidation will be rejected outright. As a City that is made up of a diverse population and being one of the only Jewish-majority cities outside of Israel, the City condemns this unwarranted hate speech that has been unsuccessfully used to disparage a community that has, and always will, stand strong together and fight hatred of any kind.”

Carla Hill, Associate Director of the Center on Extremism of the ADL, said that members of the GDL were incentivised to distribute the flyers as the leader of the organisation, Jon Minadeo II, promised to send $100 worth of merchandise to members who participated in the leafleting, an act which Ms Hill described as the “monetisation of hate.” Mr Minadeo II reportedly runs an online shop called “Goyim Gear” that includes, among other items, t-shirts glorifying Adolf Hitler, the Waffen SS and other individuals and groups endorsed by white supremacists.

Ms Hill went on to explain that the group embarks on “tours” around the country that are advertised through its videos on its streaming channel as well as the social media platform Telegram, in which they distribute propaganda, engage in antisemitic stunts and seek donations. Ms Hill described the group as “a small network of individuals” with “thousands of supporters.”

In an incident that may be connected, though it is unconfirmed, stickers were distributed across Manhattan Beach, California which contained what the Manhattan Beach Police Department described as “antisemitic hate speech.”

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