“Vax the Jews” banner hung over bridge in Austin, Texas

A banner that read “Vax the Jews” was hung from a bridge in Austin, Texas over the weekend.

Also written on the banner was the domain “goyim.tv”, a website affiliated with the “Goyim Defence League”, 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”.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler, who is himself Jewish, condemned the incident, tweeting. “I am heartbroken to see antisemitic hatred in Austin, a welcoming and respectful place. Hatred of any kind has no place in our city.”

The incident occurred close to the Shalom Austin Jewish Cultural Centre, the self-described “hub of Jewish life in Central Texas”. Shalom Austin called the incident “extremely upsetting and unsettling” and confirmed that the Austin Police Department had been incredibly supportive, adding that it was “carefully monitoring and observing the situation”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.

Image credit: Image credit: StopAntisemitism.org