Community reacts after fringe group throws antisemitic fliers on the Mesa
Head Rabbi Stephen Cohen of Congregation B’nai B’rith in Santa Barbara cited the need “to encourage everyone Jewish and non-Jewish, all good people who are out there, to not allow this very small group — and we have every reason to believe it is a very, very small fringe group — to succeed in making us afraid, to not allow them to succeed in making us feel divided as a society.”“All leaders of all communities have to stand up against hate,” said Cyndi Silverman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara.
Jewish leaders are reacting with outrage after a fringe hate group threw antisemitic fliers on lawns of homes on the Mesa over the weekend marking the start of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.
The Santa Barbara Police Department received numerous calls for service over the weekend in regards to the antisemitic fliers being distributed in Santa Barbara neighborhoods. These fliers were discovered by residents on the Mesa on the first day of Hanukkah, and many of the fliers were turned over to police.
“This is very similar to what other cities across the country have experienced in recent months,” police said. “It does not appear that any one person or group of people were targeted in this distribution of fliers. The fliers have been described as ‘upsetting’ and ‘full of hate.’”
“Of course, my reaction is outrage,” Cyndi Silverman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, told the News-Press on Tuesday.
“This is unacceptable,” especially on Hanukkah, which started Sunday night, she said. “All leaders of all communities have to stand up against hate.”
Head Rabbi Stephen Cohen of Congregation B’nai B’rith in Santa Barbara cited the need “to encourage everyone Jewish and non-Jewish, all good people who are out there, to not allow this very small group — and we have every reason to believe it is a very, very small fringe group — to succeed in making us afraid, to not allow them to succeed in making us feel divided as a society.”
Jewish people have to stand up and be proud of who they are, he said. “We’re here, and we’re not going to hide. We’re in this together. American society in general and the Santa Barbara community are strongest when we have a sense of our common destiny.”
Ms. Silverman praised Santa Barbara residents and city leaders, including Mayor Randy Rowse, for responding in support of the Jewish community. Mayor Rowse declined to comment on this story. Santa Barbara City Council member Mike Jordan, who represents the Mesa, did not respond to a request for comment.
The 8 by 11-inch fliers were delivered in clear plastic sandwich baggies and left in the front yards of homes in Santa Barbara, police said.
According to Ms. Silverman, the baggies, which contained rice and beans to weigh them down so they wouldn’t blow away, were left Sunday on sidewalks, driveways and lawns of homes on the west side of the Mesa, in particular Flora Vista, West Valerio, Shoreline Drive “and as far away as Hidden Valley.”
She said a different 5-by-7 card containing antisemitic comments was left in an envelope on a Mesa doorstep. She said her group just received it and that it hadn’t been turned over yet to police.
The flier proclaimed boldly that “every single aspect of the Biden administration is Jewish” and went on to name several top officials.
“You don’t think we should spread this information? You don’t support free speech? YOU ARE NOT AN AMERICAN.
“You think we are targeting anyone with these flyers? We have distributed thousands and thousands of these informationals, indiscriminately, across the whole of America. Our only target is the uninformed and the deceived.
“We disavow violence. This is not intimidation. This is a PSA about a Jewish Mafia that has hijacked our country!”
Ms. Silverman said the fringe hate group that left the fliers loves publicity. “It is not a Santa Barbara hate group,” she said, but is in fact the same national group that hung banners on an Interstate 405 overpass a month ago in Los Angeles, proclaiming “Kanye was right.” That was a reference to antisemitic comments made by rapper Kanye West.
According to the Anti Defamation League, group members target neighborhoods close to the freeway, “go in, throw a lot of fliers out and move on,” Ms. Silverman said.
She said she did not want to name the group because “I don’t want to give them credibility.”
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FYI
Anyone with information about the fliers with antisemitic comments or in possession of surveillance footage of their distribution in their neighborhood is encouraged to contact Lt. A. Baker, Santa Barbara Police Department Investigative Division, at 805-897-3754 or abaker@sbpd.com.
