Anti-Semitic flyers calling Holocaust ‘fake news’ posted at Massachusetts synagogue

Anti-Semitic flyers claiming the Holocaust is “fake news” were found posted on the door of a synagogue north of Boston over the weekend.

An employee at Temple Emanu-El in Marblehead, Mass., discovered the flyers on Monday and notified police, according to a statement from the police department.

Photos of the flyers provided to local news outlet The Daily Item state “Holocaust = fake news” and “the people that lied about soap and lampshades are lying about gas chambers and ovens.”

“Clearly, this was a message that was meant to be delivered to us because the message was found on our property,” Rabbi David Meyer told the outlet.{mosads}

“While it is distressing and sad knowing that these incidents continue right here in our town, at the same time, the support that we’ve already begun to receive from the different communities of faith, from the local public safety officials and the good townspeople is heartening.” 

The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism (ADL), which tracks occurrences of anti-Semitism, told the outlet that the flyers at Temple Emanu-El are a verified incident of a white supremacist distribution campaign that has targeted multiple states.

There has been 28 incidents involving flyers in Massachusetts within the first five months of 2019, an uptick from the 26 incidents reported to the ADL last year.

“It’s a pretty targeted attack when you go onto a synagogue’s property for the sole purpose of disseminating an anti-Semitic message,” the ADL’s New England executive director, Robert Trestan, said. “The temple was targeted in a deliberate and calculated manner for the sole purpose of sending a message of hate and intimidation to the community.”

The ADL attributed the flyers to a local white supremacist book club, The Salem News reported.

The temple recently renovated to include security upgrades to its sanctuary, social hall and offices.

“The security continues to be a conversation among our leaders, and with me, of course,” Meyer told the outlet.

Meyer told The Salem News that the office of Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, also worked with the temple to apply for a grant to the Department of Homeland Security for additional security upgrades.

Moulton grew up in Marblehead and vowed to support the temple in an email to the newspaper.

“Sadly, our community is not alone. For three years in a row — since President Trump sought office — hate crimes have risen substantially nationwide,” Moulton wrote. “We need to hold our leaders accountable for their words and actions, and demand better. There’s no excuse for this — America can do so much better.”