Fliers denigrating Jews were thrown at the historic Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
By Rachel Avraham
Fliers denigrating Jews were thrown at the historic Tree of Life Synagogue and other Jewish areas around Squirrel Hill in Pittsburg, various media outlets reported. For the Jewish people, this act was heavily symbolic, as the Tree of Life Synagogue was the site of a mass shooting in 2018, which resulted in the murder of 11 people. It was the worst antisemitic attack in American history.
According to the Forward, the fliers were reportedly thrown from a moving vehicle, according to Pittsburgh Police. The Forward reported that the police said the fliers were in clear bags weighed with corn kernels so that they could be thrown effectively. According to the report, one of the fliers read, “Every single aspect of the Jewish Talmud is satanic,” according to a photo shared by Corey O’Connor, the county comptroller and a candidate for Pittsburgh mayor.
Penn Live noted that another flier declared “the Jews plan for world domination,” referencing the antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. According to the report, another flier declared, “Diversity means fewer white people. Inclusion means exclusion of white people.”
“This kind of hate has no place in our neighborhoods,” said Laura Cherner, director of the Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Council in a statement. “Our community is strong, united and we will stand together to oppose these vile actions.” Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said the flyers were “reprehensible and have no place in Pittsburgh … We will not stand for such hateful acts meant to intimidate our neighbors.”
Rachael Heisler, a Cumberland Valley High School graduate who is now Pittsburgh’s controller, condemned the actions in a Facebook post, Penn Live reported. “Between accusations of ‘fake’ anti-Semitism circulating in the political sphere, a local woman pleading guilty to vandalizing a synagogue (while her co-accomplice remains in federal custody for allegedly possessing bomb-making material to kill Jews), and harassment like this example below, your Jewish neighbors need you to stand up,” Heisler wrote.
According to Penn Live, Heisler was referring to the case of Talya Lubit, who pleaded guilty last week to federal charges of conspiring with Mohamad Hamad to spray paint antisemitic graffiti on the Chabad synagogue in Squirrel Hill last July. According to the report, Hamad, an Allegheny County resident and Pennsylvania Air National Guard member, has been federally indicted for lying to obtain a top-secret clearance and building explosive devices with another co-conspirator. Prosecutors have said Hamad described himself in text messages as a “Hamas operative” and supported that terrorist group as well as Hezbollah, Penn Live reported.
According to various reports, this particular antisemitic attack where fliers were thrown at the Tree of Life Synagogue was carried out by the Goyim Defense League, a group the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) described as “a small network of virulently antisemitic provocateurs” whose group’s name purposefully mimics the ADL’s name. A recent report from the Anti-Defamation League found that the Goyim Defense League was one of three white supremacist groups that were collectively responsible for 94% of all antisemitic propaganda in 2024, Arutz Sheva reported.
Distributing fliers has been a common tactic of antisemitic groups in recent years, Arutz Sheva noted. Shortly after the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in 2018, Squirrel Hill was hit with antisemitic fliers, Arutz Sheva stressed. According to the report, more recently, last July, an inverted red triangle, a symbol used by Hamas that has been adopted by pro-Palestinian protesters, was painted on the neighborhood Chabad center, close to the site of the shooting.
Last week, several Jewish organizations in Las Vegas also received threatening, antisemitic letters, sparking safety concerns, Arutz Sheva emphasized. According to the report, the local Jewish federation responded to the letters in a post on Instagram, calling for community members to “stay vigilant with incoming mail.”
One organization that received a letter, Friendship Circle Las Vegas, is a Jewish program that connects volunteers with children and young adults with special needs, the Times of Israel stressed. According to the report, its executive director, Rabbi Levi Harlig, posted a photo of the letter on Instagram. It read: “To all Zionist Jews stay out of our valley. We will destroy your synagogues Hamas lives on you all burn in hell.”
“The irony of this hateful letter? It was sent to our nonprofit—an organization built on inclusion, love, and friendship,” wrote Harlig in the caption next to the photo. “But we’re not afraid. We won’t be silenced, and we won’t back down. We will double our efforts to spread light, kindness, and unity. Goodness will always be louder than hate. Am Yisrael Chai.”
Photo from daveynin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_synagogue_shooting#/media/File:Tree_of_Life_%E2%80%93_Or_L’Simcha_synagogue_facade.jpg
