North Baltimore County has seen a reappearance of flyers that the Baltimore County Police Department has called antisemitic.
June 20 marked the most recent instance of these flyers, which were found around Cockeysville and Parkville. An official press statement released by the Baltimore County Police Department described them as “having an anti-Semitic tone to them.”
This year alone has seen several of these incidents, where unidentified individuals have been distributing hateful literature around the county. Past targets of these instances have included Monkton, Parkton, Mays Chapel and Timonium, with recent flyers having made their way to Baltimore City itself.
The Baltimore County Police Department has reported nine separate incidents of antisemitic propaganda since January, with the Anti-Defamation League receiving six similar reports since late May alone.
“It’s an attempt to harass and intimidate the Jewish community and to spread hate, and it’s not going to be tolerated,” said Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council. Libit has been speaking out against antisemitic vandalism and propaganda in the area since similar instances occurred in 2022.
“County police have said they are not going to tolerate it, and we all need to stand together against this hate,” Libit added. “This is presumably a small group of people trying to spread hatred in our community, and we need to stand up against that.”
Meredith Weisel, the ADL’s regional D.C. director, has stated that she believes these flyers to be affiliated with the Goyim Defense League due to the way they are signed. The group, which the ADL calls “a small network of virulently antisemitic provocateurs,” is well-known for performing similar flyer drops in neighborhoods across the country. Along with Patriot Front and White Lives Matter, the ADL has estimated that they comprise 90% of these incidents.
Libit added that the Goyim Defense League has also been responsible for similarly antisemitic vandalism sighted near the Towson University area over the past several years.
“People paint over them, but the damage has already been done,” Libit said.
Recently, the Baltimore-area flyers have been attached to bags that contain pellets that may be some kind of animal food.
“This is not just someone leaving hateful messages,” wrote Del. Michele Guyton (D-District 42B) in a statement posted to her Facebook page. “They invoke the most vile imagery and allegations imaginable, and are linked to an identified national white supremacy organization from another state. This group is known to prey on young people online to recruit members and distributors of their propaganda.”
These flyers, and related incidents, have been disavowed and criticized by people on both sides of the political spectrum. The Maryland Republican Jewish Council also put out a statement condemning the distribution of the flyers.
“In times like these, it is imperative that we come together as a community, reaffirming our shared commitment to promoting understanding, combating prejudice and preserving the dignity and rights of every individual,” said Evan Kassem, board member of the Maryland Republican Jewish Council.
Libit said that while there is little people can do on their own to stop these hate groups, they can still contribute to the fight against antisemitism by speaking out and educating others.
“There’s not much we can do to stop this specific incident. But we can keep educating our kids, educating our community and speaking out about it,” he said. “Hopefully, we can reach people who may be inclined to spread hate and persuade them to do something different.”
He also wants people to remember that these hate groups comprise a very small minority of the population.
“For the most part, our neighbors and our community want nothing to do with this hate,” Libit said. “We can’t let a couple of bad actors sew hatred and divisiveness in our community.”
The Baltimore County Police Department has requested that anyone with information concerning these flyers contact 410-307-2020. If they would prefer to speak anonymously, they may do so through the Baltimore County Police Department iWATCH program or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-756-2587.
