‘It was horrifying’: Anti-Semitic fliers have pair of Kirkland neighborhoods on edge
Aug 18, 2023, 6:51 AM
Dozens of hateful, anti-Semitic fliers were found in a pair of Kirkland neighborhoods recently.
Neighbors found Ziploc bags filled with vulgar fliers and weighed down with rice and beans on their doorsteps, walkways, and sidewalks. Although those who live in both areas are rattled, they say that’s what makes it so important for them to take a stand.
“We have to speak out against this,” Kirkland resident David Thielsen said. “Everyone in the community needs to take a stand and speak what is right and this is not right.”
Thielsen found a several fliers in the South Rose Hill neighborhood.
“It was horrifying,” Kirkland resident David Thielsen told KIRO 7. “I picked it up as trash and I glanced at it and saw what it was — it was a horrific, anti-Semitic statement.”
“To think that a child could pick something like that up, not only is it horrific; it’s just plain vulgar,” he added
This is part of a larger trend that Anti-Defamation League Regional Director Miri Cypers says is becoming far too common among a handful of groups.
“White supremacists or extremist groups will use propaganda to spread their messages of vitriol, conspiracy theories and hate, and they often do it to weigh down the message in different areas,” she told KIRO 7.
In this instance, she believes that the group responsible has been doing this across the country.
“This is a group that is fiercely anti-Semitic,” she described. “They peddle in conspiracy theories and ideologym and they ultimately want to see a society in which Jewish people aren’t welcome and aren’t here.”
Cypers says the best way to combat this hate is to report it and speak out against it.
“Call it out talk about it for what it is,” she said. “It’s intolerant, it impacts people in the community, it makes people feel unsafe, and I would say take action.”
Cypers also tells KIRO 7 that Kirkland Police have been made aware of the situation and have been very supportive.
