NORFOLK, Va. - Antisemitic flyers were found in several neighborhoods over the weekend off of Granby Street, including the West Belvedere neighborhood.
The Anti-Defamation League says they received several reports of the flyers being left in people's lawns or driveways.
"It's frightening in the sense that it's just continuing to happen and people are waking up in the morning and seeing these things that are left on their driveways," said Meredith Weisel, the regional director for ADL's Washington, D.C. Office.
Similar flyers were found in Newport News late last year.
"People ask me all the time, 'Do we have antisemitism in our community?' The answer is yes. Sadly, sometimes they see it in their own neighborhood," said Betty Ann Levin, the CEP of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.
The latest discovery of the flyers comes as Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares creates an Antisemitism Task Force.
"When incidents happen, it makes it more concrete. It makes more real. It reminds us that we need to be aware and that we need to advocate and take action when possible," said Levin.
The Task Force was a recommendation of a Commission formed last year after Gov. Youngkin took office to make recommendations on ways to combat antisemitism in Virginia.
The report found antisemitism incidents have risen both nationwide and in Virginia in recent years. It says more than 100 towns and cities in Virginia had incidents of antisemitic flyers in 2022.
The Task Force will help monitor, combat, and educate people about antisemitism in Virginia.
"It's certainly something that's getting worse and worse and the Attorney General Task Force addresses it head on," said Rabbi Gershon Litt, the Director of William & Mary Hillel located at the Shenkman Jewish Center.
If anyone finds a flyer like these in their driveway, the ADL encourages people report it to them and to local law enforcement.
"One of the things I think is important is the more we know, the more we know how prevalent it is, the more we can try to stop it or counter the narrative of what these fliers are saying," said Weisel.
Rabbi Litt believes education will help the number of these incidents decline. "We find that with education comes appreciation and that is something that our community and hopefully this Task Force will really increase in the Commonwealth," he said.
