Another batch of anti-Semitic materials have been located in Wilmette, village officials announced Wednesday.
Following a similar incident in late April, packets with anti-Semitic hate speech were discovered Wednesday morning in approximately five village parkways in the 1300 block of Chestnut Avenue, according to a village statement.
The flyers contained anti-Semitic language and images and were placed inside plastic bags held down by rice. They appeared to have been dropped at random, per the village statement.
The discovery of the materials drew outrage from both inside and outside Wilmette.
“The Village Board and I absolutely reject these acts of antisemitism against our community,” Village President Senta Plunkett said in a statement. “We strive to foster an inclusive community and are both saddened and disgusted by these actions in Wilmette and our neighboring communities. In no uncertain terms, we denounce all forms of hate speech and stand by our Jewish neighbors.”
Police Chief Kyle Murphy offered a similar sentiment.
“We have seen anti-Semitic acts throughout the region and across our country,” Murphy said. “I want to ensure our residents that the Wilmette Police Department is fully committed to working closely with local, state and federal law enforcement to investigate these reprehensible actions.”
In April, similar content was located in several neighboring municipalities. Winnetka police reported that another flyer incident was reported in late May. Authorities say they were likely left overnight on May 23.
Glencoe Public Safety Cary Lewandowski wrote in an email nothing new had been located in that village.
Alison Pure-Slovin, the Midwest Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization, expressed dismay at the continuing trend in anti-Semitic actions.
“My first reaction was here we go again,” she said. “Unfortunately this is nothing new and it is the same flyers we have been witnessing nationally for the past few months. It is something that is being pushed out by white supremacists and many of the people who are dropping these flyers are getting them from a certain website. This ideology is streamlined by these websites and people are buying into the narrative.”
State Sen. Laura Fine (D-9), who is Jewish and whose district includes a large chunk of Wilmette, held press conferences earlier this year denouncing the situation.
She called on the public Wednesday to let authorities know if they witness similar acts.
“If you see something you have to say something, they are trying to intimidate our friends and neighbors,” Fine said. “We need to send them a message that we are not going to tolerate this hate here.”
Fine noted $20 million was included in this year’s state budget for security grants for houses of worship and not-for-profit organizations allowing them to obtain for bulletproof glass, security cameras and safety training.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.