DENVER — Just days after the start of Hanukkah, a resident discovered antisemitic fliers posted around the uptown neighborhood of Denver. Those who work to combat this type of hatred say the timing is no coincidence.
A woman named Jess shared photos of the fliers with Denver7. She said she spotted them on light poles and fencing off of East 18th Avenue on Dec. 2.
"They were bright green stickers posted right at eye level, so it's really hard to miss," she said. "It's really alarming."
The antisemitic messages associated Jewish people and Israel with deadly terrorist attacks in the United States.
Jess said she took the fliers down after reading the hateful messages.
An antisemitic group is named on the fliers. Its members, antisemites and white supremacists, are thought to be the distributors.
The regional chapter of the Anti-Defamation League said the timing of the flyers' distribution was intentional.
"It's really especially disappointing that these stickers were put up during Hanukkah, a holiday that really marks Jewish pride, Jewish existence," said Scott Levin, regional director for the ADL Mountain States Region.
Denver Police said they're aware of the flyers and looking into the matter.
According to the ADL, the flyers represent an increasing trend.
"Prior to this most recent incident, we had calculated that we had almost 120 of these propaganda type incidents that have occurred just over the past year and a half in the Denver and Colorado area," Levin said. "It's important for the police and law enforcement to know about these types of incidents in case they progress to something worse. And after contacting law enforcement, we'd like them to contact us at the ADL as well because we really can't manage these types of hateful activities unless we can first measure it."
This story has been updated to reflect the Associated Press' latest standard for the spelling of antisemitic and antisemitism.
