Anti-Semitism

“Jews Rape Kids” Blimp Spotted in California

Landon Shroder | September 5, 2018

Topics: Anti-Semitism, California, FBI, Jewish People, Jews, Patrick Little, San Francisco

A blimp reading “Jews Rape Kids” was attempting to fly in the harbor of San Francisco over the weekend. The stunt was led by a neo-Nazi named Patrick Little who was recently in Washington, D.C. supporting Jason Kessler’s second Unite the Right rally. Little, a former marine, espouses typical white nationalist claims that European heritage is under assault and white people are careening towards “extinction”. On his website, he claims, “I came to realize that the majority of the problems that Americans face today are the result of subversion and tyranny by a powerful group of people from the Jewish race.”

Little attempted to fly the small blimp over the harbor while the San Francisco Giants were celebrating Jewish Heritage Night. The blimp, known as the Jew-Namer 800, failed to take flight as strong wind and poor weather conditions scuttled the Nazi’s attempt. “Even though a harsh Russian Winter stymied Germany on the Eastern Front, still those who fought for freedom soldiered-on,” wrote Little on the blimp’s failed flight attempt.

Anti-Semitism is currently at a five-year high in the U.S. Releasing statistics on hate crimes last November, the FBI data showed that anti-Semitic crimes are the main target of religiously-motivated crimes. Tablet Magazine, a Jewish publication, said this of the FBI report: “Despite constituting just two percent of the American population, Jews were subject to 54.4 percent of such attacks.” In their most recent report, the Anti-Defamation League found that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. rose 57 percent in 2017 – the largest single-year increase on record and the second highest number reported since ADL started tracking such data in 1979, citing the majority of incidents are on college campuses and schools.

There is also a rack of candidates running on GOP tickets this mid-term who are open Holocaust deniers, and, in one instance, an actual Nazi. While the circumstances surrounding the rise in anti-Semitism can be debated, most Jewish communities will point to the ongoing political climate and the use of racially and religiously motivated dog-whistles as the primary motivator.

Anti-Racism in Action: RVA Mag’s Photo Journal from Washington, DC

Landon Shroder | August 14, 2018

Topics: a12, anti-fascism, Anti-Semitism, Charlottesville, CNN, counter-protestors, Fox News, racism, UVA, Washington DC, white supremacists

This weekend, anti-racists, anti-fascists, student protesters, clergy, and everyday citizens proved that, when it counts, people will stand up against those who would seek to perpetuate violent and vile ideologies. That is not to say that the mainstreaming of white supremacy isn’t ongoing within the nation’s politics, but this past weekend in Charlottesville and Washington, D.C. proved the space for white nationalists, supremacists, fascists, and xenophobes to publicly gather is shrinking.

And every counter-protester who took to the streets this weekend, regardless of motivation or ideology, took part in a grand display of anti-fascism.

While that term has been politicized by those who attempt to rationalize the ideas espoused by white nationalists, for those who are seeking to challenge the worst excesses of this new complex political reality, it is the glue that ultimately binds people together. The unfortunate perception driven by mainstream media outlets, some misguided like CNN, others entirely nefarious like Fox News, is that these counter-protests and demonstrations are nothing but packs of violent anarchists, equivalent with violent white supremacists.

Let’s not forget, who actually killed someone last year? Not the disparate groups of people marching against racism and anti-Semitism. The counter-demonstrators, comprised of community organizers, young professionals, parents with their children, housing advocates, students, clergy, and faith-leaders, who, while disparate, were all committed to the idea that overt displays of racism and anti-Semitism have no place in our public squares.

RVA Mag was on the frontlines of both events, however, this photo journal is an account of the events in Washington, DC this past Sunday, when over 5,000 counter-protesters denied space for white supremacists to rally in the nation’s capital. The same white supremacists who marauded through UVA last year chanting “Jews will not replace us.”

This was a powerful message to send in 2018 when the president refused to publicly denounce the march planned by Jason Kessler, and, as of publication time, has just publicly referred to a black woman as a “dog.”

Some of the best photos from the weekend can be found below:

Landon Shroder: Managing Partner

Counter-Protestors Gathering at Lafayette Park in the Shadow of the White House.

Counter Protestor Marching up 15th Street in Washington DC

Two Columns of Counter-Protestors Converging on H St.

Counter-Protestors of all Kinds Linking Up in Lafayette Park

Black Lives Matter March to Lafayette Square

Branden Wilson: Staff Photographer

In Position, Adjacent to the White House

Everyday People Joining in the Counter-Protest

Marching up 15st Street with a Picture fo Heather Heyer

Veterans Protesting White Supremacy in Lafayette Park

Ku Klux Klan Recruitment Flyers Found on Cars in Staunton, Virginia

Landon Shroder | November 15, 2017

Topics: Anti-Semitism, Hate Group, KKK, Ku Klux Klan, racism, Staunton, virginia, Waynesboro

According to the police in Staunton, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) distributed recruitment flyers on residents’ cars yesterday. Local resident Lydia Roberts posted the flyer left on her car to Facebook. The flyer was headed with “Black Lives Matter” followed by the text, “are killing white people and police officers in the name of justice for the killing of negro’s by policemen in the line of duty.” The flyer goes on to say “Join the Ku Klux Klan” and lists a bunch of reasons to do so, including, “We are the invisible empire, have been for 150 years. ” Her post, now shared over 274 times, highlights the deep concerns people in the community have over the public display of recruitment by the hate group in her town.

Roberts spoke with RVA Mag about finding the flyer on her car. “I was walking up the hill and noticed these flyers on every single one of them [cars] I was walking past.” According to Roberts, the flyers were folded in a way that showed the Black Lives Matter header, “was facing up. That is what you could read when you were walking past… they were folded like that on purpose so that people would read that first.” She estimated that at least 50 flyers were left on the cars where hers was parked.

Police in Staunton told the News Leader that the flyers were objectionable, but “would be treated as any other handbill.” According to the police spokesperson, this is a Class 4 misdemeanor. RVA Mag called the hotline number listed on the flyer and was directed to a voice message that stated, “We all hear the fairy tale of six-million Jews died by the hands of Nazis during World War 2, but what they do not tell you is why. Under Lenin’s orders killed 68 million white Christians during the Russian Revolution… the Jewish hatred for white Christians turned the streets of Europe blood red.” The message concluded with, “Save our land, join the Klan… If you are white and proud, join the crowd,” and directed listeners to go to a website that is currently not listed. This sort of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism has been one of the foundations for the kinds of white identity politics that are endemic throughout hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, as well as more contemporary white nationalist, supremacist, and alt-right groups.

The KKK marched in Charlottesville this past summer over the planned removal of a statue glorifying Confederate General Robert E. Lee. This was followed by a storm of white nationalist activity throughout the Commonwealth, culminating in the terrorist attack at the Unite the Right rally on August 12 in Charlottesville. While the KKK’s numbers have dwindled in recent years, providing space for more modern hate groups, they are the oldest active terrorist group in the US, making their re-emergence into public life a very real threat.

“I work and am very active in my community and love this place, and this is scary. People don’t realize that this is still happening. That is the reason I posted it to Facebook,” said Roberts. She finished with, “Active racism still happens every day.”