By Shereen Siewert
Residents on Wausau’s southeast side say a group of people dressed in traditional Jewish costumes circulated anti-Semitic leaflets on Halloween throughout the neighborhood.
Multiple people on Wausau’s Southeast Side Facebook Group reported seeing the group, each person wearing a mask and estimated to be in their 20s. A copy of the pamphlet was emailed to Wausau Pilot & Review.
Another member of the group said she received the same pamphlet being distributed on Halloween on her car last weekend while working in Weston. Some parents said the leaflets were handed out to children as well.
Residents responded on social media with anger and called the actions “awful” and “sickening.”
“So very sad to see this,” wrote one poster.
One resident said members of the group yelled at her while she was in front of a home with her son.
The propaganda distribution comes amid a wave of anti Jewish sentiment in Wisconsin and nationwide. And a Wausau man running for mayor launched a Facebook page for his campaign that includes anti-Semitic material. The same man spoke during a Marathon County committee meeting to accuse Jews who have “dual citizenship with Israel” of creating a COVID-19 “scam” during a public meeting, amid a mix of stunned gaps and apparent admiration from the crowd.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said this week that domestically, there is a “societal” problem “right now of people manifesting hatred or violence.”
Preliminary data from ADL Center on Extremism indicates that reported incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault increased by 388 percent over the same period last year, as of early October.
“And it’s perfectly appropriate for people that have hateful views and there’s an opportunity to call out anybody who’s in the right quarters for the violence and threats of violence is something that we cannot and will not tolerate,” he said.
