KENOSHA, Wis. — An unwelcome message has found its way back into Kenosha neighborhoods. Anti-Semitic fliers were found in front of houses near the southwest library, nearly a year after they were last spotted in the city.
The fliers first appeared in December 2021. They were found throughout neighborhoods until the summer of 2022 when a man was fined more than $4,000 for littering.
"It was completely shocking to learn Monday morning that the fliers had resumed. And simultaneously, we learned that last week the [citations] had been dropped against the individual," said Rabbi Den Feingold from Beth Hillel Temple in Kenosha.
Rabbi Feingold doesn't think it's a coincidence.
"It's not clear to us exactly right now why the [citations] were dropped. I think we'd like some more communication on that," she said.
We reached out to the city attorney's office for comment but didn't receive a response as of this writing.
"The litter citation stopped it, so that's all we want is for it to stop. So if those had been upheld we wouldn't be talking right now," Rabbi Feingold said.
And it's not just in Kenosha, the Anti-Defamation League reported a 36% increase in anti-Semitic incidents in 2022. It was the highest reported since 1979.
Similar anti-Semitic fliers are also being found across the country in cities like Denver, San Francisco, D.C., and Miami to name a few.
Faith leaders of all backgrounds in Kenosha are also speaking out against hate speech.
"I think especially when it comes to the Jewish community, who have historically been oppressed and marginalized in so many ways and especially with anti-Semitism on the rise throughout the country and just overall hate on the rise, it's just important to be in solidarity with those groups," Rev. Jonathan Barker at Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha said.
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