ANN ARBOR, MI – Ann Arbor leaders are speaking out against hate and anti-Semitism after fliers were found outside 40 homes last week.

“These fliers specifically attack Jews, but we must recognize that they also attack all of Ann Arbor by contributing to the erosion of community cohesion and undermining the core value of pluralism,” Mayor Christopher Taylor said in a social media post.

Flyers containing anti-Semitic messages were placed outside more than 40 Ann Arbor homes between 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, and 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 1, said Ann Arbor police spokesman Chris Page.

Police are investigating, he said.

“Ann Arbor is an inclusive community and incidents involving hate or intimidation will not be tolerated,” Police Chief Andre Anderson said in a social media post. “No one should feel uncomfortable or unsafe in their community.”

Rabbi Asher Lopatin, who spoke at Tuesday’s city council meeting, said the fliers came from the Goyim Defense League. The league is an “informal network of individuals linked by their virulent anti-Semitism,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.

“They’re in many states,” said Lopatin, who is director of community relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor. “They’re a problem and a danger.”

There has also been at least one report of “targeted harassment and ethnic intimidation,” Rep. Travis Radina, D-3rd Ward, said in a statement posted on social media.

These messages were the subject of several comments during Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Councilwoman Linh Song, D-2nd Ward, said she and other council members have received similar letters.

“(These attitudes) do not reflect the kind of love that we want in our community, that we celebrate in our community,” Song said at the meeting.

Other council members condemned what they called “disgusting” acts of anti-Semitism.

“These despicable acts are not simply political statements about Israel or US foreign policy. Many of them have been clear and specific in targeting Jewish identity itself,” Radina wrote in a social media post. “This is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated as a new normal.”

Lopatin also highlighted the recent act of vandalism against an art installation in Ann Arbor.

The “Embracing Our Differences” installation at Gallup Park, 3000 Fuller Road, in Ann Arbor, was vandalized overnight Aug. 25-26 with phrases including “embrace the revolution” and “liberate Palestine,” Page previously said.

Learn more: Art installation celebrating diversity vandalized with pro-Palestinian messages

“Isn’t this exactly the absurdity that Embracing Our Differences was supposed to address?” Lopatin said. “… It’s a terrible pain. The Jewish community is suffering. The Palestinian community is suffering.”

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