Anti-Semitic hate crimes and hate incidents reported in Berkeley

Authorities in Berkeley are currently investigating two separate cases of anti-Semitism in recent days: the physical assault of a woman during a pro-Israel demonstration and the distribution of over a dozen bags containing hate messages against Jews.

Details are still scarce, but Berkeley police and local authorities have expressed serious concerns about the leaflets in particular, and both investigations are ongoing.

The hate crime occurred Sunday afternoon during a demonstration in support of Israel on one of the pedestrian bridges over I-80, police said.

The incident began shortly after 3:30 p.m. with a verbal argument during which someone ripped an Israeli flag from the fence on the bridge, BPD spokesman Officer Byron White said.

According to police, an argument broke out between a man in “pro-Palestinian clothing” and a woman demonstrating for Israel, during which the man threw a beer can at the woman, causing her to fall to the ground and her glasses to fall off.

The man appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent, had long hair, was 25 years old, 5'10″ tall and of slim build, police said. He was wearing a green shirt and dark jacket, gray gloves and tan or gray pants.

This report followed more than a dozen reports received over the weekend from North Berkeley Hills residents who found plastic bags containing anti-Semitic leaflets weighted down with shotgun pellets and rocks throughout the neighborhood.

The leaflets contained insulting expressions, including the sentence “Hitler was right.”

According to police, at least 14 people called over the weekend to report the bags, which were found on Tamalpais Road, the 1000 block of Cragmont Avenue, the 900 blocks of Regal Road and Euclid Avenue, and the 1000 block of Park Hills Road.

The BPD said it had dispatched three officers to collect evidence and speak to possible witnesses in the case.

A caller also told police he saw someone in a black Mercedes-Benz handing out the bags around 3 p.m. on Friday.

Many people expressed concerns about the flyers over the weekend, including on NextDoor.

Something similar happened in Berkeley two years ago, when bags containing anti-Semitic messages were dropped in many driveways in Berkeley Hills.

Kate Darby Rauch wrote on Berkeleyside at the time: “These incidents have been linked by advocacy groups to a notorious Petaluma-based hate group, the Goyim Defense League (GDL), which is led by Jon Minadeo, a white supremacist who uses the moniker 'Handsome Truth' on social media such as YouTube and Instagram.”

In an email to her constituents on Sunday, Berkeley City Councilwoman Susan Wengraf reported that several East Bay cities, including Walnut Creek, Concord and Pleasant Hill, were also targeted in the past week.

“Who is responsible? Most likely the neo-Nazi group Goyim Defense League,” Wengraf wrote. “This group has previously targeted Berkeley with hate-filled leaflets and bombarded our city council meetings with vicious anti-Semitic comments.”

“The pellets in the bags have not yet been positively identified,” Wengraf continued. “Some believe they may be rat poison pellets. Others believe they are pellets from wood stoves. One is more dangerous than the other, but both are extremely foul-smelling. Please be sure to dispose of them safely.”

She said police were “collecting evidence and taking the matter very seriously” and advised citizens to check surveillance cameras between 3pm and 6pm on Friday for footage “that might show someone throwing the bags out of a vehicle”.

On Monday, Officer White of the BPD said in a prepared statement, “While we do not know who specifically distributed the flyers, the flyers contained QR codes that led to websites for GTVFlyer.”

The Anti-Defamation League has linked the website GTVFlyers to the Goyim Defense League.

Officer White said police have classified Sunday's incident as a hate crime, while the leaflets have been classified as a hate incident, which is “an act or conduct motivated by hatred or prejudice but protected by law under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Hate incidents could include verbal abuse, the distribution of hate material in public places and the display of hate material on one's own property, the statement said.

“The department places a high priority on investigating hate crimes and we recognize the lasting harm that hate incidents and hate crimes cause to our community,” White said. “The Berkeley Police Department stands with Community United Against Hate.”

On Monday afternoon, Enikia Ford Morthel, superintendent of the Berkeley Unified School District, sent parents an email with information about the flyers.

“We are aware that some hateful anti-Semitic messages were posted in the driveways and doors of some members of our Berkeley community over the weekend. We are disturbed that this incident has resurfaced in our community,” she wrote.

She continued, “Let me state unequivocally that Berkeley Unified stands against anti-Semitism, bigotry and all forms of hate, intimidation, discrimination, bullying and harassment. We must all do our part to keep hate out of our Berkeley community.”

BPD is asking anyone with information about the reports to call police at 510-981-5900. BUSD said hate-motivated behavior on school property should be reported to school administration or BUSD's Office of Civil Rights and Compliance at [email protected].