Calls for vigilance after antisemitic flyers placed near Plainview synagogue

Discovery of antisemitic flyers in a Long Island neighborhood, this time near an Orthodox synagogue in Plainview, is again sparking calls for awareness and vigilance as ways to head off a recurrence.

The flyers, distributed Saturday evening in the area around Young Israel of Plainview, blame Jewish lawmakers for gun control and feature a QR code for a website with other antisemitic, racist and anti-LGBTQ flyers, officials said.

Nassau County police said Sunday afternoon they had responded to at least one complaint for a “bias incident” earlier in the day in Plainview. Police and county officials said it’s unclear exactly how many flyers were distributed.

"One of the unfortunate signs of our times is nearly all [synagogues] have to pay for security to watch them," said Rabbi Elie Weissman of Young Israel.

After learning of the flyers left near his synagogue, Weissman said, he reported it to the police and a private security company.

County lawmakers and law enforcement officials have vowed in the past to investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for the distribution of such flyers, but legal experts have said the leaflets are almost certainly protected by the First Amendment.

In the past two years, similar flyers have been distributed in Bayport, Huntington, Long Beach, Oceanside and Rockville Centre. The flyers, typically weighed down by bags of rice, have either been tossed onto driveways and lawns or placed on car windshields.

Nassau County Legis. Arnold Drucker (D-Plainview) said on Sunday that he was “sickened and infuriated” by the flyers and the group he believes is responsible.

“This has the handprint of the Goyim Defense League, horrible purveyors of hate and antisemitism,” Drucker said.

The latest flyers included "GDL" stamped at the bottom. In March, Town of Huntington officials said the group left a flyer identifying Jewish members of President Biden’s administration and marking them with an Israeli flag at the home of a resident. The flyer also promoted a website, which had been removed from most social media sites due to its overtly antisemitic rhetoric and conspiracy theories, including denials of the Holocaust.

"Goyim Defense League," was printed at the bottom of the flyer, said Huntington Councilman Dave Bennardo at the time. 

Drucker, who is Jewish and lives in Plainview, said while the individuals “skate a fine line” around the law, residents "cannot remain silent." The legislator said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder has assured him that detectives do continue to investigate these incidents.

“Police have been in touch with this group to let them know they’re watching them very carefully,” said Drucker, who in 2021 sponsored the bill to create the Nassau County Task Force to Combat Antisemitism.

The legislator urged people who received the flyers to contact Nassau County police and to check home security footage for any information that could aid an investigation.

Rabbi Deborah Bravo of Makom NY in Bethpage, which also serves residents of the Plainview community, said these types of incidents have become far too common. She urged victims of bias and potential hate crimes to report it when they encounter such incidents.

“It’s important that people are educated on what to do when these incidents happen and how to prevent them in the future,” Bravo said.

Tips can be reported to the Nassau County Police Department’s Sixth Precinct at 516-573-6600 or confidentially to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS, officials said.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.