Texas Jews are targeted with anti-Semitic letters mailed in plastic bags filled with stones that blame them for COVID, as Austin synagogue is set ablaze by man carrying five-gallon fuel can
Members of the Jewish community in Texas have been targeted with anti-Semitic letters sent in bags filled with stones that blamed them for the COVID pandemic.
Over the weekend several Jewish Hays County residents say they received hateful letters sealed in plastic bags and packed with rocks, just one of at least 17 anti-Semitic incidents reported in the Lone Star state in the last 10 days alone, the Austin-American Statesman reported.
Judge Ruben Becerra shared a photo of one of the letters folded up inside a zip lock bag with pebbles inside on Twitter.
One of the letters appears to ask why certain Jewish people control 96 percent of the media when Jewish people make up only 2 percent of the population
Becerra also shared a picture of a letter claiming that the 'Covid agenda' is Jewish, listing the name of DCD snd HHS heads who happen to be Jewish
The letter in the ziplock bag repeats a common anti-Semitic slur demanding to know why certain Jewish people, including Disney Chairman Bob Iger and Gerald Levin, former COO of Time Warner, control 96 percent of the media when Jewish people make up only 2 percent of the population.
Becerra also shared a picture of a letter claiming that the 'Covid agenda' is Jewish, listing the name of CDC and HHS heads who happen to be Jewish.
They include CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky and COVID 'Czar' Jeff Zients, but make no mention of Dr Anthony Fauci - the United States' leading COVID expert, who is Catholic.
The letter also adds 'Blackrock and Vanguard are the two largest shareholders of both Pfizer and Glaxosmithkline as well as practically all of the MSM,' and 'Were literally Shabbos goy carrying out the will of the Jews, wittingly or unwittingly.'
A shabbos goy is a term used to describe a non-Jewish person employed to perform certain jobs which the Jewish faith prohibits its followers from doing during the Sabbath.
BlackRock and Vanguard are both wealth management firms. BlackRock does own 7.5% of GSK's shares, but there's no suggestion it 'manages' the pharmaceutical firm.
Vanguard is itself the largest shareholder in BlackRock, although any suggestion of deliberate maneuvering from the two firms with regards to COVID has been widely debunked, including by respected news agency Reuters.
The firms have been targeted with anti-Semitic slurs because BlackRock's billionaire founder Larry Fink is Jewish.
Judge Becerra condemned the letters on Twitter.
'Negative actions motivated in bias is an attack against an entire community and not just an attack on a single person,' he posted. 'This behavior is not acceptable.'
Judge Ruben Becerra shared a photo of one of the letters folded up inside a zip lock bag with pebbles inside on Twitter
The letters have upset many in the community who have turned to Rabbi Ari Weingarten, who said he is working with community leaders to 'heal spirits, reminding residents that unity is key,' the Statesman reported.
The Hays County sheriff’s office told the Statesman that there is currently no criminal investigation into the letters.
The letters are part of a recent rise of anti-Semitic incidents in the Lone Star State, which is home to more than 108,000 adherents to Judaism.
According to the Statesman, since October 22 four anti-Semitic incidents have been reported in Austin, including someone setting fire to the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Central Austin on Sunday night.
The damage was limited to the exterior of the building and investigators are searching for a man that was seen carrying a 5-gallon container and driving away in a Jeep after setting the fire, the Statesman reported.
Austin Police released this image of a man filmed trying to torch a synagogue in the Texan city
He was filmed fleeing the scene in this black SUV on Sunday night
Since October 22 four anti-Semitic incidents have been reported in Austin alone, including someone setting fire to the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue (pictured)
Statistics from the Anti-Defamation League show that 2,100 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in its most recent survey, an increase of 12 per cent on the previous year.
That is also the highest number since the group began tracking such hate incidents in 1979.
According to newly released data from the FBI, the number of hate crimes reported in the U.S. in 2020 was the highest recorded since 2001- the year of the September 11 attacks.
After hate crimes that involved race, which made up the majority of the cases, 20 percent involved sexual orientation bias, 13.3 percent were biases related to religion, 2.7 percent involved gender identity bias (which means attacks against transgender and non-binary people), 1.4 percent involved disability bias, and 0.7 percent involved gender bias.
Of the 7,750 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against persons in 2020, 53.1 percent were for intimidation, 27.9 percent were for simple assault, and 17.9 percent were for aggravated assault. Twenty-two murders and 21 rapes were reported as hate crimes. The remaining 32 hate crime offenses were reported in the category of other.
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