Swastika Flyers In NYC Tell Jews To 'Get Out,' Say Blacks And Gays 'Must Burn In Hell'

NEW YORK CITY — Threatening flyers bearing a huge swastika and telling Jews to "get out" and blacks and gay people to "burn in hell" have been sent to addresses throughout New York City. The hate mail was received at seven locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn between Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 — including the official Israeli Mission to the United Nations on Second Avenue, the NYPD said.

President Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again," is emblazoned on the flyers beneath a swastika that takes up about half the page. The leaflets also say "JUDEN RAUS," German for "Jews out," "NEGROES AND F----TS MUST BURN IN HELL'" and "CHRISTIAN IDENTITY IS BACK."

Weiss Bakery, a kosher bakery in Borough Park, Brooklyn, was one of the targets. Employees came in Monday morning to find the flyer had been mailed over the weekend, bakery owner Abraham Weiss told Patch.

“It was disgusting," Weiss said in a phone interview. "These days people go back to the Nazi era — it’s ridiculous that in this day and age something is happening.”

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The NYPD said the Nazi mailer's other targets include:

• The Israeli Mission on Second Avenue in Midtown East
• The Harlem Business Alliance on Lenox Avenue in Manhattan
• A law firm on Coney Island Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn
• A law office on Voorhies Avenue, also in Sheepshead Bay
• A jewelry store on East 116th Street in East Harlem
• A Starbucks coffee shop on West 145th Street in Hamilton Heights

Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said his office is investigating the letters.

"We are aware of this and similar letters that have been sent," Gonzalez tweeted Tuesday afternoon. "We are investigating and will not stand for these acts."

The threats come during the Jewish high holiday season. Sept. 29, the first day they were reported, marked the start of Yom Kippur. Wednesday is the first day of Sukkot, a weeklong celebration recalling the Israelites' 40-year journey through the desert.

Weiss said he called state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who represents the area, after finding the flyer. The assemblyman came to talk with the bakery's staff before calling police, Weiss said. Hikind posted photos of the flyer to social media on Tuesday afternoon.

This is the first time the bakery has been hit with anti-Semitic threats, said Weiss, who has owned it for about 20 years. The store has been open since the 1940s, he said.

"This threat against one of our community’s beloved establishments, which used the U.S. mail, is absolutely a hate crime," Hikind wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. "It’s sad that we live in a time when such disgusting things are said about various races, including the Jews, but we will certainly take these matters seriously when they arise and act swiftly and responsibly, in tandem with the police, to make sure our community members are safe and protected."

Hate crimes are on the rise this year, according to NYPD data. A total of 282 hate crimes, including 122 anti-Semitic crimes, have been reported citywide as of Oct. 1. That's up from 234 total hate crimes and 85 anti-Semitic crimes reported in the same time last year.

Anti-black hate crimes have doubled so far this year to 24 incidents from 12 last year, the NYPD said. Some 41 hate crimes based on sexual orientation have been reported this year, down from 61 last year.

Weiss said his bakery has gotten new customers and a barrage of supportive phone calls and new customers "from the whole world" since word of the flyers spread. Someone even called from Iowa wanting to buy bread, he said.

“I’m not scared," Weiss said.

(This story has been updated. Lead image via Google Maps.)