Antisemitic flyers targeting staff of the Israeli Consulate in Boston have raised alarms amidst a rise in antisemitic incidents in New England. The flyers, which surfaced downtown, featured names, photos, and personal information of consulate employees, prompting swift condemnation and a close watch by authorities, as reported by The Boston Globe.
Discovered in the city earlier this week, the troubling materials directed recipients to tell the staff “to leave Boston," as detailed by the Anti-Defamation League New England. Amid ongoing missile exchanges between Israel and Iran and in a backdrop of recent violent attacks against Jewish people, law enforcement agencies including Boston Police and the Massachusetts State Police, are taking the threats seriously. The consulate has engaged with local and state law enforcement, which was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police who is actively monitoring threats to the Consulate, according to The Boston Globe.
Consul General Benjamin Sharoni spoke out against the harassment layering his staff's doorstep with a veil of fear, “When someone comes to your doorstep, puts up posters with your photo and personal information, and seeks to mobilize others to create a hostile environment around you—it is bullying, it is an intimidation, and a call to hostile action,” he told The Boston Globe. The Consulate reiterated their determination to continue their mission despite attempts to disrupt their work.
In a separate but related incident, Boston Police responded to a threat against a Jewish institution in Brighton, which also received a piece of mail containing a "threatening anti-Jewish message," prompting the involvement of the BPD’s civil rights unit. The recent escalation in tension, underscored by the murder of two Israeli embassy staff in D.C., has the local Jewish community and its allies under concern, as described in a report by The Boston Herald.
Addressing the series of antisemitic acts, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Brookline Police Chief Jennifer Paster, along with city officials, have expressed solidarity with the Jewish community and denounced the violence. Chief Paster said of an attack on a Kosher grocery store, “This was not simply an act of property damage, and it is not simply vandalism," suggesting a targeted, hateful campaign. The ADL's findings indicate that 2024 saw a significant rise in antisemitic incidents, a grim trend that shows no signs of abating. City Councilor Ed Flynn is driving efforts to combat hate crimes and has called for a full investigation into the recent incidents, as highlighted in The Boston Herald report.
