More Antisemitic Pamphlets Found in Marshfield

Monday, July 25th, 2022 -- 4:00 PM

(Emalyn Muzzy, Marshfield News-Herald) -Marshfield residents twice this summer have awoken to find antisemitic pamphlets mysteriously dropped on their properties, with the second incident happening Wednesday northeast of Wildwood Zoo.

According to Emalyn Muzzy of the Marshfield News Herald, the pamphlets were put into clear plastic bags and left on lawns along Schmidt Avenue, south of West 14th Street, as well as Devine Drive and West 17th Street. They were not addressed to anyone specifically.

Based on interviews with recipients of the pamphlets, they did not appear to be targeting Jewish households. Affected residents said it was odd and they didn't agree with what was written. They did not know who left the pamphlets and several said they threw the papers away.

The pamphlets contained unsubstantiated claims like, "gun control is Jewish," and that "every single aspect of the Biden administration is Jewish." The bottom of the pamphlets read, "These pamphlets were distributed randomly without malicious intent."

This is the second time antisemitic pamphlets have been left in Marshfield yards this summer, with a similar incident happening at the end of June in a different part of the city, according to a June 27 police report.

Resident Jeff Kleiman said he's read other news reports about similar occurrences happening in different parts of the country, including Florida and Massachusetts, where the same pamphlets were left in people's yards in plastic bags.

Rabbi Benjamin Altshuler from the Mount Sinai Congregation in Wausau said he does not know anyone from the synagogue who received the pamphlets. That doesn't mean it didn't hurt the Jewish community, he said.

"As soon as (members of the Mount Sinai Congregation ) heard about it, they saw the materials, they had reactions to them," Altshuler said. "It became personal very quickly."

Marshfield Police Chief Jody Geurink did not answer questions from the Marshfield News-Herald saying it is an ongoing investigation.

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