Eugene, OR – The community of Thurston is again seeing antisemitic bags on their streets and sidewalks, making it a second occurrence in less than a month.
The bags are filled with corn as a means to weigh them down and contain fliers with antisemitic messages blaming the COVID pandemic on the Jewish people. Local Thurston resident Andy said that there are different types of contents in each bag, but are all equally shocking and inappropriate.
The NGO group StopAntisemitism tweeted about the incident, noting the white supremacist group ‘Goyim Defense League’ was once again responsible for the targeted hate campaign.
One of the major areas that was effected by this recent act included south 36th and 37th streets in Thurston.
“We’re out yesterday and same thing, we see several of those bags out before the school kids come home,” Andy said. “People in the neighborhood have been picking them up and throwing them away, trying to keep them away and keep the kids protected.”
Margot Helphand is a member of the Jewish Federation of Lane County and is saddened to see such hateful forms of speech being featured on the fliers in the bags.
“The American Jewish community has not seen this level of antisemitism since the 1930’s, and sadly the Eugene and Springfield community is not immune,” Helphand said. “This hate, antisemitism, which has been called the oldest hate, is matched with escalating hate against other minorities as well.”
Springfield Police have stated that have a detective already assigned to the case and they are actively investigating. The department also advice members of the community with visual evidence such as a security video or a ring doorbell should email the department as soon as possible.
