Modesto, CA – On the third day of Hanukkah, residents in the Sherwood Forest neighborhood, not far from Modesto’s only synagogue, woke to find antisemitic flyers on their driveways.
The flyers were stuffed in clear plastic zip-lock bags and weighted with chicken feed. They contained hateful content similar to what has previously been distributed in Modesto and throughout the state and country.
It’s at least the third time in Modesto that hate material has been distributed in the past six months, said Congregation Beth Shalom Rabbi Shalom Bochner.
“The individuals who do this are trying to stir up hate. They are trying out frightened people and I would never want to give them any sense of satisfaction,” he said when asked if he would discuss it at Tuesday night’s public menorah lighting outside the Gallo Center for the Arts downtown. “They have certainly not scared me; they have increased my determination to spread light and proud Jewish identity.”
