Coralville, IA – A local Jewish leader is sending a message of resilience after antisemitic flyers appeared on the lawns of some Coralville homes.
A TV9 viewer shared the below photos, saying his wife found “a couple of these” in the yards of their neighborhood. The viewer declined to go on-camera at this time out of a concern for the safety of his family.
Janice Weiner, Board President of Agudas Achim Congregation in Corvalville, said police reached out to the synagogue directly Sunday morning to alert leaders of the flyers.
“When that hate is a distributed all around, somebody’s trying to send a message. And we are trying to send a counter-message, that we are going to continue to live here,” said Weiner.
She added instances like this are familiar.
“This is not a unique circumstance. It’s happened before, although not recently, in this community. This sort of thing is happening all over the country right now,” said Weiner.
Weiner said in the aftermath of the incident in Coralville, the synagogue has received “unambiguous community support.”
She added the messages were sad, but not surprising, and that it’s the response to hate that matters.
“As we enter into Hanukkah, the holiday of lights,” said Weiner, “it is a holiday of light that represents light and resilience, and the victory over bigotry and oppression and the freedom to be able to practice our religion.”
“People need to be aware that this is out there. And they need to stand up for their own values, which is what we intend to do,” she added.
