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Antisemitism Darkens the Doorsteps of Nashville Area Homes

By BARBARA DAB

Early last month West Nashville neighborhoods surrounding the Gordon Jewish Community Center, and in Richland/Cherokee Park behind West End Synagogue and Congregation Sherith Israel, were littered with packets of antisemitic flyers. This is latest example of rising antisemitism around the country. The Antidefamation League’s most recent report shows more than a 30% increase nationally in antisemitic incidents. Local law enforcement, political and civic leaders were quick to denounce the littering of the flyers. A public statement made by Mayor John Cooper, Vice Mayor Jim Shulman, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake, Council Members Kathleen Murphy and Thom Druffel, The Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and the Gordon Jewish Community Center, reads in part: “Hateful, divisive rhetoric and antisemitism have no place in Nashville, TN. “Antisemitic attacks are on the rise and continue to expand throughout the country. Painfully, Nashville is not immune. Nashville residents both Jewish and non-Jewish have been confronted by antisemitic messages not only on social media, but also at their homes and in their communities… “This disturbing antisemitic propaganda is similar in tone and style to that used for generations to target the Jewish people and paint them as the enemy. Once Jews are defined and identified as the enemy, anything done against Jews can be justified. “As a community, we will not tolerate these actions. We stand united in support of the Jewish community, and against the extremism and hatred of a small but dangerous faction of our city.”

The mostly non-Jewish neighbors, who found the flyers littering their lawns and driveways filed police reports and took to social media to express their outrage and support for the Jewish community. Vicki Dooley was one such neighbor. She says she was out for a bike ride and upon her return she spotted a group of neighbors clustered around talking. “It was so disturbing; we couldn’t just throw those things in the trash. I said it should be reported immediately, so we called the JCC and then the police,” she says. She says the group was contacted by Adam Bronstone, Director of Planning and Israel Partnerships with The Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, who responded quickly with information and support. “Adam explained the intense network of law enforcement that deals with this type of thing. He also educated us about antisemitism,” she says. Dooley, who is a retired Metro Nashville Public Schools teacher, says while this latest incident seems small, things like this cannot be ignored. “None of us [who received the flyers] are Jewish, but we were disgusted, saddened, and upset. It makes you think about antisemitism through the years.”

To date, no specific group has been identified as responsible for the flyers, but similar incidents were reported in other parts of the country, mainly in neighborhoods near synagogues, Jewish Community Centers, and other Jewish buildings. Rabbi Saul Strosberg of Congregation Sherith Israel says several of his congregants received the flyers, as well as non-Jewish neighbors. He says it was upsetting for everyone, but that it is important to be clear to address the act itself rather than the content of the flyers. “It shows where we are on the con-

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