Anti-Semitic messages blaming Jews for COVID response found in Pacific Heights

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco police are investigating an act of anti-Semitism, after about 20 fliers were left on doorsteps of homes in the Pacific Heights home of San Francisco.

The fliers were put in plastic bags and weighted down with rice to prevent them from being blown away by the wind.

The propaganda falsely blames Jews for the national response to the COVID pandemic and lists the names of roughly 17 people, again, falsely claiming they control or influence COVID policy.

Experts say this incident reflects a broader trend over the past few years of increasing acts of anti-Semitism in the United States. 

Anti-Defamation League regional director Seth Brysk said the discovery is "unnerving."

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"It instills a certain amount of fear in the community when you have people walking through you neighborhood distributing this kind of garbage and promoting a very extreme ideology," he said. 

Brysk said he believes a fringe group is responsible. Officials say similar flyers have also been found in Beverly Hills and Pasadena in California as well as Miami, Florida. Experts say this incident reflects a trend of scapegoating Jews and other minorities for societal problems.

On Monday morning, some neighbors reacted with shock and disgust to this incident.

 "Anti-Semitism is almost as old as the Jews, right?" said Buc Strewler. "It goes back a long ways. I’m not sure that I have an easy answer how to eliminate it."

Amanda North said it's awful how people put out lies. 

"Just another example of the divisive world we live in," she said. "And it’s shocking to me that people would first of all, claim such things, which are completely ridiculous."