Police investigating antisemitic flyers found in Mt. Lebanon

MT. LEBANON, Pa. (KDKA) - Mt. Lebanon police are investigating after antisemitic messages were scattered throughout several neighborhoods Monday night.  

KDKA found one of the flyers, stuffed in a zip lock bag with an offensive message inside.  

"It's really disappointing and really unacceptable," said Mt. Lebanon resident Ryan Knoblauch.  

"Antisemitism is just an awful, awful thing," said Barbara Mitchell, another Mt. Lebanon resident.  

Police said flyers were found in the Markham, Altadena and Inglewood areas.  

Authorities said unfortunately, this is not the first act of hate to happen in the area. Last week, 20 homes in Squirrel Hill were hit with similar flyers by a hate group police identified as GDL. Police said the group expresses antisemitic and white supremacist views. 

"I do know Mt. Lebanon has a large Jewish population. It's a terrible thing to isolate a certain group of people and say terrible things and spew that hatred," Mitchell said.  

"Let's put an end to this antisemitism and hate all around the country. It needs to end," another resident said.  

According to the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism, antisemitic incidents in the United States are at an all-time high right now. 

"When it comes to antisemitic activity in America, you cannot point to any single ideology or belief system, and in many cases, we simply don't know the motivation," ADL CEO and national director Jonathan Greenblatt said in a release Tuesday. "But we do know that Jews are experiencing more antisemitic incidents than we have in this country in at least 40 years, and that's a deeply troubling indicator of larger societal fissures." 

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh told KDKA the group behind the flyers is well known to police and the FBI.  A spokesperson said it's working closely with law enforcement and doing what it can to keep the community safe.  

Mt. Lebanon police said it's taking the investigation "very seriously" and is asking anyone with information to give them a call.