November 08, 2019
THE WEEK’S BIG 3
An avowed white supremacist in Colorado was arrested after federal investigators uncovered a plot to bomb an historic synagogue. Campus officials at East Tennessee University are opening an investigation after signs saying “It’s okay to be white”— a popular white supremacist slogan — appeared around campus. A man in Milwaukee is facing felony hate-crime charges for allegedly throwing acid on a Latino man because of his heritage.
Read on for more on these headlines, news you can use to fight hate and the latest info about ADL from around the country.
1) White Supremacist Plotted to Bomb Colorado Synagogue, Police Say
“Richard Holzer’s arrest marks the 13th time since the Pittsburgh attack that authorities have apprehended someone for allegedly plotting attacks or making threats against a Jewish community, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League.” The New York Times: READ MORE
+ ADL Resource: What We Know About the Suspect
+ ADL Resource: One Year After the Tree of Life Attack, American Jews Face Significant Threats
2) ‘It’s Okay to Be White’ Signs Found Across Campus at a Tennessee University
“The ‘It’s okay to be white’ campaign was created by users of 4chan, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The 4chan forum is popular with internet trolls and people in the so-called alt-right movement.” NBC News: FULL STORY
+ ADL Resource: ‘It’s Okay to Be White’ Fliers Target Campuses Nationwide
3) Man Charged With Hate Crime in Acid Attack Against Latino Man
“Mahud Villalaz, a 42-year-old resident of Milwaukee, said he was walking to a Mexican restaurant Friday when a stranger threw acid on his face after asking, ‘Why did you come here and invade my country?’ and telling him to ‘go back.’ On Wednesday, 61-year-old Clifton Blackwell, who is white, was charged with first-degree reckless injury in a hate crime using a dangerous weapon.” The Washington Post: FULL STORY
+ ADL Resource: Mainstreaming Hate – The Anti-Immigrant Movement in the U.S.
+ ADL Resource: Hate Crime Map
KEY ADL SOCIAL STATEMENTS
- Extremists frequently use “pills” as an online shorthand…
- A “Nazi emergency” in Germany. Such a chilling sentence to read in 2019…
- Thank you @Twitter for suspending the accounts of Hamas and Hezbollah…
IN THE COMMUNITY
- Authorities investigating posters with swastikas found on ASU campus in Tempe (FOX Phoenix – Carlos Galindo-Elvira interviewed)
- Dennis Shepard, Father of Murdered Gay Son, Says Wyoming Needs a Hate Crimes Law (K2 Radio, WY)
- Swastikas on Western Mass. College Campuses Part of Troubling Trend, Says ADL (New England Public Radio)
ADL IN THE NEWS
- Saudi Arabia’s Children Are Learning From Anti-Semitic Textbooks (Forward – David Weinberg op-ed)
- Gantz: Israel Must Not Sell Arms to Genocidal Countries, Legitimize Racist Regimes (Haaretz)
- Major Jewish Groups Applaud Twitter for ‘Belated’ Shut Down of Hamas, Hezbollah Accounts (Algemeiner)