OAK PARK — Law enforcement agencies across Oakland County are investigating the distribution of anti-Semitic flyers across several Metro Detroit suburbs after unidentified individuals targeted neighborhoods with concentrated Jewish populations during the weekend.

The flyers appeared in the cities of Berkley, Oak Park and Huntington Woods, where hundreds of homes reportedly received plastic bags filled with hateful propaganda.

Authorities said the materials were packaged inside plastic bags weighed down with kernels of corn so they could easily be thrown from moving vehicles onto porches, driveways and front lawns.

Investigators believe the bags were tossed from a vehicle during the late-night hours of May 16 and 17. Police have urged residents to review home surveillance footage in hopes of identifying those responsible.

Hate-filled conspiracy theories

According to authorities and local officials, the flyers promoted long-standing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and hateful stereotypes targeting Jewish Americans.

The materials allegedly portrayed Jews as “parasites” and “demons” while accusing them of conspiring to spread homosexuality, exploit children and orchestrate the COVID-19 pandemic, among other inflammatory claims.

The incident marks the latest in a series of similar propaganda campaigns targeting Jewish communities across Metro Detroit.

In fall 2024, hundreds of similar plastic bags were distributed across neighborhoods in Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield, White Lake, Commerce Township and Rochester Hills. Authorities have not yet identified suspects in those cases.

Oakland County is home to Michigan’s largest Jewish population, with an estimated 60,000 Jewish residents living throughout its cities and townships.

Similar incidents have also been reported in neighboring Wayne and Macomb Counties, including neighborhoods in Northville, Canton and Washington Township.

The flyers promoted long-standing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and hateful stereotypes targeting Jewish Americans.

“Great Replacement” rhetoric

The flyers reportedly included references to extremist conspiracy theories such as the “Great Replacement”, which falsely claims that White Americans are being intentionally replaced through immigration and demographic change.

Some of the materials also called for ending “racial mixing” and included lengthy lists of Jewish politicians, judges and media executives accompanied by accusations that Jews secretly control the American government and media.

The propaganda further revived long-standing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories surrounding global finance, accusing Jewish banking families such as the Rothschilds of orchestrating inflation, economic collapse and poverty.

Jewish civil rights organizations suspect the materials may be connected to a secretive extremist group known as the Goyim Defense League, or GDL — a name widely viewed as a mocking reference to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). It is a loose network of White supremacist, neo-Nazi provocateurs who promote virulent anti-Semitism with the ultimate goal of expelling Jewish people from the United States.

The GDL has been described by Jewish advocacy groups as an anti-Semitic hate organization that promotes conspiracy theories accusing Jews of controlling governments, spreading moral corruption and undermining society.

The term “goyim”,  drawn from biblical Hebrew, refers to non-Jews.

The advocacy organization Stop Anti-Semitism said it has tracked GDL activities for more than six years, accusing the group of conducting deliberate campaigns designed to spread hatred toward Jewish communities.

Steven Ingber, chief executive officer at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit

Jewish leaders warn of escalating danger

Steven Ingber, chief executive officer at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, condemned the flyer campaign and warned that such acts of hate threaten the broader community, not only Jewish residents.

“It is truly disgusting,” Ingber said. “This is not just a Jewish issue. It is a problem for all of us when people are allowed to spread hatred in these ways. As a society, we must get control of this before it escalates further.”

Referencing the March 12 attack targeting Temple Israel, Ingber warned that unchecked hate speech can eventually lead to violence.

“We cannot continue at this pace,” he said. “We saw what happened in March at Temple Israel. This is the path these actions lead toward.”

Meanwhile, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said the flyers contain deeply disturbing accusations and hateful language targeting Jewish leaders.

“Under the cover of darkness, someone is throwing flyers accusing Jewish leaders, essentially, of grooming children,” McDonald said. “The language is hateful, conspiratorial and degrading.”

She added that the materials were intentionally placed where unsuspecting residents and passersby would encounter them.

“That is something that genuinely creates fear and anxiety within the community,” she said.