Newly-released files reveal far-right plots against shuls across the US
FBI investigation after neo-Nazi slogans and insignia were found daubed on synagogues in Michigan and Wisconsin
Newly unsealed court papers have shown how members of a far-right paramilitary group in the United States carried out acts of vandalism against synagogues in Michigan and Wisconsin last year.
It follows an FBI investigation after neo-Nazi slogans and insignia were found daubed on synagogues last September. Several young men who were arrested later told agents that their efforts were dubbed ‘Operation Kristallnacht’.
The far-right group named in the court papers is called The Base, which recruits online, develops propaganda and organises paramilitary training in anticipation of what it believes is a forthcoming “race war”.
Authorities have named group member Richard Tobin from New Jersey as having coordinated the vandalism against a synagogue in Hancock in Michigan, which was painted with swastikas and SS symbols on 21 September 2018.
The following day, a synagogue in Racine in Wisconsin was daubed with an antisemitic slogan and the runic insignia of The Base, which reproduces symbolism “adopted by the Nazis after 1923 to memorialise members who died in Hitler’s failed Beer Hall Putsch”.
Tobin is alleged to have told investigators that The Base had researched ways of making improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and was training “to resist our people’s extinction, or the extinction of the white race”.
Just weeks after the two synagogues were defaced, 46-year old white supremacist Robert Bowers killed 11 people in a synagogue in Pittsburgh having earlier posted a comment online about the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) in relation to the thousands of Central American migrants travelling to the US-Mexico border.
“HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people,” Bowers is alleged to have written on social media platform Gab shortly before the attack. “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
