OKEECHOBEE — Some Okeechobee residents were surprised and dismayed to find bags filled with anti-Semitic flyers on their doorsteps this morning.

One caller to the Lake Okeechobee News said the bag landed in his driveway earlier today, March 6. The baggie was filled with corn and contained flyers detailing the alleged crimes of the Jews.

The flyer lists names of Jewish men who purportedly dealt in the slave trade either as slave owners, shippers or supporters. The flyer claims to have been distributed randomly and with "no malicious intent."

A second page claimed that every aspect of the media is controlled by Jews. On the bottom of the second page, Rev. 5:9 is written. This is a verse from the Bible which reads, “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation."

Recently, it became publicly known that a Hassidic Jewish community intends to build in Okeechobee just past Buckhead Ridge. The project already claims to have 800 families interested in moving to Lakefront Estates.

Eventually, they may have as many as 1,300 homes as well as schools, restaurants, stores and public buildings. They have more than 530 acres on which to build.

One of the men who called about the flyers said he preferred not to be named but found the flyers disgusting. “As a Christian, I have no problem with them coming here."

One woman expressed concern saying she did not think they would shop in our stores or allow us to shop in theirs but thought we could live alongside each other anyway.

The Jewish people have been demonized for centuries. The Lewis D. Brandeis Center claims Jews have been condemned for rejecting the teachings of Jesus. In 2016, a working definition of anti-Semitism was adopted in the United States, but this definition is considered by many to be too broad. The definition is as follows: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

The Holocaust Remembrance Alliance website gives several examples of anti-Semitism:

• Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion.
• Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.
• Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.
• Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).
• Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
• Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
• Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
• Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
• Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
• Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
• Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.

AntiSemitic acts are criminal.

According to the Lake Front Estates brochure, they chose Okeechobee because they thought it had beautiful weather, majestic panoramas and of course, the lakefront location is another plus. Their wish is to reside with peace of mind.