'It’s never welcome here': City leaders condemn anti-Semitic flyers distributed in Lake Nona

Anti-Semitic flyers were thrown in front of homes in a Lake Nona neighborhood.

Orlando Police say they are aware of the anti-Semitic flyers that were passed on in Lake Nona's Laureate neighborhood on Sunday. FOX 35 Orlando saw them firsthand in front of homes in the neighborhood. People who live in the area are disgusted by the hateful messages.

"It’s just sad to see in this day and age. It’s 2023, we’re still doing this? Still preaching hate?" said Lisa Truss who lives in the neighborhood.

Another resident told FOX 35 Orlando she saw people in a U-Haul truck distributing the flyers in people's front lawns as they drove down her block Sunday morning. 

"It’s very disturbing to think someone is in the neighborhood doing that," Truss said. "We’re all humans at the end of the day. To spread that type of hate it’s just sad to see."

 

Just last week, hate groups projected an anti-Semitic message on the grandstand at the Daytona International Speedway. Hateful flyers were also passed out in Volusia County neighborhoods.

This past week, a Neo-Nazi group was demonstrating in front of Chabad of South Orlando, but since this has happened Orlando's Jewish community says they feel even more united, supported and strong. 

"The very effect that these hateful groups are trying to cause they're actually accomplishing a reverse effect," said Rabbi Yosef Konikov of Chabad of South Orlando. "They are trying to create hate against the Jewish community. But actually, they're creating more love and more support for the Jewish community."

A proposed bill in the legislative session would make it a misdemeanor to toss a flyer outside of someone's home or project an image onto another building without consent. It would also make it a felony if they flyer or projections is anti-Semitic and would be classified as a hate crime.