Definition of anti-Semitism
Definition of anti-SemitismiStock

The Waterloo Regional Police in Ontario confirmed with Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) that an investigation is underway after photos of anti-Semitic neo-Nazi posters allegedly found in Kitchener, Ontario, were shared on social media by local residents.

The posters - which promote a website belonging to a movement that claims to have been recently formed "exactly 100 years from the founding of the National Socialist German Workers' Party" - include messages such as "smash white guilt" and "love not hate," with the word "love" including a swastika and the word "hate" including a Star of David.

Other messages included "break debt slavery" with an image of a man breaking a chain that includes a Star of David, alluding to a longstanding anti-Semitic trope about Jewish control over banking and finance.

"It doesn't take much effort to recognize the white supremacist views and Jew-hatred that these posters are promoting. It is disturbing to witness in this day and age, knowing the destructive power of hatred, the continuous efforts of certain individuals to spread messages of hatred and divisiveness," said Rabbi Meyer May, Executive Director of Simon Wiesenthal Center.

"We are urging police to conduct a thorough investigation into these posters to identify and charge the perpetrators and send a message that such hateful propaganda will not be tolerated in Kitchener nor anywhere else," said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, Director of FSWC's Campaign Against Antisemitism.