Police investigating anti-Semitic flyers found near San Fernando Valley schools

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. (FOX 11) - Police were investigating Thursday after multiple anti-Semitic flyers were found plastered near San Fernando Valley schools earlier this week.

The posters plastered on and around at least two campuses were printed with swastikas and offensive messages equating Nazism with Zionism and the state of Israel, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

At least five of the flyers were found Monday morning around El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills, and another one along the perimeter of Nestle Avenue Charter Elementary School.

The text asks if the swastika is "a hate symbol,'' then asks "what about this?'' above a Jewish Star of David.

"The murder of innocent women and children by a Rothschild-led Jewish Zionist armed militia to forcibly confiscate the Land of Palestine now known as Israel," read the flyers.

Another wrote, "What's the difference between crackheads and Jews?''

Previous reports alleged that the flyers were also found near Calabasas High School and the Westfield Topanga shopping center.

"LAPD is aware of several offensive posters that were found at different locations in the San Fernando Valley,'' said the LAPD media relations division in a statement. "Detectives from our West Valley and Topanga divisions are handling this as a hate incident and are encouraging anyone who may have information about this to contact investigators."

Nestle Elementary Principal Cheryl Gray-Sortino made a call to parents Monday informing them of "an incident that occurred today, when an anti- Semitic message was posted near the kindergarten gate,'' adding that extra patrols were brought to the campus Tuesday.

The incident coincided with a national discussion of a rise in anti-Semitic incidents at schools and colleges around the country, nearly doubling in 2017 from 2016, according to data collected by the Anti-Defamation League.

ADL logged 457 anti-Semitic incidents in non-Jewish schools in 2017, up from 235 in 2016 and 114 in 2015. K-12 schools also surpassed public areas as the places with the most reported incidents, according to the Daily News.

Anyone with information was asked to call the Topanga or West Valley LAPD divisions at (818) 756-4820 or (818) 374-7730.

City News Service contributed to this report.