Several Jewish groups have voiced their condemnation of the anonymous flyers calling to “wipe out Armenia from the world map” that appeared in various parts of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles over the weekend.
“These hate-filled flyers are another painful reminder of how important it is to stand up and show our support for the people of Armenia—a people with a similar history of persecution to our own,” the Jewish World Watch said in a statement posted on its Twitter page.
“Today, Azerbaijan has again left the ethnic Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to suffer. For nearly 50 days, the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor has disrupted crucial food and medical deliveries to the region,” added the group. “Let us respond to this abhorrent act with action by contacting Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging him to help end Azerbaijan’s latest aggression.”
The Anti-Defamation League of Southern California also condemned the flyers.
“ADL is appalled by anti-Armenian flyers distributed in Beverly Hills over the weekend, calling for Armenia to be wiped “off the map”. We are glad that city officials & BeverlyHillsPD are looking into this and we stand with the Armenian community,” the ADL of Southern California said it a social media post on Monday.
Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN) has also condemned the flyers, noting that the purpose of this hate campaign is clear – to strike fear in the hears of Armenia and Jewish angelenos.
“We condemn this cowardly hatefilled tactic and urge community members to stand together in the face of this hate,” ICAN said.
On Saturday morning, the Beverly Hills police department announced that it was investigating the placement of anti-Armenian flyers around the city, ahead of a scheduled demonstration organized by the Armenian Youth Federation to protest Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockade of Artsakh.
“Azerbaijan; Turkey; Pakistan; Israel = 4 BROTHERS WILL WIPE Armenia OFF the MAP Inshallah!!!,” read the message on the various iterations of the flyer that were found posted around the city.
