Pittsburgh police investigating recent reports of antisemitic vandalism

PITTSBURGH — Over the weekend Pittsburgh officials received dozens of reports of antisemitic vandalism across the city.

In Squirrel Hill, neighbors told police they woke up to racist stickers plastered on light poles up and down Forbes Avenue, and across town in the Bloomfield neighborhood flyers were left in driveways.

Pictures of the antisemitic stickers that littered city neighborhoods over the weekend were sent to the WPXI station.

The flyers said things like, “There are [expletive] in your area,” and the other showed a depiction of Adolf Hitler and read “Next time… no more nice guy.”

“It’s ugly, it’s a handful of people, they do it just to shock and appall people,” said Shawn Brokos, the Director of Community Security for the Jewish Federation.

Brokos works closely with Pittsburgh police on cases like this one and said on Sunday morning she received more than a dozen reports of antisemitic and racist stickers and flyers posted across the city.

“We had so many reports [in Squirrel Hill] and independent of that we were getting reports of flyers thrown on residents in the Bloomfield area,” she explained.

In Bloomfield, we spoke with neighbors who told us their street had been targeted in the past too.

“It’s hard to believe that anyone who would say those things lives in this neighborhood. They must be outsiders this is not what this neighborhood is like at all,” said Eric Davin, a Bloomfield resident.

Brokos told us that in the past few years hate crimes have continued to spark across the city. Last year the Jewish Federation saw a total of 300 reported incidents.

“We thought that was exceptionally high, the year before [2022] there was 122, this year [2024] we are on par to beat that,” Brokos said.

Neighbors told Channel 11 they are fearful of what is ahead if this continues, but said they are also hopeful that things will turn around.

“I hope this is not a continuing trend, I hope it doesn’t get worse, but this is the second time this has happened in this neighborhood.”

On Monday, council member Barb Warwick, who represents the district posted this statement to her social site:

Yesterday, residents of Squirrel Hill were horrified by stickers with anti-Jewish, neo-Nazi messaging plastered throughout their community. The Jewish Federation and the Bureau of Police have gathered more than twenty such reports, with investigations ongoing.

If you find postings or graffiti promoting hate of any kind, report it immediately by calling 9-1-1. If possible, also submit photos with exact locations to 311, so DPW teams can be dispatched for cleaning and removal: (pittsburghpa.gov/Resident-Services/311/).

There has been an alarming spike in incidents of anti-Jewish vandalism and harassment over the past year. With the pending return of many white supremacist apologists to Washington, hate groups are more emboldened than ever. This hate inflicts unspeakable harm to Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, as well as to our Black, Asian, Hispanic, Muslim, LGBTQIA+, and immigrant neighbors, leaving residents fearful for their families’ safety.

Pittsburgh’s leaders are committed to protecting the safety and well-being of every resident. To help, please be a beacon of kindness to others, both in real life and online - especially when emotions run high.

As the Councilperson for District 5, I have gotten to know residents across political, economic, racial, ethnic, religious, gender, and sexual orientation spectra. Despite our differences, I know that the people of Pittsburgh are overwhelmingly caring, compassionate, and kind. As we navigate the challenges of this world and our lives together in it, let us reiterate together: there is no place for hate in Pittsburgh.

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