Over the weekend of Nov. 8-9, a Jewish News reader who lives in Scottsdale found a disturbing flier in her driveway.
"The real reason for the war in Iraq," read the one-page flier, "was to protect our gallant little Jewish ally, Israel." And farther down: "This Veteran's Day, Call Your Congressman and Say, 'No More Wars For Israel! Bring Our Troops Home and Put Them on the Mexican Border!'"
Listed at the bottom of the page was a Mesa post office box for the Nationalist Coalition, which the Arizona Region of the Anti-Defamation League identifies as one of two major neo-Nazi groups "jockeying for position in the state." The other is the National Socialist Movement (NSM).
According to the Arizona ADL, groups such as these distribute fliers several times a year; the Arizona office received reports of the Nationalist Coalition flier both in Scottsdale and in the North Phoenix area Nov. 8 and 9.
"The whole intent is to get media attention and media coverage," said ADL Regional Director Bill Straus. "They didn't get a whole lot from this fliering."
The flier itself, says the ADL, illustrates the neo-Nazis' attempt to exploit "hot button issues" such as the war and immigration in order to recruit new members.
This past weekend, the group that distributed the flier held a "Stormfront BBQ" in Phoenix that featured live music and activities for children. An NSM barbecue at Papago Park a few weeks ago boasted "Holocaust revisionist Fritz Berg, explaining the impact of this Jewish lie," along with a singer-guitarist and a free prize raffle.
According to ADL, the latter event attracted some 25 supporters. "People are going to read those numbers and go, 'Well, that's not very bad,'" Straus told Jewish News. But, he said, thanks to the Internet, the extremists attending such an event are usually part of a network and a much larger movement.
"And I remind you and everyone," Straus added, "one driven, passionate person can do a lot of damage."
