Jewish and Muslim community leaders in Arizona are alarmed by an uptick in antisemitism and Islamophobia since the ongoing Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7 and are being forced to cope with increased levels of polarization and tension related to their religious and cultural identities.
The rise in incidents has ranged from vandalism of synagogues, swastikas in public places, Jewish students harassed on campus, hijabs pulled off the heads of Muslim students, pro-Palestine protesters doxxed on social media, hate voicemails left at mosques and an email threatening to execute a Scottsdale rabbi and other Jews, community leaders said.
They said many of the incidents have been reported to the FBI and local law enforcement agencies. At least two people have been charged.
On Nov. 7, Jeffrey Mindock, a 50-year-old Tempe resident, was arrested. Mindock is accused in federal court of sending a threatening email to a Scottsdale rabbi, insisting the rabbi convince a Utah judge to drop charges Mindock faces, according to prosecutors.
"If you do not use your influence to right this wrong I will execute you and every other JEW I can find tonight at midnight of your Sabbath," Mindock wrote on Nov. 3, according to the indictment.
Mindock also told the Utah judge, "You have until midnight tonight to drop the charges against me or I will execute you and every other Zionist/Jew I can find," the indictment states. He's been charged with two counts of making interstate threats.
Andy Green, senior rabbi at Congregation Or Tzion, a synagogue in Scottsdale, received one of the threats. He said he was grateful togovernment and law enforcement authorities "for their efforts to keep me and our Jewish community safe."
"This threat reflects the antisemitictropes invoked for decades in the United States — the conspiracy theoryof Jewish power. In this case, it led thisindividual to blame me for out-of-state charges against him," Green said in a written statement. "It's important to stand up to antisemitism. The value of words of kindness and support for your Jewish friends cannot be understated."
Mindock pleaded not guilty and is being detained until his trial, according to court records. His lawyer, Mark Rumold of the Federal Public Defender's Office, said Mindock looks forward to telling his side of the story through the legal process and in court.
“At this point in the process, you’ve only heard one side of the story – the government’s. As the case progresses, Mr. Mindock will be able to tell his side, and I expect his side of the story will change your perception of this case," Rumold said in an email. "Until then, it’s important to remember that Mr. Mindock is presumed to be innocent of the charges.”
On Nov. 13, Erol Leblanc, a 55-year-old Mesa resident, was arrested by Mesa police. Leblanc is accused of leaving voicemail messages on Oct. 13 for Masjid Abubakar in east Mesa that repeatedly used "f---," among other slurs, against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. "If you love Hamas, please call me back. ... I will meet you, and we can have a chat," the voicemail said. Similar calls from the same phone number were made to at least four other mosques and Islamic organizations in Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix, according to Mesa Police Department records.
Leblanc told a Mesa police officer wearing a body camera that he had been drinking when he made the phone calls, according to a police report. When the officer asked Leblanc why he made the phone calls, he responded, "I do watch a lot of Fox News, and I was a Mormon missionary, and I'm a Christian, and I've become Islamaphobic a bit," according to a police report. He added: "I would never, ever do anything. I would not. After that day, I literally have just been like, shaking my head like, 'What a (profanity) idiot.'"
Leblanc's case is in Mesa Municipal Count. He was booked into the Mesa jail on a misdemeanor charge of harassment by communication, according to police records.
Leblanc told the police officer he was a former physician. The Arizona Osteopathic Board's website shows that a license issued to Erol Jens Leblanc in 1999 had expired in 2009.
A man who answered the phone number of the caller to the mosque said he needed to speak to his lawyer and did not comment further.
As threats increase, FBI wants potential dangers reported
The increase in Islamophobia and antisemitism locally is particularly concerning considering several recent violent incidents in other states, community leaders said.
In November, three college students of Palestinian descent were shot in Burlington, Vermont. Jason Eaton, 48, is accused of shooting the three students. Authorities have said they are investigating to determine if the shootings were a hate crime. The family believes the three men, who were wearing keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves, and speaking Arabic at the time of the attack, were targeted, USA Today reported.
Also in November, a 69-year-old Jewish man suffered a fatal head injury during an altercation in Thousand Oaks, California, amid dueling pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrations, USA Today reported.
In October, a 6-year-old Palestinian American was fatally stabbed in Bridgeview, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. Prosecutors say the suspect in the Illinois stabbing, Joseph Czuba, 71, was motivated by his "hatred of Muslims" when he fatally stabbed Wadea Al-Fayoume and seriously injured his mother, USA Today reported.
Akil Davis, special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Phoenix, said there has been an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents reported to the FBI in Arizona and nationwide since the war started.
Davis said the agency takes the rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia seriously. He and his executive team met with local leaders of the Jewish community at his office on Oct. 23. A second meeting with leaders of the Muslim community took place on Nov. 2. A meeting with community leaders from multiple faiths is being scheduled for early 2024.
Davis said he assured community leaders that the FBI is tracking "no credible threats" in Arizona against either community. He characterized the two recent arrests in Arizona as "one-off cases."
There are no credible organized threats "against either community that we're tracking in the state of Arizona," Davis said in an interview with The Arizona Republic.
Davis said he also advised community leaders to report any threat they come across, no matter how small it may seem, and to remain vigilant.
"What we are saying is, if you think something is off or you think something doesn't look or feel right, let us know. Call local law enforcement or call us, and we'll take it from there and see where it may lead," added Kevin Smith, an FBI spokesman. "We just want to make sure that they know ... that if they think something is wrong or they feel threatened in some way, that they should feel free to let us know and make us aware of the situation."
Meanwhile, security has been increased or added at local synagogues and mosques and other organizations affiliated with the Jewish and Muslim communities in response to the recent rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia, community leaders said. The cost of the added security has strained the finances of several organizations, they said.
Arizonans describe Islamophobia and antisemitism as they understand and experience it
Community leaders said antisemitism and Islamophobia were already on the upswing for several years. But the Israel-Hamas war has accelerated antisemitism and Islamophobia by emboldening extremists, members of hate groups and white supremacist groups, they said.
"There's been an uptick, and some of it has been related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," said Paul Rockower, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix. "Some of it has also been related to opportunistic individuals in extremist communities here in Arizona using some of the chaos to up their harassment."
Rockower noted, however, that the Jewish community has received an outpouring of support from members of different faith and ethnic communities, elected officials and law enforcement agencies.
"Even those who don't have the same view on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict still understand that this is traumatic for the Jewish community, and so have reached out in support to share their sympathy over what has transpired," Rockower said.
The reasons behind the rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia are complicated, community leaders said. It is being fueled by misinformation and disinformation — much of it spread on social media, some by politicians and public figures — about a complicated conflict that is often overly simplified, they said.
"They are kind of fostering this hateful rhetoric, and it's contributing to a lot of hatred and division," said Azza Abuseif, executive director of the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights advocacy organization.
The council received 2,171 requests for help and reports of bias nationally from Oct. 7 to Dec. 2, according to the organization's website. That was a 172% increase over a similar two-month period the year before, the organization said. Abuseif said data for Arizona was not available.
The same kind of misinformation and disinformation is also fueling a rise in antisemitism, Abuseif said.
"I do believe there is a rise in antisemitism that is due to the people not knowing the history," Abuseif said. "I do wish our Jewish brothers safety. Unfortunately, when there are wars like this, it is the civilians who suffer."
Sarah Kader, community manager for the Anti-Defamation League Arizona, which tracks incidents of antisemitism, said the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and about 240 hostages were taken, unleashed a new round of antisemitism.
"Some celebrated because they've already held those thoughts and opinions," Kader said. "The Jewish community has received some support in a variety of ways but also a lot of celebration of the death of Jews."
In addition, some people critical of Israel's military campaign against Hamas in response to the Oct. 7 attack blame Jews in general even though some Jews and Jewish groups also are critical of some of the Israeli government's policies, including the deaths of civilians as a result of Israel's military campaign against Hamas. The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,500 Palestinians, and most of the 2.3 million residents have been displaced.
"There's a lot of conflation," Kader said, of the Israeli government's actions with the Israeli people and Jews.
Kader said the ADL does not "see criticism of the Israeli government as antisemitic, nor should anyone. So that's really not the issue, and we want to make that clear."
But after Oct. 7, the ADL has seen an increase in rhetoric that goes beyond criticism of the Israeli government or the military campaign.
"Anything that goes beyond sort of just criticism of the choices, but of questioning Israel's right to even exist or defend itself, starts to creep into anti-Zionism, which often really we can find its roots in antisemitism," Kader said.
Nationally, there's been a 350% increase in antisemitic incidents reported to the ADL from Oct. 7 through Nov. 21 compared with the same period the year before, Kader said. In Arizona, during the first month after the Oct. 7 attacks, there was an 86% increase in antisemitic incidents reported to the organization, Kader said.
The incidents include assaults, vandalism, harassment and antisemitic rhetoric.
The ADL defines antisemitic rhetoric as the display of swastikas and statements such as "intifada until victory" or "saying death to Jews, things like that," Kader said.
"Or sort of praising Hamas's actions. Those can be interpreted as antisemitic. Like you're for celebrating the death, the murder of Jews," Kader added. "But just simply calling for a Palestinian liberation or supporting Palestinian rights, that would not be antisemitic. And we don't count those rallies as antisemitic."
At the same time, some Muslim community leaders are concerned that criticism of the Israeli government's military actions in Gaza, including calling for a cease-fire, and public expressions in support of Palestinians are being labeled as antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
There is "online hate speech happening accusing Muslims of supporting Hamas even though our protests are merely all about a cease-fire and asking for humanitarian basics for children and women," said Ahmed Ewaisha, chairman of the Arizona Muslim Alliance, which represents more than two dozen Islamic organizations.
"We have nothing to do with Hamas. ... These are total false claims. These have nothing to do with reality," Ewaisha said. "We Muslims are Arizonans. We Muslims are Americans. ... We're asking just for humanitarian access, and we're asking for people and their children to be released from whatever bombardment that is happening."
Ewaisha said he believes Israel's military campaign in Gaza is genocide.
He said that two local women were doxxed on X, formerly Twitter, after recently participating in a pro-Palestine protest. Pictures of the women were posted along with their addresses and other personal information, Ewaisha said. The doxxing seemed intended to silence pro-Palestine protesters, Ewaisha said.
Raees Mohamed, a Phoenix attorney who is a volunteer board member for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Arizona, said he is looking into the doxxing cases to see if legal action can be taken.
He said he has also received reports from parents about students at local schools being told by teachers to remove pro-Palestine stickers, flags and pins.
Some people also have stopped wearing jewelry, clothing or other items that identify them as a Jew or Muslim or Palestinian or Arab out of fear of being targeted.
Mohamed, who wears a long beard, said a shopper appeared to mouth the word "terrorist" at him while he was recently at a Chandler store.
Palestinian American sisters Lina Bearat, 33, and Hanin Bearat, 39, both engineers who live in Phoenix, said that, in the past, they were not afraid of wearing a Palestine necklace or a keffiyeh.
"Now that's something that we are very cautious if we want to do that, because we are afraid of being targeted," Lina Bearat said.
Hanin Bearat said that last year, her son, who was in kindergarten, wore a traditional Palestinian outfit for boys to a "peace festival" at his charter school. Students wore sashes with the name of a country or cultural identity they were representing to celebrate the school's diversity. Her son, who is 5, wore embroidered clothing, a keffiyeh and a sash that said "Palestine."
"Last year, I was looking forward to him wearing his clothing and had no concerns about anything, about his safety, and wearing a sash that represented his culture and Palestine," Hanin Bearat said.
The festival is coming up again in February.
"This year, I would be very nervous and stressed and worried about him wearing something like that because he could be targeted," Hanin Bearat said. "I'd be worried for his safety."
What does 'from the river to the sea' mean to people saying, hearing it?
Some Jewish students at colleges across the country have felt increasingly unsettled or unsafe following several antisemitic incidents, including at Arizona State University, said Debbie Yunker Kail, executive director of the Hillel Jewish Center at ASU.
In November, ASU police escorted Jewish students back to the center after rocks were thrown at a second-floor window of ASU's Memorial Union, where a student government meeting was being held. The Jewish students were attending the meeting to speak out against legislation calling for the university to boycott and divest from corporations that do business with Israel. The legislation called for ASU to cancel study abroad programs there.
"We've heard of students that are afraid to publicly share their Jewish identity, whether that's what shirts they wear or a necklace or something like that," Yunker Kail said. "Some students are still doing that, and they feel emboldened to be proudly Jewish in this moment. And other students feel like it's not a moment where they want to disclose that aspect of their identity proactively."
On college campuses, pro-Palestine protests have eclipsed pro-Israel protests. Jewish students often feel targeted when they hear pro-Palestine protesters yelling statements attacking Israel because Israel is the Jewish homeland, Yunker Kail said.
Statements such as "intifada until victory" and "from the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free" also are often interpreted as antisemitic because they imply a call to violence against Jews and the destruction of Israel, Yunker Kail said.
The Anti-Defamation League has deemed the phrase "from the river to sea" antisemitic.
According to the ADL, "It is fundamentally a callfor a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, which would mean thedismantling of the Jewish state.It is an antisemitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination, including through the removal of Jews from their ancestral homeland."
The phrase was used during seven of the 31 pro-Palestine protests that have taken place in Arizona since Oct. 7, according to an analysis of Arizona data provided by Jay Ulfelder, a Harvard Kennedy School political scientist and project manager of the Crowd Counting Consortium, which collects data on protests nationwide.
Some Muslim leaders, however, said the phrase has been misunderstood.
The phrase calls for all Palestinians to receive equal rights with Jews in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, said Ewaisha, the Arizona Muslim Alliance chair.
"It means that Palestine will be free from occupation, not free from Jews," Ewaisha said. "There is a huge difference between the two statements."
Since Oct. 7, room for nuance about Israel and Palestine has evaporated, but many people still think about the conflict — and the people involved — in a nuanced way, said Yunker Kail.
"It's like you have to be on a particular side on this matter," she said.
There are people who support self-determination for Palestinians but also want all Israeli hostages to be released, Yunker Kail said. There are also people outraged that Hamas took hostages from Israel, "but also don't feel 100% supportive of everything Israel does," she said.
"You're not hearing that in the media."
Reach the reporter at daniel.gonzalez@arizonarepublic.com.
