Neo-Nazis wave swastika flags outside Georgia synagogues

Groups protested outside of at least two Georgia synagogues after flyers were distributed throughout the area.

Published: June 25, 2023 5:04pm

Updated: June 25, 2023 5:07pm

Neo-Nazis gathered with swastika flags and antisemitic propaganda posters outside of Georgia synagogues over the weekend, prompting outrage from Georgia leaders.

About 15 people from the "Goyim Defense League," an antisemitic group, began protesting in front of the Temple Beth Israel in Macon before the beginning of the Jewish sabbath on Friday evening.

Goyim Defense League leader Jon Minadeo II was arrested for disorderly conduct and public disturbance during the protest, but he was released later in the evening on a $910 bond, according to local outlet 13 WMAZ.

The protest came after the nearby Warner Robins Police Department on Friday said antisemitic packages were left around the area.

Saturday afternoon in Marietta, about a dozen members of the hateful group protested outside of the Chabad-Lubavitch of Cobb County, another synagogue.

"Ironically, this hateful group has shown us how many friends and how much support we have in the Jewish and non-Jewish community here," Rabbi Ephraim Silverman said after the incident, according to Chabad.org.

The antisemitic protest was condemned by both Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, R, and the Reverend Sen. Raphael Warnock, D.

Anti-Defamation League Southeast Regional Director Eytan Davidson said that antisemitic incidents have been on the rise for more than five years, according to local outlet WSB-TV.

"From 2021 to 2022, we saw more than 60% increase in antisemitic incidents in the state of Georgia. Nationally, we are seeing antisemitic incidents at an all-time record high in 2022," he said.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.