Another antisemitic banner: Hanukkah bookended by messages of hate in Moore County

The first banner appeared mere hours before the start of the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, hanging on a bridge over U.S. 1 near Vass.

The latest one appeared hours before the final night of Hanukkah on a bridge over U.S. 1 near Cameron, about nine miles away from the initial banner.

The Moore County Sheriff's Office says both banners are now off the highway overpass and in their possession.

The most recent banner shows swastikas and the message "A Touch of Death." There's also a link to a Telegram messaging account and a numerical code used by white supremacists.

"This is white supremacy at its core," said Lowell Simon, president emeritus of the Sandhills Jewish Congregation, which meets at Temple Beth Shalom.

He says his family is scared for the safety of their children, and it's devastating to see this hate during a season of celebration.

"For us to see it in this community where we have been welcomed by so many people with so much diversity getting together, it’s disheartening and it’s frightening," said Simon.

The congregation is condemning the hateful banners and calling for a "vigorous investigation."

They're joined in that push by the Moore County NAACP.

Al McSurely, the local chapter's legal redress chair, said, "I think the more people that know about this, the quicker the people with sense that run Moore County will clamp down on this."

The Anti-Defamation League's latest Audit of Antisemitic Incidents shows 30 incidents of hate in North Carolina in 2021. That's up from 13 the year before.

This year, WRAL News has reported on several antisemitic incidents around the Triangle.

"Some of this is coming locally, and much of it is what is being propagated on the internet perhaps from centers national and even internationally," said Rabbi Lucy Dinner of Temple Beth Or in Raleigh.

Simon says these displays of hate are not just targeting the Jewish faith.

"If you think you’re immune, if you think this is not about me: It is. It is," he said.

The sheriff's office says they are "investigating fully."

Anyone with information can call the Moore County Sheriff's Office at 910-947-2931. If you want to remain anonymous, call 910-947-4444.