Postcard depicting Anne Frank with ‘Gas the Jews’ sent to Israeli-owned bakery
This postcard with a preprinted picture of Anne Frank and a handwritten message was sent to a kosher bakery in Atlanta. Courtesy of Nofar Shablis
By Beth Harpaz March 1, 2024
A threatening postcard sold online depicting Anne Frank saying “So much fun!” with an image of Auschwitz was sent to an Israeli-owned bakery in Atlanta.
The postcard was delivered Feb. 24 to Ali’s Cookies, owned by Nofar Shablis.
“Is there a child rape, torture and murder tunnel under your store? We have the Zyklon B,” said a handwritten note on the other side of the card. “Use discount code ‘GAS THE JEWS’ to save 10% on your order.”
Shablis told the Forward that someone recently phoned the store ranting about Israel and Jews. “He wishes all of us to die and he will come burn down the store with us in it,” she said. Since Oct. 7, a number of people have also walked in the store, seen the Israeli flag on display and walked out.
A police spokesperson responding by email to a Forward query said no information was available about the incidents.
The company behind the postcard
The postcard, sold for $2.99 by Patriot Candle Co., comes preprinted with pictures of a smiling Frank, the words “So much fun!” in a word balloon and a picture of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration camp where Anne, her mother and sister were sent. Their mother died at Auschwitz; Anne, 16, and her sister died at Bergen-Belsen.
Patriot Candle promises to send the postcard anonymously on any customer’s behalf, along with a customized message on the other side. It’s one of a half-dozen virulently antisemitic and racist cards sold on the site, including images of Hitler and one that says, “Jews are rats.”
“Pick a postcard, we write your message, and send it out to the addressee,” the site says. “These are mailed out with postcard postage, so no tracking will be available.”
Patriot Candle is owned by L.O.G. Enterprises in High Point, North Carolina. Its website does not identify the owners by name, but includes a message in which they describe themselves as being “as ordinary as a family can get! We have a beautiful daughter, who at the moment is our only kid, a house, and a business.” Their message also mentions prayer, God and rejecting restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic: “We are a God-fearing family, and we will not idolize a mask, jab or money over the Lord.” Candles and racist, transphobic and religious stickers and posters are sold on the site as well.
According to the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism, the company is affiliated with the Goyim Defense League, an antisemitic and white supremacist network. The ADL has documented 30 incidents in 13 states in which postcards and other antisemitic propaganda has been sent by the company to public officials, Jewish leaders and business owners.
Shablis said that “when you try to figure out who did it, and what’s the organization behind it — you just wish you didn’t.”
The owner’s message of resilience
Shablis offered a message of resilience for those unsettled by the incidents at the store.
“I know it’s terrifying and it’s scary and it’s awful, and things in Israel are so hard right now,” said Shablis. “It’s a difficult time for all of us. But I think just because of that, we need to be strong and that’s what we are trying to do.”
She said she has “lots of friends who aren’t Jewish and they support us and they’re amazing people.” The haters are “a really small group of people,” who do not represent how most Americans feel, she added, saying: “I know that most American people love Israel and they don’t have those kinds of beliefs.”
The bakery, which ships its cookies nationwide, is located in Emory Village, a shopping center near Emory University.
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