Michelle Basch, wtop.com

WASHINGTON — Something tossed on front lawns and porches in our region in recent days is causing concern.

It’s a paper, printed on both sides with a jumble of articles, tables and official-looking orders.

The paper has hateful things to say about American Jews and Israel.

One section claims Jews are plotting to kill non-Jews in the United States.

The flier has turned up in parts of Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland, and the District.

One spot where residents found them was Cleveland Park, where WTOP talked about it with a Jewish resident, William.

“This flier is not very well laid out at all, and it looks to be rather uneducated,” he says.

While William is not worried by the appearance of the flier, others are.

“Something that’s important for people to know is that they were not personally targeted,” says Sophie Dornstreich, associate regional director for the Anti-Defamation League’s Washington D.C. regional office.

“Jews and non-Jews alike have received these fliers,” she says.

Dornstreich says several law enforcement agencies are investigating and want to hear from those who received a flier.

“Law enforcement really does take things like this seriously. We see that sometimes, non-criminal bias incidents like this can be precursors to more serious kinds of activities,” she says.

It’s not clear who is responsible for the fliers, but Dornstreich says they are similar to fliers that were distributed around the area in 2009.

A witness in Cleveland Park says she saw an older man on a bicycle passing out the fliers.

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(Copyright 2011 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)