Weiss told ABC News that he was "not afraid" but that receiving the threat was "a shock.""First it's shock, then it's disgusting. We're going back to the World War II era. Why would people do such a thing? I would never do anything to anyone," he related. An investigation into the alarming incident was opened by the New York Police Department and the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, who have urged people who have information to step forward and share it with law enforcement.Evan Bernstein of the Anti-Defamation League told ABC that the organization doesn't have specific numbers on hate mail but that "we know the NYPD has seen over a 30 percent spike in antisemitic hate crimes in New York City already this year... so that's incredibly concerning for us. We've also seen an uptick in overall hate crimes in New York City, and I think these kinds of incidents are very detrimental not only to the individual that's having to read the letter, but also to the rest of the community fearful that [this is] what people are really thinking about them."In a statement released to the press, Bernstein, the organization's New York Regional Director, also said that the ADL were "monitoring this and looking into whether these flyers are connected with any particular hate group, or if they are appearing in other places around the country." The ADL added in the statement that the group was looking into a report about a similar flyer sent to an address in Los Angeles. The organization also noted that the letters, that were all sent through the mail with on return address, included other phrases such as "Christian Identity is Back," referencing a religious ideology which claims that Jews are the Satanic offspring of Eve and the Serpent, while people who are not white are dubbed "mud people" that were created before the time of the biblical Adam and Eve.The ADL concluded by saying that it "strongly condemns" the series of "vicious antisemitic, racist and homophonic letters apparently targeting Jewish-owned businesses in New York City."Landmark Brooklyn business threatened; I've contacted NYPD bias unit. We take hate crimes VERY seriously here. https://t.co/VfzXw8AZqQ pic.twitter.com/lXKvlJlqN7
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) October 3, 2017