Tennessee GOP Leaders Denounce 'No Wars for Jews' Mailers

Mailers encouraging recipients to join the local Young Republicans chapter with a platform including "No wars for Jews" have caused a stir in rural Tennessee. Thousands of homes received the flyers, which also promoted antisemitic and white nationalist sentiments such as "Stop the Great Replacement," "Ban Islam and Hinduism," and "Men in charge."

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Let’s face it, we read about antisemitism and anti-Black or white nationalism, right? We hear about this stuff, and people are like, ‘Well, you know, that’s over there, or that’s in another state, that’s not here.’ Let me tell you something. It came to Maury County.

The mailers, reportedly sent to around 2,000 households with young white men, stated, "Nonwhite foreigners have invaded our country and are replacing White Americans. Efforts at mass deportations have failed. No one is coming to save us; we must solve this problem ourselves." The flyers prominently featured the name of Austin Lee and the logo of the Tennessee Young Republicans, raising concerns about younger Republicans embracing antisemitic and white nationalist ideologies.

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We will not fight wars for you.

However, local Republican leaders told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the mailers were sent without permission and that Lee holds no formal leadership role in the county GOP. The county's Young Republicans chapter is reportedly inactive. Jason Gilliam, the county GOP chair, strongly denounced the mailers' content, calling it "appalling" and "disgusting."

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It’s appalling that somebody would send this out. This kind of thing really disgusts me. I mean, I have an Israeli flag on my bumper - not that that means anything.

During a local GOP meeting, State Rep. Scott Cepicky condemned the flyers, invoking his own Jewish ancestry. "I am a Jew, I am an Ashkenazi Jew," Cepicky declared, recounting his family's history of fleeing Europe due to antisemitism. He threatened legal action against those who distributed the mailer, leading to a confrontation with Lee, who was escorted out by police.

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I’m a Jew, I’m an Ashkenazi Jew. My family left Israel, moved to Central Europe. In the 30s, you know what happened in Central Europe with Jews. My family immigrated to the United States.