“There is a tidal wave of antisemitism in this state and it’s alarming,” said longtime Valley business owner and member of the Jewish community who spoke on the condition of anonymity over fear of threats and safety.

The 64-year-old business owner told Northeast Valley News that he is deeply troubled by growing antisemitism—but worse, the apparent acceptance of it on the part of many GOP political candidates and even some elected officials.

It’s difficult to know how to respond to someone so legitimately frightened by the kind of antisemitic rhetoric and communication associated with several GOP candidates in Arizona.

He specifically referred to at least four candidates running for top offices in Arizona.

“They have endorsed antisemitic candidates in other states, posed with and attended rallies of white nationalists, some of them are funded by conspiracy theorists or are supported by Nazi sympathizers —why are these candidates even allowed on the Az. ballot?”

The business owner recently changed his party affiliation back to what it was when he was “much younger”— after almost two decades as a registered Republican he said he wanted to “drop any affiliation with the GOP.”

While he has maintained a popular and successful small business for more than 21 years in Phoenix—he declined to go on the record with Northeast Valley News over fear of retaliation and threats.

The fear he spoke of about his own community is a horrific commentary on the “state of the state” in Arizona.

The candidates he discussed are running for some of the top offices in the state—all have been reportedly called out in the media for their endorsement of hate-filled antisemitic candidates, and some for their own use of specific rhetoric in their campaign speeches or social media communications.

Kari Lake, the GOP candidate for governor, and Mark Finchem, the Republican nominee for Secretary of State, both endorsed Jarrin Jackson a widely reported, loud and venomous antisemitic—the endorsement was shocking—and yet, both candidates continue to drop specific language and use names that are recognized among far right platforms as a dialect of antisemitic meaning and a “white replacement” manifesto.

But many in the Jewish community recognize this “code” language for exactly what it is—antisemitism.

Arizona Secretary of State nominee, Mark Finchem’s recent tweet reads:

“Democratic politicians on the ballot in Arizona are liars and deceivers. They want total control     over you and our state. Their loyalty is to George Soros and Mike Bloomberg. They want Arizona to be like California. Do not be deceived.”

Reportedly, and in response to the Finchem tweet, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix tweeted,“@RealMarkFinchem: your reliance on #antisemitic tropes to spearhead your campaign is an embarrassment to the majority of #Arizona residents.”

Lake has reportedly been called out for doing the same.

Recently, The Arizona Republic wrote, “Lake, like her kooky conspiracy cohort, Mark Finchem, the Republican candidate for Arizona secretary of state is constantly bringing up the name of George Soros, which she knows is a Jew-hating dog whistle for the antisemitic base of the Trump-controlled GOP.”

According to The Daily Beast, GOP Secretary of State candidate, Mark Finchem “had his fundraiser co-hosted by a self-identified “truther” who adheres to the QAnon conspiracy theory and has spent years propagating baseless lies like the Sandy Hook shooting being a “false flag” and Sept. 11 being an “inside job.”

Blake Masters, the U.S. Senate candidate has reportedly tried to lie about being endorsed by a widely reported antisemitic—namely, Gab CEO, Andrew Torba—the endorsement of Masters by Torba went even further when Torba said he’d vote for Masters over Trump.

Torba is the founder of the far-right social network, and openly antisemitic. He recently made headlines by insisting that Christians are “done being controlled” in “our own country” by the 2 percent minority—by which he meant Jewish people—adding, “We’re not bending the knee to the 2 percent anymore.”

Master’s reportedly lied about his non-association with Torba in an early campaign denial in which he rejected Torba as a “a nobody”—  but in a leaked audio, obtained by Jewish Insider— Masters is clearly associated with the far-right social media entrepreneur, whose platform entertains such extremist views and antisemitic rhetoric that it has been removed from both Twitter and Facebook.

Abe Hamadeh the GOP pick for Attorney General has also, through his own rhetoric, sown the seeds of antisemitism.

In an online forum, Hamadeh once wrote, “If you think Jews aren’t big in America (2%) how come 56% of them are CEOS…Jews are influential and for the most part rich. It’s good we’re targeting Arabs now, next, we will target Jews,”

Even though they have each denied being antisemitic, Lake, Finchem and others continue to drop the name George Soros and even Mike Bloomberg in campaign speeches and communications—both men are Jewish—and both, according certain recognizable antisemitic rhetoric, are responsible for America’s ills.

Data published by the American Jewish Committee reports that one out of every four Jews in the U.S. has been the subject of antisemitism over the past year.

Updated from original post, Sept. 26