PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed antisemitism in the Sunshine State during a local stop, just hours after some members of the Jewish community were hit by hate.
The governor spoke before hundreds of people Sunday morning at the Teach Florida Annual Legislative Breakfast in Davie.
“These last few weeks have been a very difficult time — for the world, of course for Israel, but for many people in the United States and very, very many people here in the state of Florida,” he said.
DeSantis discussed the rise of antisemitic incidents in South Florida during his speech.
“We immediately acted to activate Florida Highway Patrol Quick Response Force,” he said. “We mobilized those resources to provide security to our Jewish institutions: our day schools, our synagogues.”
Less than 24 hours before DeSantis’ appearance, a group of children yelled slurs outside Kol Tikvah synagogue in Parkland as they rode by on bicycles.
Leaders of the synagogue addressed their congregation in a message, writing in part, “Approximately 3-5 individuals believed to be teenagers shouted ‘Death to Jews’ as they rode by the synagogue on bicycles. A small handful of our congregants were subjected to obscenities. These individuals never stopped their bicycles or set foot on our property. The incident lasted less than 20 seconds in total. At this point, we do not know who these individuals are.”
U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who represents Florida’s 23rd congressional district, said in a statement, “No doubt ‘kill the Jews’ is something these kids on bicycles saw on TikTok or Instagram … our country has been infiltrated by antisemitism and hatred.”
Speaking on CNN, Moskowitz said, “You see the signs that say gas the Jews, kill the Jews. They’re not talking about Israel policy. ‘From the river to the sea’ is not a two-state solution. I’m for a two-state solution. I think the Palestinians should have a state. But now they’re talking about eliminating the entire state of Israel and they’re advocating for the mass murder of Jews. This has gone into a horrible place that reminds the Jewish community, quite frankly, of the reason why Israel was created in the first place, because there is a tremendous amount of antisemitism in the world.”
On Sunday night, a group of pro Palestinian rioters flooded a Russian airport as they searched for Jewish passengers who landed in the country from Tel-Aviv. The demonstrators reportedly broke out into antisemitic chants and flooded the tarmac, forcing the airport to divert all flights.
In upstate New York, an ivy league school was on alert after the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Cornell University’s police department inspected online threats against the Jewish community.
Back on Oct. 21, three antisemitic messages were found scrawled in Monterra, a gated community in Cooper City.
One of the messages read, “I am Muslim, and say: kill all Jews.” Another read, “By Allah, free Gaza, kill all Jews.”
“You know in 2023, kids have to come into our Hebrew school or our synagogue services and see an armed guard, and it’s really sad,” said Rabbi Adi Goodman wit the Chabad at Monterra.
Security across multiple South Florida institutions, including houses of worship, has been increased as hate crimes continue to rise across the country.
“Jews around the world are being attacked. Jews around the world are being threatened,” said Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, Consul General of Israel in Miami. “We have to go through this as a community — not only as a Jewish community, not only as Jewish people — as a community, to fight, to fight Hamas, to fight the terrorists, to fight the antisemites.”
Closer to home, many institutions across South Florida added extra security, prompting local leaders to respond.
“We have to work harder than ever to protect people in our community and to work towards common ground and peace,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniela Levine Cava.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies said they could not locate the group on bikes that targeted the synagogue in Parkland. Their investigation continues.
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