MIAMI (WSVN) - The recent rise of antisemitism across the country, and closer to home in South Florida, is becoming a cause for concern.
On Tuesday, local leaders met on the Jewish festival of Chanukah at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and spoke out on the recent uptick in antisemitism in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
“We are here gathered with 50 municipalities and other community organizations to express our outrage against the hate of antisemitism,” said Ariel Bentata with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
“It is our duty to speak out and raise our voices together on these issues,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “We must spread the message of love, of inclusion and acceptance for all to drown out the noise of the hateful few.”
Over the past year, 7News has reported on several acts of antisemitism in communities across the area.
In two Weston neighborhoods, in October, swastikas and messages were found on playgrounds, buildings, and even sidewalks.
On Dec. 3, antisemitic graffiti was found throughout a construction site in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Just one day before the start of Chanukah, the Cooper City Commission posted on Facebook about vandalism in a neighborhood, which launched an investigation with the Broward Sherriff’s Office.
“Nearly 60% of all religiously motivated hate crimes target the Jewish community, although Jewish-Americans account for less than 2% of the United States population,” said Moj Khaghan Danial, a Jewish Community Relations Council with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
Mayor of Miami Beach Dan Gelber also spoke out.
“There is, not simply speech, but there’s also attending violence, and we see that all around the world right now,” he said. “These are words and deeds that we cannot allow to win.”
Some of the initiatives include school outreach programs and making Holocaust curriculums available throughout the state.
The organization is working with 50 other municipalities on adopting a definition of antisemitism with the goal of stopping it.
This comes one day after President Joe Biden condemned antisemitism and expressed alarm about the growing hate around the globe as he vowed to fight back against the scourge.
“Silence is complicity,” he said at a Chanukah reception at the White House, Monday. “We must not remain silent, and I made no bones about it from the very beginning, I will not be silent. Today, we must all say clearly and forcefully antisemitism and all forms of hate and violence in this country have no safe harbor in America, period. Evil will not win. Hate will not prevail.”
They unveiled the first-ever permanent menorah at that gathering.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is the first Jewish spouse of a vice president and he warned Americans of the surge in antisemitism earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the local organization is working with several municipalities on adopting a definition for antisemitism with the goal of stopping it.
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