South Florida mayors unite against antisemitism
MIAMI - The Anti-Defamation League recorded an unprecedented increase in antisemitism in the US since October 7th. They reported a 337% increase.
The mayors in Miami-Dade County are not having it. Thursday, many of them gathered to condemn antisemitism and the attack on Israel.
"I've experienced a lot of hate towards the Jewish community, even during our public meetings, statements such as you people are ruining the community," Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger said.
"We've seen an increase in attacks on our synagogues, and hate crimes against Jews," Miami Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.
The leaders that gathered at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation painted an ugly picture.
"All Jews in this home will die, that's what someone wrote on a piece of paper and hung on a Jewish family's door in Aventura," ADL Sarah Emmons said. "Hitler should have finished the job was yelled at a passerby in South Beach."
At CBS News Miami, we've reported on an increase in Antisemitic cases. Surveillance video from a popular cafe on Miami Beach caught someone slashing and ripping down a banner. A Miami man was arrested in October for threatening to kill hundreds of people at a concert if the FBI didn't protect him from Jewish people. Police arrested another man for threatening a Jewish day school- claiming he was with Hamas and had explosives.
"Nearly 60%, and probably more now as a result of the war, of all religiously motivated hate crimes target the Jewish community, "Moj Khaghan Danial with the Jewish Community Relations Council said. "We are less than 2% of the United States population."
They said step one to stopping the spread of antisemitism is speaking out about it.
"We can't stay silent," Emmons said. "We have to speak out and take action, and that's especially important for our elected community and campus leadership."
They also emphasized the importance of education.
"There is a tremendous amount of disinformation," Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said, "and it does stem from antisemitism, but it also stems from a lack of understanding of history."
