October 27th is A Day of Action to Combat Antisemitism in Palm Beach County
By: Robert S Weinroth
Earlier this month, I was honored to be able to sponsor and present a proclamation declaring October 27th as A Day of Action to Combat Antisemitism, unanimously approved by the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners.
As we approach the anniversary of the horrific shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, P.A. where 11 worshipers were murdered (becoming the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history), it is important to stand as one community against hate crimes.
In accepting the proclamation, AJC Palm Beach Executive Director, Laurence Milstein declared, “May we, and all people of good conscience, overcome the alarming rise in antisemitism with resolve, with unity, and with a commitment to boldly confront anti-Semitism wherever it appears. It is the only way forward.”
Last year, millions of people of all faiths rallied around AJC’s #ShowUpForShabbat initiative, packing synagogues throughout the country, in what became the largest-ever expression of solidarity with the American Jewish community.
On the one year-anniversary, this weekend, the AJC is again calling on all people of good conscience to #ShowUpForShabbat to honor the victims of this horrific attack, raising a collective voice for a world free of antisemitism, hate and bigotry.
Here’s how you can participate:
1. Attend Shabbat services this weekend (October 25-26).
Share your Shabbat plans on social media using the hashtag #ShowUpForShabbat. Don’t usually attend services? Visit AJC.org/ShowUpForShabbat for help connecting to an area synagogue that will be welcoming guests.
2. Go to AJC.org/ShowUpFor Shabbat and add your name in support of this initiative.
Even if your are unable to attend services, you can still stand up to hate and antisemitism.
3. Urge others to join you.
Last year, countless religious leaders, diplomats, elected officials, celebrities, people of al faiths and people of no faith, participated in #ShowUpForShabbat. You can build momentum by asking friends and allies to join you.
4. Dedicate October 27th to fighting antisemitism.
Join AJC in designating October 27th as an official Day of Action Against Antisemitism (as we have done in Palm Beach County) – a day for educating others about this hatred and advocating more robust measures to combat it.
Learn more at AJC.org/ShowUpForShabbat.
TOGETHER, we can turn a global campaign of solidarity into a powerful force against hate!
The following is the text of the proclamation I delivered on October 8, 2019:
WHEREAS, October 27, 2019, marks one year since the horrific events at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that tragically took the life of eleven worshipers and injured seven more in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history; and
WHEREAS, only months later, a second deadly attack on worshipers occurred during the Jewish holiday of Passover at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in California in which one person was killed and three were injured; and
WHEREAS, the FBI’s most recent report on hate crimes reveals a 37% increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the most recent FBI statistics demonstrate that Jewish people, and Jewish institutions, both religious and communal, were the most frequently targeted religious group, accounting for almost 60% of all religious-based hate crime incidents; and
WHEREAS, anti-Semitic incidents, hate speech, and threats have increased in recent years; and
WHEREAS, we are committed to confronting hate and bias crimes and recognize that anti-Semitism represents a unique and millennia-old enduring hatred of the Jewish people.
NOW THEREFORE, Be it proclaimed by the Board of County Commissioners of Palm Beach County, assembled in regular session this 8th day of October 2019, that October 27, 2019, in Palm Beach County, is hereby proclaimed
