ORLANDO, Fla. – The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando hosted a presentation Tuesday night by the Anti-Defamation League to address the rising hate against Jewish people in Central Florida and across America.
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Seth Hyman, Chairperson of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said antisemitism is at an all-time high. Jewish community centers regularly receive threats.
Last week, a local lawmaker announced state funding plans for rapid emergency response equipment for the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando.
And the same day, three of the neo-Nazi demonstrators who brought antisemitic flags and armbands to an Orange County intersection and an Orlando I-4 overpass were arrested for attacking a Jewish UCF student.
So tonight, the Jewish community will discuss the rising hatred.
“It’s a terrible circumstance for Jewish people living in Orlando,” Hyman said. “The Jewish community has been growing significantly just like the community-at-large over the last many years. The Jewish Federation just completed a community study, and the Jewish community is approximately 50,000 people here in the Metro Orlando area. And so the Jewish community has been here for over a hundred years, our oldest synagogue celebrated its centennial a couple years ago. Jewish people are part of the fabric of this community.”
The Anti-Defamation League will speak at tonight’s presentation, which fights against all hate. Hyman said that’s why everyone should care -- because the recent demonstrators on the side of the road don’t discriminate with their hate.
“They are people who literally want to literally eliminate Jewish people,” Hyman said. “But they’re also the enemy of many different minority groups throughout the world. These people are filled with hate and there’s no minimizing, rationalizing what they have to say.”
Hyman said Tuesday night’s presentation was open to anyone willing to listen and learn.