Following three arrests related to an incident the Orange County Sheriff’s Office described as a violent neo-Nazi rally, the Jewish community in central Florida held a forum on Tuesday to address antisemitism.
The virtual forum was held on Zoom Tuesday evening, and featured members from the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish community leaders.
Seth Hyman, the chairperson of the Jewish Community Relations Council, a committee of the Jewish Federation of Orlando, said a lot of his peers are on heightened alert.
“Jewish people feel nervous and scared,” Hyman said. “Antisemitism is on the rise extremely. Throughout the country, but especially here in Orlando. The Orlando community unfortunately has a few individuals rhetorical spouting hatred for Jews.”
Hyman said images from a neo-Nazi rally held in Orange County can trigger fear for Jewish people in Central Florida.
“When a Jewish person sees a Nazi uniform or a Nazi flag, that means that person buys into the philosophy that they want to kill us,” Hyman said.
Hyman said during Tuesday night’s virtual forum, the Anti-Defamation League described its tracking system, collecting incidents of violence, threats and vandalism towards Jewish people throughout the U.S.
Hyman said there are about 50,000 Jewish people in the Orlando community.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a heightened alert for religious facilities, following the Jan. 15th attack of a Texas synagogue.