MAITLAND, Fla. – The FBI, Florida State Attorney’s Office and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office are looking into antisemitic messages that showed up over the weekend in Jacksonville.
One of them appeared on the outside of TIAA Bank Field Stadium during the highly-anticipated Florida-Georgia game.
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It referenced rapper Kanye West, following his recent anti-semitic tweets that sparked backlash.
At the Jewish Community Center in Maitland, Shalom Orlando CEO Keith Dvorchik said they are directly affected; anytime there’s an antisemitic threat they are affected.
“There’s a national organization that monitors everything, we get updates on a daily basis,” Dvorchik said. “And then we’re in constant contact with local, state and federal law enforcement so that we get real-time updates on any potential threats, any potential risks. It’s continuing to be alert, continuing to monitor what’s going on, it’s continuing to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to keep everybody here secure. Not just here on our campus but all the Jewish organizations in Central Florida.”
The JCC always has armed guards out front in military-style uniforms — one of the many security measures in place that adapt to threats, often on a daily basis and generally to the overall rise in antisemitism nationwide.
“Kanye West has more followers on Twitter than there are Jews in the world,” Dvorchik said. “So when he speaks out with hatred like that, he’s reaching more people than there are Jews in the entire world. He has an incredibly large platform to speak his hate. And he did. And continue to and continue to.”
New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft sponsored a commercial broadcast during NFL games across the country, urging more people to speak out and stand up against antisemitism.
The owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Shad Khan, the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs also issued statements.
“We have to speak up, we have to speak out,” Dvorchik said. “We’ve had this conversation too many times and we have to say that all hate is not acceptable. End of statement. It doesn’t matter who the group is that’s being targeted, none of it is acceptable. And if we speak with loud voices things happen.”
Dvorchik said enough voices spoke loudly enough that Adidas finally canceled its endorsement of West — but it took weeks.
“I think the growth of antisemitism has lots of people talking about it, not understanding why or what’s going on,” Dvorchik said. “I heard from somebody, it was a fascinating comment, it was a service on Saturday and the rabbi stopped in the middle of his sermon and said, ‘How many of you sat around your dinner table and have talked about where you might want to move to?’ meaning the United States wouldn’t be safe for Jews anymore. And he said most of the people in the congregation raised their hand.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis also issued a statement to News 6 on Monday afternoon:
“Governor DeSantis rejects attempts to scapegoat the Jewish community – it has no place in Florida. Through legislative proposals, laws, and decisive executive action, Governor DeSantis has a proven record of supporting the Jewish community and fighting anti-Semitism and the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement in Florida.”
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