As President and Executive Director of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami, we
write with heavy hearts. In the wake of October 7 and the recent murder of two Israeli
embassy staff members, our community is experiencing profound anxiety and fear.
These attacks remind us that violence against Jews anywhere is felt by Jews
everywhere. Our synagogues, schools, and institutions require constant security. FBI
data from 2023 shows Jews, just 2% of the U.S. population, were the target of 68% of
all religion-based hate crimes.
Our concerns deepen as hatred spills onto college campuses under the guise of
“peaceful protest.” These demonstrations are not grounded in policy critique or dialogue
but often call for the eradication of the Jewish state. If 75 years ago the goal was
elimination of the Jewish body, it is now the elimination of the Jewish body politic. This
is the meaning of “from the river to the sea.” Slogans like these seek not peace, but
erasure.
Our tradition teaches that words can heal or harm. The toxic rhetoric online and in the
demonstrations fosters violence and legitimizes hate. Those joining such
movements—knowingly or not—also bear responsibility. They did not pull the trigger,
but they engaged in the toxic stew of lies and hatred fueling the heinous acts of the
killer.
We call on all people of goodwill to speak out against all forms of hate, support their
Jewish neighbors, and work towards a more peaceful future for all.