The increase in anti-Semitic incidents in South Florida has local authorities concerned, the last of these having been registered only on Monday morning.
On Monday, Hallandale Beach police arrested Jeffrey Carl Fleming, 39, who threw a bag of poop at the South Broward Chabad and spat on the menorah before walking away.
The attacks against the compound occurred on Friday and were repeated on Sunday night, according to Local 10 News.
Following these incidents, the Anti-Defamation League also reported an increase in hateful acts against American Jews across the United States.
“It is rooted in hatred and anti-Semitism,” Rabbi Mendy Tennenhaus, of the South Broward Chabad, told the aforementioned media.
“He chose to bring it here and not elsewhere. He chose the words he used,” he added, referring to Fleming.
“This is a refrigerator full of, supposedly, human excrement,” the rabbi told the aforementioned medium.
“It is a shame. It is sad to have to live in such a world, and to live in the United States, in the United States! And to have such activity around us, ”he said.
For his part, Yael Hershfield, from the Florida anti-defamation league, said that complaints of this type “come every day, every minute we are receiving reports.”
Reports of increasing anti-Semitism include actions such as Nazi salutes, Holocaust denial in Miami, and ‘Beward the Jews’ graffiti in Fort Lauderdale.
According to ADL Florida, there has been a 40% increase in incidents compared to 2020, which they believe is caused by the current conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“People have the right to take positions for or against the conflict, and what we ask is that the rhetoric is not inflammatory,” Hershfield said.
“When we see hate, it doesn’t matter who it is directed at. We should all be talking about it,” he added.
Rabbi Tennenhaus highlighted what the role of religion, whatever it may be, should be in people’s lives, and how it should influence their humanity.
“Our mission in life is to show love to each other, to all human beings around the world, and a little light and a little positivity can change a lot of darkness,” he said.
Hallandale Beach Commissioner Annabelle Lima-Taub said she is working to create a task force on hate crimes to specifically address these types of incidents in the community.