We must take ‘Never again’ to heart and fight anti-Semitism in Miami-Dade | Opinion
A shooting at the Young Israel of Greater Miami in North Miami Beach; a mass stabbing in Monsey, New York, during Hanukkah; a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue during Shabbat. All are heart-wrenching reminders that the age-old scourge of anti-Semitism is alive in the 21st century.
In Miami-Dade County, we take immense pride in the vibrancy and diversity in every corner of our community. Within that diversity is also great solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters. That’s why we are all right to be shaken by the acts of violence toward their community throughout the country, and even in our own back yard.
After decades of injustice, survivors of the Holocaust have been fighting to recover insurance policies that were not honored by Nazi-era companies. Thanks to then-Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s efforts to allow Holocaust survivors and their heirs to seek redress from insurance policy providers while also urging Germany to provide financial assistance to Holocaust survivors, they are closer to righting these wrongs.
Miami-Dade County has one of the nation’s largest population of Holocaust survivors. I have had the privilege and honor to meet with Holocaust survivors Magda Bader, Wendy Rothfield, David Mermelstein, Vera Karliner, Herb Karliner, Andy Hall, David Schaecter and Joe Sachs. They shared the unspeakable horrors they suffered and endured. We must keep alive their stories of valor and anguish that so that such evil will never repeat itself.
As we work to combat all forms of discrimination and hate, Miami-Dade County must act to protect its Jewish community. Bal Harbour Mayor Gabriel Groisman has done just that.
In 2015 and 2017, Groisman wrote and got passed the nation’s first municipal anti-BDS ordinance. The city was the first in the country to codify a uniform definition of anti-Semitism.
Because of the rise of anti-Jewish sentiment globally, a coalition of mayors from 40 cities around the globe has committed to combat anti-Semitism and hate. Groisman’s leadership is an example to emulate. It’s vital that all levels of municipal governments in the county work to drive out this hatred.
As a Miami-Dade County commissioner, I have successfully introduced legislation that has been approved by County Commission urging Congress to support former Ros-Lehtinen’s Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2016; U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s Never Again Education Act, which awards grants to schools and eligible entities to teach about the Holocaust; and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Trauma-Informed Modernization of Eldercare for Holocaust Survivors Act.
I also successfully passed legislation urging the Florida Legislature to enact legislation prohibiting discrimination against students and employees in public schools based on religion, and amending the Florida hate-crime statutes to include anti-Semitic acts. Taking crucial steps such as these helps unite against the rise in extremism across the country.
Sadly, deadly acts of hatred against the Jewish community did not end with the Holocaust. We have a solemn responsibility to fight the evils of prejudice, hatred, and bigotry. Fulfilling the promise of “Never again” starts by pledging ourselves to stand up against anti-Semitism and unequivocally condemn hatred wherever we see it. It cannot be ignored.
Esteban “Steve” Bovo represents District 13 on the Miami-Dade County Commission.