City of Sunny Isles Beach Official Website
By Larisa Svechin, Mayor
(Monday, June 3, 2024) – It is important for each of us to stand up for our principles and support what we value. As a country and a city, we revere democracy, freedom of religion, the value of the First Amendment, and the United States Constitution. As citizens, we support all that proliferates these values. It is time to take a stand. We are at a crossroads in history, a time which will be
documented and later studied by students in grade school.
This month, I am traveling to Israel for a conference with the Combat Antisemitism Movement organization to learn about building a stronger city, to visit our sister city of Netanya, and witness the carnage of October 7. Following October 7, I along with the City Commission immediately condemned terrorist organizations like Hamas and we supported Israel’s right to defend itself. Could we do more? Given that college campuses across the country are burning the US flag, wearing terrorist garb, and chanting to end the only democratic state in the Middle East, as well as all Jews, understandably Jews in this country do not feel safe.
We are a community made up of over 100 countries, as well as many ethnicities and languages. Our diversity is strong. Now is the time to support your neighbors who may not feel as secure as they did before October 7. If you see bigotry and hate towards Jews, do NOT stay silent. Silence is complacency. There is not a single group which has not been harmed at some point in history. The difference now is that we have access to more information than ever, and regrettably, more falsehoods.
Take the time to reassure your elderly neighbors wearing “Jewish stars” that you are there for them. Next time you see a family of observant Jews walking on Friday night or Saturday during the day, nod to them—acknowledge their commitment to g-d. We are all g-d’s children. Let the history books of 50 years from now reflect the deep commitment of the community of Sunny Isles Beach to protect their Jews. It is said, that the hate that starts with the Jews does not end with the Jews. Am Yisrael Chai
“One of the enduring facts of history is that most antisemites do not think of themselves as antisemites. We don’t hate Jews, they said in the Middle Ages, just their religion. We don’t hate Jews, they said in the nineteenth century, just their race. We don’t hate Jews, they say now, just their nation state.
Antisemitism is the hardest of all hatreds to defeat because, like a virus, it mutates, but one thing stays the same. Jews, whether as a religion or a race or as the State of Israel, are made the scapegoat for problems for which all sides are responsible. That is how the road to tragedy begins”
– Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacs
Contact Mayor Larisa Svechin at lsvechin@sibfl.net or 305.792.1753
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