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Article Courtesy of Channel
7 News Miami
By
Elitsa Bizios, Lorena Estrada, Vanessa Medina, Rubén Rosario
Published October 26, 2023
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COOPER CITY - Residents of a Cooper City neighborhood said they were disturbed
to find messages of hate in their community, and now they want to know who’s
behind them.
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The antisemitic messages were initially discovered in the
gated community Monterra on Saturday morning.
“Two writings on the cement walkway, as well as one on a
bench,” said Avi Fishman, president of the neighborhood’s
homeowners association. “We’re not used to this. This is a
beautiful community, great neighbors, good people and this
was truly a shock to all of us.”
Fishman shared several pictures of the disturbing graffiti
with 7News on Sunday.
“Homeowners are very concerned about this. Not only Jewish
homeowners, but all homeowners,” he said.
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One of the messages reads, “I am Muslim, and say: kill all Jews.” Another reads,
“By Allah, free Gaza, kill all Jews.”
The three messages were written at a time when tensions are high, as war rages
on in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.
“We immediately notified the authorities” said Fishman. “As a community, we’ve
also hired additional resources to reassure our homeowners that they will be
safe.”
At this point, it’s unclear who wrote the graffiti, and the hateful words have
been removed.
Rabbi Adi Goodman had a message for whoever did this heinous act.
“I would be more than glad to come and sit and have a talk with you,” he said.
“[To] show you and ask you, what is it that’s really bothering you, that you
feel the need to write such hatred in such a beautiful community.”
“Jews around the world are being threatened,” said Maor Elbaz Starinsky, consul
general of Israel to Miami. “We have to go through this as a community, not only
as Jewish community, not only as Jewish people, as a community to fight, to
fight Hamas, to fight the terrorists, to fight the antisemites.
For Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis condemned the hateful act.
“What’s frustrating for me as a mayor is that a lot of the events that are
occurring in my community are a result of things that have happening somewhere
else in thr world,” he said. “I cannot control what’s happening in the Middle
East, yet the impact is being felt her locally.”
To combat the hate, the City of Fort Lauderdale will host a mayors summit
against antisemitism.
“It’s about conversation, it’s about trying to appreciate one another and listen
and see how we can move this community forward,” Trantalis said.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office is investigating this incident.
The graffiti has also been reported to the Anti-Defamation League. On Monday,
they released a statement, which reads as follows, “We are appalled at this
hateful vandalism at a park in the Monterra Community District. In this
heightened atmosphere, messages like this instill fear and intimidation. We
thank Monterra community leaders and Broward Sheriff’s Office for quickly
addressing this incident. We ask anyone who experiences or witnesses an
antisemitic or bias-motivated incident to report it to law enforcement when
appropriate, and to ADL at
https://adl.org/report.”
A spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations called these notes
“extremely disturbing and intolerable,” adding they hope that whoever is
responsible gets caught.
If you have any information on these acts of vandalism or the subject’s
whereabouts, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you
can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to
$5,000.
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