Openly angry about the state of safety surrounding the Jewish community, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz held a news conference Monday in light of recent anti-Semitic incidents both nationally and right here in South Florida.
The Broward Congresswoman, whose children attended the David Posnack Day School which was evacuated due to another bomb threat targeting Jewish Community Centers, was joined by both local authorities and Jewish community leaders when she addressed the public at her Sunrise office to discuss the safety of Jewish communities in light of recent incidents and threats.
"I want to hear from President Trump and the Department of Justice," said Wasserman Schultz, who was one of 150 federal lawmakers signing a letter which called on agencies in the Trump Administration to bring the cases to the forefront. "That they are going to make an investigation a priority to get to the bottom of these bastards who are terrorizing people all across this country who are simply trying to live their lives."
This conference follows an incident that took place over the weekend, when several people near the Bayshore Municipal Golf Course in Miami Beach ventured outside Sunday morning to find their cars keyed with a Swastika symbol. A similar incident took place last month in Boca Raton when a large swastika was found spray painted on the side of a car parked near a home.
Also over the course of this weekend, more than 100 Jewish headstones were damaged at a Philadelphia cemetery. This vandalism comes just days after more than 150 monuments were damaged at a Jewish cemetery in Missouri.
Additionally, more than 50 Jewish Community Centers in 26 states and one Canadian province have received more than 65 bomb threats over the past two months.
"I don't think that it's a coincidence that the incidents of anti-Semitic acts perpetrated across the country coincide with the permissiveness of Donald Trump's Presidential campaign," Wasserman Schultz said. "Some of the actions that they took that perpetuated anti-Semitism and the fact that President Trump, neither as a candidate or until last week, was willing to acknowledge, beat back, criticize, (or) call out anti-Semitism."
On Friday, Vice President Mike Pence denounced such anti-Semitic acts across the country, telling a group of Jewish Republicans that there is zero tolerance for such acts in this country. President Donald Trump, however, appears to have been much quieter on the matter. However, he has noted that the recent acts are evidence of the work that still needs to be done to root out prejudice in the country.
"We take this very, very seriously," said Broward Sheriff’s Office Undersecretary Colonel Steve Kinsey, who joined the U.S. Rep. at today's press conference. "They're horrific threats that put people in fear and the Broward Sheriff's Office is going to continue to partner with all of local agencies, our state agencies and our federal agencies to find out who is doing this and to bring them to justice."
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz hopes the Trump Administration will prioritize investigations into the anti-Semitic attacks and threats to find out who is responsible and end the fear which they are trying to instill in the community with what she says amounts to domestic terrorism.
NewsRadio 610 WIOD was live at the news conference. View the video below:
Around the same time of the presentation on Monday, a Jewish day school in Davie was evacuated after a threat. Wasserman Schultz call to action was scheduled before the threat.
The David Posnack JCC in Davie is one of many Jewish community establishments across the nation to receive such a threat. Reports claim that up to ten other Jewish Community Centers in the U.S. received threats Monday morning alone.
The Congresswoman plans to go around the community to hold roundtables with local leaders and educators in order to help them deal with the threats and be able to calm children's fears. The first meeting on the subject is scheduled for Friday morning.
Below is the full text of the letter members of Congress sent to the heads of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice.