SUNRISE, Fla. – U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and other South Florida Jewish leaders spoke Monday against the rise of anti-Semitic acts in South Florida and across the U.S.
The congresswoman was joined by the Broward Sheriff's Office undersecretary, local rabbis and a Jewish woman whose young child attends a local Jewish religious institution.
Wasserman Schultz called on President Donald Trump and his attorney general to make investigating acts of anti-Semitism a priority.
Wassermann Schultz also called on the administration to respond to a letter signed by her and more than 100 congressional leaders urging the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to assess the situation and report back with specific steps that are being taken to stop such incidents.
The group called attention to multiple threats made against Jewish community centers in South Florida, including in Miami Beach, Kendall, Pinecrest and Palm Beach Gardens, as well as across the country.
"I'm incredibly angry," Wasserman Schultz said. "I'm here today to channel my anger so that we can make sure that, first and foremost, we find these bastards and that we make sure we don't rest, and that there is nowhere that they think they can hide (and) that we won't hunt them down and find them."
"What we cannot do is return to those days when hatred, bigotry, ignorance and racism ran free and unchecked," Rabbi Jonathan Berkun of the Aventura Jewish Center said. "We're standing here today because we refuse to allow America to become a place of fear."
BSO officials said they will continue to partner with local, state and federal agencies to find those responsible for the threats that they are investigating.