WESTON, Fla. – Political and faith leaders came together Monday morning to condemn the latest instance of hateful vandalism in Weston.
The Hunter’s Point gated community has been targeted twice over just the past month.
“If you are that brave to do that in the cloak of darkness, come out in the daylight and show yourself,” Weston Mayor Margaret Brown said.
Brown was among local and national lawmakers, faith leaders and community members that joined together to condemn acts of bigotry.
These types of crime are disgusting, disturbing, not representative of Weston, said BSO Capt. Sam Cavalieri. “We will not tolerate them.”
Vandals spray-painted swastikas, insults to Jewish people and the N-word all over the community’s playground.
“Silence is the oxygen that fuels antisemitism and racism,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, said during Monday’s news conference.
The fact that the community is gated led many to believe that the person responsible may live in the neighborhood.
“(I don’t know) why someone would choose to scroll these hateful symbols and words right outside their homes,” Wasserman Schultz said.
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It comes amid growing concerns over antisemitism in Florida and across the country.
“We were disgusted by the hateful incidents across Florida this weekend, which included antisemitic graffiti, banner drops, demonstrations and laser projections,” Sarah Emmons, with the Florida Anti-Defamation League, said.
Emmons is referring to incidents in Jacksonville Saturday night.
At some point during the football game between Florida and Georgia on Saturday night, the phrase “Kanye is right about the jews” was projected on the outside of one of the end zones at the TIAA Bank Field stadium. It was a reference to recent antisemitic comments that Ye has made on social media and in interviews — comments that have led to him losing partnerships with Adidas and several other companies.
Faith leaders prayed that the hate stops here.
“Don’t be intimidated by this hate,” Rabbi Visroel Spalter, of the Chabad of Weston, said. “Add love, add kindness, add light and this darkness will be dispelled automatically.”
Broward County deputies are investigating both acts of vandalism.
“It doesn’t have any place in my neighborhood,” resident Steven Munzer said. “It doesn’t have any place period.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.