HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Police are investigating after they said a man hurled profanities at Jewish people outside of synagogues in Hallandale Beach and Hollywood, the latest in a string of incidents that have raised concerns in South Florida’s Jewish community.
Local 10 News obtained exclusive video surveillance of a man telling Jewish people to “F--- off” when they asked him to stop video recording their children, according to investigators.
Local 10 News spoke with Hallandale Beach Vice Mayor Anabelle Lima-Taub Monday, who said that the culprit has been seen yelling profanities at Jewish people in her city.
On Monday, graffiti was also found on the campus at Nova Southeastern University that included the phrases: “Kill the Jews” and “Gas all Jews.”
“We’ve normalized in the United States, in colleges and universities, that blood libel against Jews is acceptable,” Lima-Taub said.
It turns out that the incident was a university-sanctioned project with the goal of tearing down hate. The idea was to have students write hateful messages on a wall that would be torn down.
“I think leaving a wall full of hate speech and calls for violence with no context is just more hurtful than anything else,” said NSU student Jenna Sarner.
In a letter sent to the Nova community, school leaders said they were unaware of the project and that it missed the mark, adding, “...we feel that hate has no place on our campus or in our society, in any context. On behalf of NSU, we apologize for any ill-feelings.”
By Monday evening, the wall of words was gone.
“I’m glad it’s gone,” said Sarner. “I’m happy that no one has to walk out and see that. I don’t think it’s something someone can look at and be happy about or proud of.”
Police say any witnesses who saw the man yelling at Jewish people in Broward should report it immediately.
“It would be a crime and we would investigate it as such,” said Capt. Megan Jones, of the Hallandale Beach Police Department. “As far as this incident goes, we don’t have someone to come forward to make a complaint, but if so, we would investigate it.”
Tauber said she and her department want the video of the incident released because there are still people denying that antisemitism is rampant.
If you have any information on the suspect’s whereabouts, please call the Hallandale Beach Police Department at 954-457-1400 or the Hollywood Police Department at 954-764-4357.