A synagogue in Florida was sent a package which included threats and “antisemitic rhetoric”, just a day after a worshipper was shot outside a different shul a fifteen-minute drive away.
The Young Israel of Bal Harbour received a package in the post on Monday containing a DVD, a picture of someone pointing a gun and pages filled with antisemitic writing, according to the COLLIVE news site.
The Jewish Mayor of Bal Harbour, Gabriel Groisman, confirmed via social media that the synagogue had been sent a parcel containing “threats and antisemitic rhetoric”.
Thanking the police for their response, Mr Groisman stressed that “the Jewish community will NOT cower in fear. We stand strong, united, and proud.”
I can confirm that Young Israel of Bal Harbour received a suspicious package this a.m. w/threats & anti-Semitic rhetoric. It must be known that the Jewish community will NOT cower in fear. We stand strong, united, and proud. Thank you Surfside & Bal Harbour PDs for your response. pic.twitter.com/1kxmmECUkr
— Mayor Gabriel Groisman (@GabeGroisman) July 29, 2019
The evening before, a man said to be in his 20s circled a different synagogue nearby, Young Israel of Greater Miami, in his car, a black Chevrolet, before getting out and firing eight shots, hitting a Jewish man who was approaching the shul’s entrance.
Yosef (Warren) Lipschutz, 69, was hit in the leg before he managed to duck behind a bench. He was subsequently taken to Aventura hospital where he underwent surgery; he is now in a stable condition.
The attacker is still at large, and the police have not yet designated the shooting as a hate crime.
.@MiamiDadePD are currently passing out this flyer as they search for who shot a man Sunday at a NE Miami-Dade synagogue. @wsvn #7News pic.twitter.com/I4ohByJ8XL
— Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) July 29, 2019
But Jewish residents of Miami appear determined not to let the attacks define their daily lives.
"I'm in North Miami Beach right now, and no one is saying they 'no longer feel comfortable in Synagogue'", Rabbi Avromy Super, a Chabad Lubavitch representative, wrote on social media.
"Synagogues are open and everybody is living life as normal."