Jewish Community Relations Council

As leaders of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County and its Jewish Community Relations Council, we are outraged at the vandalism that occurred at Temple Beth El in Boca Raton on Monday night.  Our hearts go out to our Beth El friends and neighbors who have had their sacred space defaced by vile images and racial slurs.  The incident has served as a painful reminder that anti-Semitism exists even in our own community where Judaism is well-woven into the fabric of daily life.

Seventy years ago the steamship St. Louis arrived at the port of Miami with more than 900 Jewish refugees seeking a safe haven from the growing persecution in Europe. The St. Louis became a “ship of destiny,” carrying the fate of millions of others with a clear message to Adolf Hitler: Jewish people were expendable. On December 14, joined by 34 surviving SS St. Louis passengers from across the globe, and by local neighbors who bear personal witness to the Holocaust, 400 guests of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County gathered at the Federation’s west Boca Raton campus to commemorate this watershed historical moment.

Iran’s reported agreement in Geneva today to participate in additional talks and allow inspectors into the newly disclosed Qom facility may seem encouraging, but there have been many disappointments and broken promises in the past.  We caution our community not to take these words at face value, and we will be following the progress on these next steps very carefully.  Actions, not words, will demonstrate the real extent of Iran’s cooperation and whether it will be held accountable to international law.