SARASOTA – The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee held a unity gathering Sunday in response to hateful flyers that were distributed in the Cherokee Park Sarasota neighborhood last week.
“We were able to find out that these were not local people and therefore that we did not have to coward our homes, we needed to join together and the neighborhood association of Cherokee park had a meeting and decided as a community, to launch the united against hate campaign,” said CEO of the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, Shep Englander.
Cherokee park resident, Sepi Ackerman said she and her neighbors decided it was time to change the narrative
“The work never stops, I feel like as long as we can continue spreading that message of inclusivity that we need to do it, and that way we are building a better future, not just for ourselves, but for our children,” said Sarasota resident, Sepi Ackerman.
Several public officials, including Congressman Vern Buchanan, Mayor Erik Arroyo and City Commissioner, Hagen Brody showed their support at the rally
“These incidents are rare, but obviously deeply troubling, I think it is important that when that happens, that we make a very public and visible show of support for our community and our Jewish community,” said Sarasota City Commissioner, Hagen Brody.
“Appreciative and overwhelmed with gratitude that we have the support of so many elected officials and general residents, it means a lot and it just shows that we really are going to come together and be stronger than ever and were not going to let something negative tear us down,” said Ackerman.
The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee runs the SAFE SRQ initiative to identify and assess potential threats to the community.
They encourage everyone to report any incidents to law enforcement as soon as they are witnessed and complete an incident report.
For more information you can visit their website here.
