After antisemitism hits Sarasota neighborhoods, community rallies United Against Hate
A rally in Sarasota on Sunday called for residents to come together “united against hate” after area neighborhoods saw antisemitic materials left on lawns last week.
The hateful fliers were left overnight and found on driveways in the morning, including around 100 of them in the Cherokee Park and Oyster Bay communities. Law enforcement continues to investigate the incidents.
Jewish and non-Jewish members of the Cherokee Park Neighborhood Association came together to brainstorm an idea for a community-wide unity campaign, including yard signs and a public rally. The group tapped the nonprofit Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee for help organizing Sunday’s event.
Politicians, community leaders, organizers and residents spoke Sunday to a large crowd gathered at downtown Sarasota’s Bayfront Park for the unity gathering. The event included speeches, song, prayer and poetry.
Speakers called on those gathered to be proactive in addressing antisemitism and racism both in private and public interactions.
“We wanted to fill our neighborhood and community with the message that matters,” said Sepi Ackerman, a Cherokee Park resident who was among those impacted by the fliers and helped formulate the unity campaign.
Ackerman said the campaign is a “universal response” that not only rebukes the antisemitism, but sends an even bigger message.
“We will not tolerate hatred of any kind in our community,” Ackerman said. “What started as a mission to hurt brought us even closer.”
More than a dozen speakers, including U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, Sarasota Mayor Erik Arroyo and Sarasota City Commissioner Hagen Brody took the podium and addressed the crowd for more than an hour. Other speakers included Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition President Vickie Oldham, Sarasota Ministerial Association President Tom Pfaff, American Jewish Committee Regional Director Brian Lipton and Rabbi Michael Shefrin, president of the Sarasota-Manatee Rabbinic Association.
“I want to thank everyone who came out here to stand firm and in solidarity reject all forms of antisemitism and hate,“ Shefrin said. “It’s that simple. Tell your elected officials, tell your neighbors, tell your fellow students, tell your leaders to condemn this.”
The location for the event was chosen for its proximity to the “Embracing Our Differences” art display currently set up at Bayfront Park. Held annually by a Sarasota nonprofit of the same name, the art show combines words and images that promote diversity on billboard-style canvases.
Many who attended Sunday’s event took home “United Against Hate” lawn signs that organizers intend to continue spreading the event’s message.