Palm Beach County’s Jewish community has been rattled by a rise in antisemitism following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, but its friends in the Christian community have shown steadfast support, longtime Palm Beach resident Bill Meyer said Thursday.
Addressing a gathering of the Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians & Jews at its annual dinner at The Beach Club, Meyer, who is Jewish, said the organization has been unwavering in its commitment to addressing hatred and bigotry.
“It takes courage to confront antisemitism, but there is nothing more powerful than when non-Jews choose to stand beside us and call out antisemitism in their workplace, in schools, in the businesses they frequent and yes, even among their friends,” Meyer told the gathering after he was presented with the Fellowship’s 2024 Skip Randolph Award.
Meyer cited the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who wrote: “to defend a country you need an army, but to defend civilization you need education. Education starts in the home, but what is taught is critical. We are not born with hate. Hate is learned.”