Jewish leaders in West Palm Beach, Florida, are demanding answers from local officials in a multiyear effort to make a Holocaust museum permanent.
Supporters have been seeking for about two years to acquire the vacant 100-year-old downtown building where the monument will be built.
”I said to the mayor, as I've said to you, to the commissioners, this is your legacy. You have the power to fight anti-Semitism,” Ira Jacobson of Helt North America told FOX News Digital.
The city's Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is attempting to dispose of the vacant building, but no decision has been made regarding the space at 314 Clematis Street.
“There are many good reasons to open a facility on Clematis Street,” said director Ari Fixler. Amdo Aish He told Fox News Digital in Palm Beach County. “So we put in a bid and it was…what we believed…it was a slow process for over two years. So we don't have an answer yet.”
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Museum Champions Joined city commission meeting on January 8 to promote their cause again. They say the museum will be similar to the Amd Aish Memorial Museum in Brooklyn, New York.
Since that meeting, “staff is currently reviewing the proposal and conducting analysis. Next steps and dates will be announced at this time.” The site's web page says:
Fixler said the next meeting is scheduled for February 5th.
“We're going before the Mayor of West Palm Beach and the West Palm Beach City Commissioners to try to get this property that they've put up for sale. And unfortunately, it seems like it's been going on forever. , apparently.'' “We go to them, they're very nice, they don't say much, but there are no consequences,'' Jacobson explained.
District 3 Commissioner Christy Fox confirmed to Fox News Digital that the city commission has not yet received an application from the CRA for the building. The CRA did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
In this December 7, 2019 photo, hundreds of thousands of Jews are led into the gas chambers where they are murdered inside the former Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau or Auschwitz II concentration camp in Oświęcim. This is the line from the place. ,Poland. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
Jacobson said having a Holocaust museum is far more important to the community than any other restaurant.
“I know that building is just us and the restaurant. What Florida needs is another place to sell burgers and fries.”
Efforts to build the museum began before the October 7 attack in Israel, but have taken on added urgency in the wake of rising anti-Semitism across the United States.
“There's no question that we need a Holocaust museum here to educate these kinds of people. But on top of that, we're also seeing an alarming rise in anti-Semitism,” Fixler said. Told.
“There's no question that we're seeing an unprecedented increase. Anti-Semitism used to be quiet. But that's no longer the case. Now it's out in the open.”
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Withered roses are seen on the fence at the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during a memorial ceremony to honor the victims of the Holocaust near the village of Brzezinka, near Oswiecim, Poland, on April 28, 2022. (Photo by Wojtek) Radwanski/AFP) (Photo by WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the latest data from the Florida Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The Sunshine State experienced historic excitement. Florida reported 269 incidents in 2022, an increase of 42% from 2021 and more than double the number from 2020.
“You see what's going on in America. You see what's going on in the world,” Jacobson said.
“A lot of people are blaming what's happening in Israel on October 7th. And, of course, it's increased through Israel, but anti-Semitism has been around for decades, centuries. “If you really want to go back, you want to go back to before Nazi Germany. And even in Nazi Germany, no one spoke out. No one was educated. “And that's what's starting to happen here.”
Nationally, anti-Semitic incidents have increased dramatically over the past few years. Data from ADL However, since October 7, 2023, the number of infections has increased by 360%, with 3,291 cases reported across the United States in the three months after the attack.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators holding placards gather in Union Square. (Steven Yang, Fox News Digital)
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Another alarming reality in the rise of anti-Semitism is the gap between young Americans' changing attitudes toward Jews and Israel and their basic understanding of the Holocaust.
College campuses across the United States have seen a sharp increase in anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activity, particularly in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Since the start of the 2023-2024 academic year, 73% of Jewish college students They say they have experienced or witnessed some type of anti-Semitism. 43.9% of non-Jewish students also reported a similar reality.
Looming behind the increase in incidents is a shift in beliefs among America's youth. According to information from December Poll by The Economist/YouGov, One in five Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 believes the Holocaust is a “myth.”
Mr. Jacobson emphasized the need to educate Americans about the Holocaust to prevent future generations from committing the same atrocities.
“What's the best way to get to these kids? Education. Yes, there are some Holocaust courses. Yes, there are conferences and art shows and speakers, but it's important to know that kids and their kids are going to be there seven days a week. We need a building there.''Families and neighbors learned what anti-Semitism is, what racism is, and what has happened to Jews over the generations. I'm going to ”
The city's silence on the proposal has Jewish leaders questioning the motives behind the indecision.
“They don't have it in their agenda or in their minds to advance the Jewish cause like in other cities across America. They're not used to that, and that's what's going on here. “Maybe it's a problem,” Fixler said.
“And that has to change because times are different…We need to rise to the same level that Los Angeles County and Orange County and many other counties around the country are putting money into. We're not making representations, we're putting money into it.'' There's money in there…to make sure the Holocaust Museum has what it needs. ”
“If the mayor and city commissioners aren't on our side, we're doomed because there's no education,” Jacobson added.
Mayor Keith James' office declined to comment on the matter, citing a Jan. 8 meeting on the matter.
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