Polk leaders show solidarity with local Jews, Israel in rally at synagogue
LAKELAND — One after another, some of Polk County's most prominent figures stood at a pulpit adorned with the star of David and flanked by the blue-and-white flag of Israel.
In an unprecedented gathering Wednesday night, law enforcement leaders, elected officials and clergy members expressed sympathy and support for Israel, four days after the nation suffered a shocking assault from Hamas terrorists. The gathering in Temple Emanuel was billed as “Stand for Israel,” and some 300 people — the majority not members of the synagogue — did just that, remaining on their feet for almost 90 minutes to hear a series of speakers.
Many held small Israeli flags provided by the synagogue.
Lakeland Mayor Bill Mutz, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Lakeland Police Chief Sammy Taylor and state Rep. Jennifer Canady, R-Lakeland, led the lineup of guests to the synagogue declaring solidarity with local Jews and the people of Israel.
Canady, a teacher at Lakeland Christian School, surveyed the audience, noting the presence of politicians, law enforcement officials, longtime friends and pastors from her childhood church.
“And I see people who have political perspectives just like mine, and those that are very, very different,” Canady said. “But we are here because we share a purpose, and that purpose is to push back against the darkness. That is our job here today. And I am so proud that we are doing that here together.”
She added: “Solidarity is unity of a common purpose among individuals with a common interest for purposes of mutual support. Isn’t that interesting? Because when I look around this room, I have to tell you, I have never been more proud of our community.”
Originally planned for the lawn of the synagogue along Lake Hollingsworth, the rally was moved inside because of rain. Supporters stood tightly packed inside Berkovitz Hall, some of the men wearing traditional Jewish yarmulkes.
Notable figures seen in the audience included state Rep. Melony Bell, R-Fort Meade; state Rep. Josie Tomkow, R-Polk City; Polk County Commissioner George Lindsey; Polk County Tax Collector Joe Tedder; Florida Southern College President Anne Kerr; and a representative for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida.
Describing gruesome acts
Rabbi David Goldstein, dressed entirely in black, established a somber atmosphere for the event. He spoke in graphic detail of the killings carried out by teams of Hamas terrorists in Saturday’s surprise invasion of southern Israel. More than 1,200 people died in the rocket attacks and invasion, including at least 22 Americans, according to the Israeli government reports.
Hamas also reportedly carried scores of Israelis back to the Gaza strip as hostages.
Goldstein suggested that most Americans have not grasped the full brutality of Hamas’ actions, saying, “Please forgive me if I don't pull punches.” He said that images and videos he has seen from Israel are horrific.
“If you’re accustomed to receiving your news from the Western media, please know that you are not living in the same world that we currently inhabit,” Goldstein said grimly. “You are not seeing what we are seeing — kidnapped children, naked bodies massacred and dragged through the streets, parents murdered in front of their children, the elderly dumped into the back of pickup trucks, in some cases simply shot where they stand.”
The rabbi described reports of Gaza residents celebrating — shouting “God is great” and passing around sweets — upon hearing of the atrocities committed against Israelis.
“I do not think I can ever again distinguish between Gazans and Hamas,” Goldstein said. “For if they celebrated this and they believe that this is acceptable and legitimate, they are not part of the human race as I understand it.”
Both Goldstein and Moshe Lazaros, rabbi at Chabad Jewish Center in Lakeland, spoke of the long history of persecution and violence against Jews, dating back centuries before the Holocaust of the World War II era.
Noting that some have called the assault Israel’s version of 9/11, Goldstein noted that the country has about 1/37th the population of the United States. The 1,200 deaths in Israel equate to 44,000 deaths in the United States, he said.
“Can you imagine the Americans response if 128,000 of its citizens were killed or wounded in a single event?” Goldstein asked.
Shelley Robinson, the president of Temple Emanuel, spoke of the ties many American Jews feel to Israel. She said her children have attended summer camps in Israel, as have the children of other congregants, forming bonds with Israeli children and staff members. She read a statement from her 9-year-old daughter, who wrote that she is unable to sleep and worries about her friends in Israel facing potential missile strikes.
“More Jewish people died in one day this week than since before the Holocaust,” Robinson said. “Stand with your Jewish friends. We need you now more than ever. The silence is deafening.”
Citing a speech from the Consul General for Israel in Florida, Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, Robinson said: “This is not a political conflict. This is not a territorial dispute. This is not about opposite values or an issue of cultural differences. This is a war between light and darkness, between good or ultimate evil, and if you don't know which side you are on, you are part of the problem.”
Sheriff draws applause
Judd, the popular, five-term sheriff, spoke of a visit he had made to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and the “camaraderie” he felt with the country’s people. He denounced the Hamas attackers as “evil giants” and “monsters.”
Judd, 69, said he wished he could go to the front lines and fight alongside the Israel Defense Forces. He expressed confidence that the Israelis will neutralize Hamas.
“The attack against Israel is an attack against all God's people,” Judd said. “Hamas will never be satisfied. They will never stop until someone permanently stops every one of them. In Polk County vernacular, that means they've got to be graveyard dead” — he paused for laughing and applause — “and they chose that. The Israeli people didn’t choose that. Hamas chose that, and we ought to give them what they asked for.”
Judd said he had ordered increased security for Jewish facilities immediately after learning of Saturday’s attack, and Lakeland Police Chief Sammy Taylor offered a similar statement.
“I want to assure you that the Lakeland Police Department, along with county, state and federal partners, are taking proactive steps to ensure your safety. I will not tolerate any violence or threats of violence directed at anyone in this community,” Taylor said.
Reported incidents of antisemitism have been rising in Florida. A small group of neo-Nazis protested outside a drag performance in Lakeland last December, and antisemitic material has been distributed in some neighborhoods. In recent months, men wearing Nazi attire have gathered outside Walt Disney World and in Altamonte Springs.
Goldstein said that Temple Emanuel has been forced to adopt full-time security measures.
“We should all have broken hearts,” Mutz said. “We're witnessing one of the most horrific events in our lifetime, and most of us would have never thought this would happen again, but it has.”
Lakeland resident Dennis Ross, who served in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2019, spoke passionately of his connections to Israel. He described visiting the Golan Heights region and meeting IDF soldiers in a tank battalion while in office. He said he and his wife had visited Israel in May.
Ross, who now leads the American Center for Political Leadership at Southeastern University, said he had been communicating with a close friend in Israel, a woman named Sarah, whose son has been called into military duty. Ross said he asked her what he should tell other Americans to help them understand the situation.
Reading from her response, Ross said the woman described the Hamas attack as stunning and horrifying.
“But we have a 2,000-year-old history of resilience,” Ross read. “We have had wars and wars and attacks and terrorism and now this unfathomable atrocity. But we still remain strong. And the key is that we remain united — united with each other, with our brethren around the world, with our friends like the United States in the free democratic world.”
U.S. Rep. Scott Franklin, R-Lakeland, was in Washington and unable to attend. Alice Hunt, his district director, read a statement from Franklin that said, in part: “There is no prospect for lasting peace or a two-state solution as long as the Palestinians harbor terrorists.”
The clergy in attendance represented Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, nondenominational Christian, Unitarian and Buddhist communities. The Rev. John Fullerton, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Lakeland, reviewed the long affiliation between Temple Emanuel and his church, also located on Lake Hollingsworth.
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A former pastor, the Rev. John Newton, spoke out against opposition from some community leaders decades ago to allowing the establishment of the synagogue at such a prominent site. More recently, First Presbyterian invited Temple Emanuel to meet in its building while the synagogue underwent repairs following Hurricane Irma.
Noting the large assembly, Fullerton said, “There are some 300, 400 people here right now. I hope that you, Rabbi David, are feeling that these 300 or 400 people, and all the people that they represent, are standing with you. They're standing with Temple Emanuel; they're standing with the Jewish community; and they're standing with Israel.”
'Enemies of peace'
None of the speakers raised concerns about the potential effect of Israel’s military response on civilians in Gaza, where nearly half of the residents are children. As of Thursday, Palestinian officials said more than 1,100 residents, a combination of Hamas fighters and civilians, had been killed since Israel launched its response.
Hamas fighters are known to embed among civilians and use Gaza residents as human shields.
Tim Sizemore, pastor of Beacon Hill Fellowship, hinted at the situation while offering full support for Israel.
“As a person who follows the teachings of the one who said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’ I certainly pray for a just and lasting peace,” Sizemore said. “And I'm also very much aware that we cannot be naive that when it comes to matters of war and peace, the enemies of peace have a vote. So we stand for the right of people, the right of governments, to protect their citizens and resist those who would do evil.”
Victor Geigner, the cantor at Temple Emanuel, sang traditional Hebrew songs, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. Lazaros, joined by some of his children, recited scripture in Hebrew as well. Betsy Neff, a monk with Lakeland’s Zen Buddhist community, recited a prayer in Japanese.
The rally represented probably the largest collective expression of mourning in Polk County since an assembly at Lake Mirror following the Pulse nightclub massacre in 2016 and a gathering in Munn Park after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
Jodie Snyder, a member of Temple Emanuel, attended the rally along with her daughter, Kassidie, who held a homemade poster reading, “We stand with Israel.” Snyder said she has no relatives in Israel but has a friend whose husband was just called into military service, a week after the couple had a baby.
Snyder said she appreciated the gesture of solidarity with Lakeland’s Jewish residents.
“I thought that the outpouring of support was so touching, and to see all the clergy standing together, we just felt so supported,” Snyder said.
She said she was not surprised by the size and diversity of the assembly.
“No, I’m not, because we have such good relationships with the community,” she said. “And people love Israel. It belongs to all of us. But it was so heartwarming.”
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk leaders show solidarity with Israel in rally at synagogue
