South Florida demonstrators clash on Gaza Strip conflict; officials, ADL decry deadly attacks on Israel

Danica Jefferies, Joe Cavaretta, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Updated ·5 min read

FORT LAUDERDALE — As harrowing reports emerged Sunday of hundreds killed in attacks in Israel and the Gaza Strip, scores of South Floridians gathered to show their solidarity under the watchful eye of police clad in riot gear and carrying shields.

What started as two independent rallies, one to “Defend Israel” and the other called “Victory to Palestine,” merged briefly late Sunday afternoon on Sunrise Boulevard where it merges into U.S. 1, closing the normally busy road, when about 30 pro-Israel supporters confronted the other smaller group.

The rallies, held just a few blocks apart, were organized in response to Hamas attacks on Israel on Saturday.

About 4:30 p.m., a small group of pro-Israeli demonstrators approached the pro-Palestinian group. Didier Ortiz of Miami, who was waving a Palestinian flag, was allegedly punched in the face and shoved into the street by pro-Israeli protestors.

About 7:45 p.m., Fort Lauderdale Police reported via X, formerly known as Twitter, that the day’s events were over, the road was cleared, and one arrest was made for causing a disturbance.

At the height of the altercation, about 30 of the 300 people who showed up in support of Israel had descended on the pro-Palestinian group. Fort Lauderdale police were monitoring the rallies and de-escalated the situation. As of 4:55 p.m., the protesters were about three football fields apart and the officers had stood down.

Meanwhile, Florida politicians, officials, and the Anti-Defamation League spoke out in the wake of Hamas’ deadly assault on Israel that began Saturday on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.

Backed by scores of rockets, Hamas militants broke through Israel’s security barrier with a multifront, land-air-and-sea incursion into Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip.

In a phone interview Sunday with the Sun Sentinel, Consul General of Israel to Florida, Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, called the wide-scaled attacks on Israel an “atrocity and crime against humanity.”

Hamas “murdered families, elders, pregnant women, kids that were going to the synagogue or to school, people that were attending their services in their holy places, that were celebrating Shabbat and celebrating the holiday,” Elbaz-Starinsky said.

At least 600 Israelis have reportedly been killed, with likely over 100 more held hostage, Carole Nuriel, senior director of international government and community relations at Anti-Defamation League, said Sunday at a news conference organized by the ADL.

Nuriel added that 1,000 Israelis were killed over the course of five years during a previous conflict with Palestine known as the Second Intifada. “We might reach that number in only two days … It’s tragic on so many levels,” Nuriel said.

South Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz said in an emailed statement that “Israel is at war, not by choice, and has every right to defend itself and its people against this barbarous onslaught.”

“If there’s one place in the world other than Israel, where the community and the political leadership should not and will not tolerate this, it’s here” in Florida, said Elbaz-Starinsky.

“Israel’s national security is part of U.S. national security,” he said. “We have a long, gruesome battle ahead, but we will prevail.”

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Sen. Marco Rubio described the attacks as “cowardly” in a news release Saturday. Voicing support for Israel, Rubio added that “it is in America’s national interest that Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists are defeated.”

Choking back tears as she spoke at Sunday’s ADL news conference, Renana Yaakov said her sons were taken Saturday morning from their home near the Gaza Strip.

“It’s not a game. It’s war. And children have nothing to do with war,” she said.

Yaakov said her two sons, 12 and 16, were hiding home alone in their security room, “part of a normal routine when you live on the Gaza border,” and while on the phone with them, she said she heard someone breaking in the door. She said she has not heard from them since.

ADL officials expressed concern over the potential for an increase in anti-Semitic attacks around the world in the coming days, especially “a surge of hate online,” including calls for violence on Jewish individuals and institutions, said Marina Rosenberg, ADL’s senior vice president of international affairs.

Some South Florida Jewish synagogues stepped up security this weekend by adding police patrols and pat-downs at the door. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said in a Sunday news release that the police department will “take the necessary steps to safeguard Jewish houses of worship.”

Late Sunday afternoon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis posted on social media his disgust with Hamas supporters.

“The rallies in Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale supporting Hamas are abhorrent. Hamas is a terrorist group that is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and commits atrocities to further that end,” said DeSantis on X, formerly Twitter. DeSantis has made trips to Israel to build the state’s economic ties with the country. “We are proud of the relationship between Florida and Israel and remember well the support we received from the IDF following the Surfside tower collapse. Florida stands with Israel as it faces one of its greatest challenges.”

Three Broward organizations — The Jewish Federation, Board of Rabbis, and Jewish Community Relations Council — plan to host a “Stand With Israel” community vigil on at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Temple Beth Emet in Cooper City.