JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sunday marks one year since antisemitic rhetoric was projected across EverBank Stadium during last year’s Georgia-Florida game.
Just days later, more hate speech appeared throughout Jacksonville.
On Jacksonville’s biggest rivalry night, a statement saying “Kanye is right about the Jews” appeared over the stadium during Georgia-Florida — a reference to social media posts made by Kanye West in October 2022.
Since then, more hateful messages appeared throughout Jacksonville, including the appearance of a swastika and an outline of an antisemitic cartoon displayed on the CSX building during a Jaguars’ game earlier this year.
That’s what prompted City Council to pass legislation banning any message projected onto someone’s building or property without permission.
Now, a year later, there’s an ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Local Jewish leaders in Jacksonville are focusing on informing our community about what’s happening abroad.
On Friday, the Jewish Community Alliance set up a Shabbat table with empty seats.
Shabbat is the Jewish day of rest.
Each vacant seat represented someone being held hostage by Hamas forces in Gaza, including more than 20 children.
Mariam Feist, CEO of the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Northeast Florida, said she wants people to remember that this could’ve been anyone.
“These were people who were going to concerts. These were people sleeping in their beds. These were people driving in their cars and were ripped away and they are held hostage,” Feist said. “We cannot forget about them and we cannot diminish our voices.”
We reached out to the Jewish Community Alliance to get a statement about whether or not they have concerns about antisemitic crimes happening locally amid the war and Florida-Georgia weekend.
Due to the Sabbath, the group was unable to comment.