MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – The South Florida Jewish community showed their support for Israel at a special ceremony in Miami Beach, held four months after the surprise attack from Hamas.
The Greater Miami Jewish Federation hosted “The Main Event – An Extraordinary Night of Jewish Community,” at the Loews Miami Beach, Sunday evening.
The federation described the event as “a momentous celebration of Jewish community and solidarity with Israel.”
Reuven “Ruvy” Rivlin, who served as the 10th president of Israel between 2014 and 2021, was the evening’s keynote speaker.
The event also honored Jacob Solomon, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, who is retiring after 40 years. He received the Friend of Israel Humanitarian Award.
Speaking with 7News, Solomon praised the local Jewish community for their generosity and commitment.
“For one thing, I have enormous pride at the accomplishments of the federation and our Jewish community,” he said. “We have an awesome community here, people who really care, they’re deeply engaged, and they’re very generous in terms of their resources, their time and their talent.”
Sunday’s event takes place hours after overnight strikes in Gaza killed 18 people.
Solomon addressed the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East.
“I think, as a people, we’re going into a challenging phase — antisemitism, the war in Israel, increase in isolation — and I think Jewish unity and resilience is more important than ever,” he said.
Also on hand at The Main Event was Michael Herzog, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States since 2021.
It has been more than 130 days since Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack. Israeli officials said they will not back down anytime soon.
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