Victims Of Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Remembered In Florida

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Saying that hope is stronger than hate, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber called on his Florida community to stand with victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and overwhelm the purveyors of hate.

"The truth is that evil exists when hope doesn't," Gelber said, speaking at a community-wide solidarity vigil at the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial Tuesday night.

Prominent Florida billionaire Norman Braman, who served as founding chair of the Holocaust Memorial, noted that Americans are living in "incredibly" difficult times.

"All we have to do is turn around and look at the group of policemen on top of the building — the SWAT team — making sure that everyone here doesn't have to worry about the type of consequences we saw in Pittsburgh," he said.

He pointed to the "alarming rise in hate" in the United States.

"This is truly what hate looks like in America today," Braman told the audience. "There are absolutely no good people who stand on the side of hate. Period."

He added that there are an estimated 1,000 organized hate groups in the United States. Braman called on the memory of the 11 Pittsburgh victims to serve as inspiration in the fight against hatred in America, wherever it exists.

"They are groups whose mission is to spew hate, which inevitably knows no boundaries," he said.

Tuesday's event was organized by the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and other organizations. The vigil took place at the city's emblematic Holocaust Memorial at 1933-1945 Meridian Ave.

The interfaith vigil featured prominent Florida officials, including Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan among others. They came together to denounce anti-Semitism and all acts of hate in the United States.

Consul General of Israel Lior Haiat along with interfaith clergy and intergroup community leaders also attended the event.

Funerals for three of the 11 victims of the horrific Pittsburgh shooting also took place on Tuesday. See Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting: Funerals Begin Tuesday

"Eleven souls were taken away in Pittsburgh, 11 Jewish souls. But also something we should remember is that police officers ran in to help them," said Gelber. "First responders were available to help them. Some of those police were actually injured and then returned to help them."

Gelber thanked the emergency personnel who risked their lives in Pittsburgh.

"Thank you for putting yourselves in peril to protect our community," he said."Hate lives and we need police who are willing to stand up and firefighters willing."

Gelber read a quote from Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel:

"Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion or political views, that place must at that moment, become the center of the universe," the quote read.

"Today Pittsburgh is the center of the universe, and we are the center of the universe, because we are standing up against hate," declared Gelber.

Watch Gelber and other speakersat Tuesday's vigil below:

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the launch of a new hate crimes website on Tuesday to serve as a centralized portal for hate crimes resources. The resources include training materials, technical assistance, videos, research reports, statistics, and other information related to hate crimes.

The Justice Department has charged more than 300 defendants with hate crimes offenses over the past decade, including 50 since January 2017, according to federal officials.

Here are more speakers from the vigil:

Road closures were put in place starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday ahead of the 6 p.m. vigil.

Police also checked all bags of people entering the vigil.

The address of the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial corresponds to the years when Nazi reign began and ended in Germany.

Gelber said the address was pure coincidence.

"This is a sacred place in our city," he said. "This is a sacred place not simply because it is a memorial to the horrible, heinous crimes of the past. But it is a reminder to us every day that hate exists. Hate exists here and elsewhere, and we must always stand up to it."

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber speaks at Tuesday's vigil courtesy city of Miami Beach. Photo of the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial also courtesy Miami Beach.