A new interfaith initiative in southern Florida aims to combat rising hate crimes with community solidarity. The new program, called the Interfaith Rapid Response to Hate, will combat hate and bias crimes in a variety of ways, including removing spray paint, placing ads of solidarity in newspapers, and raising money to repair damages. According to Rabbi Bradd Boxman of Congregation Kol Tikvah in Parkland, Florida, the local interfaith community is already very well-engaged with each other, and this new initiative is designed as a structured and organized response system to reflect community connections that already exist. He says: “This rapid response network is about putting in place the mechanism, that if there is any kind of hate crime, we’re ready to respond… It’s not a matter of who do we need to contact, who’s our neighbors? We’re already united.”
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