On June 24, a 12-storey beachfront condo building collapsed in Surfside, a suburb of Miami, with more than 150 people still missing as rescue operations continue days later. At least three dozen of those missing people are reportedly Jewish—Surfside is actually considered to be the most heavily Jewish district in the Miama area—and the Canadian government believes there were four Canadians in the building, since the area is a hotspot for Canadian snowbirds.
But there are deeper connections to Canada, as well. Canadian synagogues are responding to the tragedy with prayers and donation drives, Surfside’s Chabad rabbi grew up in Ontario, and the company that built the condo complex in 1981 was, in fact, run by a Canadian Jewish real estate developer and lawyer
On today’s episode of The CJN Daily podcast, Jacob Solomon, the head of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, joins to provide an on-the-ground update. Listen and subscribe above.
What we talked about:
- Read about the local Federation’s response at jewishmiami.org
- Learn about the local Chabad’s donation drive at theshul.org
- Find emergency numbers via the Canadian consulate in Miami at international.gc.ca
The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.