Mosaic Miami announced they will hold their second annual ‘March in Unity’ on Sunday, to help quell tension at a time when hate crimes and threats are on the rise following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
The interfaith group, in a statement, said the march will begin at 3 p.m. at the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami and end at the Underline in Brickell. Tickets are free but participants are encouraged to register here.
They said the march is not a political event and will not permit anyone to carry banners, flags or signs. Marchers will be provided “We Are United” signage.
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“Mosaic Miami has joined forces with South Florida community leaders and organizations in the spirit of the belief that we’re better off united, regardless of race, color, religion, origin, and political affiliation,” said Matt Anderson, executive director of Mosaic Miami.
Mosaic Miami was founded in 1935 as the Miami Branch of the National Conference of Christians & Jews. In 2011, it changed its name to Mosaic Miami to include “people of ALL faiths and secular backgrounds.”
He said his organization, along with other partner groups, want to find “productive ways to reach common ground and ease tension amid a rise in reported hate crimes in the U.S."
“It’s important to have open conversations where we listen to each other, rather than lecture to one another,” said Anderson.
The Associated Press reports that incidences of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate have skyrocketed nationwide and around the world since the surprise Oct. 7 attack by Hamas against Israel that killed more than 1,400 people and saw hundreds taken hostage, and Israel's response in Gaza, where it has pledged to use force to “destroy” Hamas.
One of the most prominent attacks in the U.S. was the recent killing of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume and the wounding of his mother in an attack in Illinois that prosecutors allege was driven by Islamophobia. In another incident, federal authorities on Wednesday brought charges against a Cornell University student in New York for posting violently threatening statements against Jewish people on campus.
Anderson said march organizers chose Miami’s Freedom Tower because it once served “as a beacon of hope for people arriving in Miami.” Between 1962 and 1974, the iconic building along Biscayne Boulevard was a reception center for tens of thousands of Cuban refugees.
“We hope during today’s darkness that it will serve as a reminder that we need each other, and we’re in this together,” said Anderson.
A long list of organizations, churches, businesses and local political leaders have joined the march, including the American Jewish Committee, the Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ, Miami Dade College, the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, Office of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Office of Miami-Dade County Public School District Board member Luisa Santos, and the Miami Foundation.
