I am 57 years old. I am a proud Zionist Jew, born and raised in England until 1987, when my family relocated to Boca Raton.  As you can imagine, Boca  was a lot different back then. There were fewer people, less traffic, less congestion, and fewer restaurants. Other than three years in Ann Arbor, MI, one year in Washington, D.C. and three years in Southern California, Boca has been home. My mom and sister also live in Boca. The rest of my family lives between Miami, New York, and Washington, D.C. We lost my father on January 15, 2017. Ironically, my stepdaughter’s birthday is also January 15, so we celebrate rather than mourn that day. I know my dad would approve.

At a Jewish conference in Amsterdam, participants pair up and face one another before one of them lunges at the other one with a butter-knife, prompting the unarmed person to holler “Stop!” and block the attack.

The activity is part of self-defense training led by an Israel-born security expert from Belgium for about 200 participants — many of them older than 60 –- of a conference focused on fighting antisemitism.

Sickening what is happening in Israel and throughout the world.  In Israel the IDF fights and we do all we can to bring the hostages home. Meanwhile throughout the United States we see people celebrating the murder, rape and mutilation of Jews.

At Columbia University, Yale and other schools we see scenes which we haven’t seen since the days of the Holocaust.  Its not just the celebration of people, it’s the universities permitting it. Its professors encouraging it.

Shaarey Zedek teens learn self-defense skills to combat antisemitism.

In a proactive response to growing rates of antisemitic threats and violence, Congregation Shaarey Zedek (CSZ) recently organized a self-defense class tailored specifically for teenagers.