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So that Public Safety Officers of the Jewish Faith May Join Together for the Welfare of All       

The South Florida Shomrim Society

the  Face of Jewish Public Safety in South Florida

 

The South Florida Shomrim Society was formed in 1984 to satisfy the needs of the Jewish Law Enforcement Officers, and support personnel, in Miami-Dade County.  With only a handful of members, the originators slowly made progress in recruiting new members.  The dream of an expanded membership was realized in the early 1990's when there were over 100 members.  The Founding Members along with Irving "Red" Heller, Chairman of the Board of Directors, forged ahead with establishing the legitimacy of the Society.  They worked tirelessly with a few dedicated members and limited technology to get the word out and keep the organization directed toward helping Jewish causes.  Under this leadership, the first Dinner Dance was held, scholarships handed out, and many Jewish charities were supported, with donations and physical labor.  

 

Late in 1999, the leadership of the Society was passed to Steve Leibowitz.  Building upon the foundation that had been laid and using technology not available in the Society’s beginning the membership grew. Today, the membership numbers almost 300. Many members living in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Monroe, Collier counties, and a couple in Lee County.  There are also members who live in Israel, Canada, New York, Philadelphia, Massachusetts Ohio, Illinois and California. 

 

The Society regularly supports more than 30 charities each year.  With the expanded membership, fund raising projects, and corporate sponsorships the funds raised by the Shomrim Society have dramatically increased, and with it so have the amounts given away each year.  The South Florida Shomrim Society Scholarship Award was up to seven awards in 2008, from one just seven years ago. 

 

The Annual Dinner Dance and Awards ceremony is held each year in November, at the beginning of the Veteran’s Day Weekend.  For many years this event went unscheduled, now it is the Society’s flagship event attended by over 300 guests and supporters, this year celebrating the Silver Anniversary of the South Florida Shomrim Society. The free Kosher Picnic (fondly referred to as "Machin A Piknik") is held each Spring and it too brings together 300 plus members, family and friends and Supporters.

 

The South Florida Shomrim Society has played host to the International Association of Jewish Public Service Employees Training Seminar.  The educational seminar series instituted by the International Association of Jewish Public Service Employees has been sponsored by the Miami-Dade Police Department and certified as an approved training course by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Department of Justice.  January 2006 marked the inaugural Training Seminar, and the South Florida Shomrim Society will continue to serve as the host chapter. The 2009 Training Seminar washeld in conjunction with the South Florida Shomrim Society Annual Dinner Dance.

 

The revitalization and evolution of the Society is continuous.  Barry Mankes, Immediate Past President (2006-2009), re-wrote the Constitution and By-laws (2004) to reflect the more modern make up of the Society.  In the words of the organization’s Spiritual Leader, Rabbi Pinchas A. Weberman, “This is truly an organization of inclusion rather than exclusion”.  In October 2004, the first "forced election" was held (term limits were instituted under the new Constitution).  Under Barry's direction we established financial stability, community recognition and expanded our partnership with other fraternal organizations throughout Law Enforcement circles worldwide.   He guided us through the 25th anniversary of the South Florida Shomrim Society and prepared  the future leaders for their roles.

 

The current mix of officers is representative of the diverse membership; Mike Bentolila, President, (Aventura Police Department); David Lewis, Executive Vice President (Broward County Sheriff’s Office); Lou Bornstein, 2nd Vice President (Massachusetts Department of Narcotics - Retired); Jorge Ghitis, 3rd Vice President (Miami-Dade Police Department).  The Executive Board of Officers revamped the Board of Directors comprised of Law Enforcement Officials and representatives of the business community who have put an effort into the growing reputation of the Society.

 

The South Florida Shomrim Society was born from the need to have a place for Jewish Law Enforcement Officers to turn.  The seeds were planted and it now represents the dreams of those that forged it, setting the standards that future Fraternal Jewish Organizations will strive to match. 

Founding Member, International Association of Jewish Public Safety Employees

  THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEES 

Born out of the need to unite all Jewish Public Safety Employees in a fraternal organization, this project began to take shape in 2004.  There were organizations that encompassed members of police departments only; fire departments only; or other specialized groups; but none were all inclusive.  As Jews, we fought for many years for inclusion and equality.  The fight for equality in the public service sector continues and the voice of the IAJPSE will represent the needs of its members.  The charter members of this parent organization have members in foreign countries, as well, thus the international inclusion. 

Shalom: 

As the founding Board of Directors of the International Association of Jewish Public Safety Employees (IAJPSE) welcome to our Web Page outlining our Goals and Objectives.  We intend to be an organization whose charter is dependent upon the membership for guidance, therefore, responsive to the membership. 

In order to be an “Organization of Inclusion” we believe it is imperative to establish and maintain open lines of communication.  There is no longer a need to have an office with walls.  The 21st century has provided us with the means of communication that make a permanent home office site unnecessary.  Historically, permanent home office sites have mandated staffing, hard-wired telephone lines, files of paperwork, and much more.  The main problem of the permanent home office is that it lacked portability, so control of the space was geographically accessible to a limited number of people or groups.  This limited access creates a situation where members experience a feeling of being ostracized and a lack of empowerment by not being near the office and their lack of ability to be active in the operation of the organization.  The IAJPSE will have a virtual office accessible to all its members; thereby eliminating theses counter productive negative forces.

We perceive the needs of Jewish Public Safety Employees divided into several categories: Education, Representation, and Support.  The IAJPSE intends to address each of these three concerns through a networking system involving the leadership of its member organizations.

EDUCATION:

Since our objective is not one of religious education (that is left to the individual person or their families), rather we are concentrating on the goal of providing educational seminars on current topics of interest to our members.  The entire Board of Directors will be able to select appropriate topics of discussion; attain qualified presenters; monitor attendance; provide comfortable venues; and create an atmosphere conducive to the sharing of information on relevant subjects.  As trends change, so must the direction of the educational services we provide. 

REPRESENTATION:

Individuals have difficulty in being heard in large organizations.  Although our concentration is on fairness to all persons regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or any other trait that would differentiate them from the rest of the organization, our emphasis will be on assisting those members that require an outside influence to help them be heard.  The adage “There is strength in numbers” is only applicable if there is a person or group will to take the time to let others know that they represent a large number of people and have a pertinent message to deliver.  The objective is equality, not superiority.

SUPPORT:

At times there are Public Safety agencies that do not conduct themselves in a non-religious manner, thus polarizing a particular group or making them uncomfortable.  These agencies perform out of habit or indifference to individuals.  Bringing to the surface the inappropriateness of mixing publicly funded meetings with specific religious overtones or acceptance of inappropriate behavior is a goal we have set for ourselves.  The goal is to unify, not separate.  Support shall be given to those that merit assistance.  We shall all strive to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and traditional Jewish ethics and traditions.

The Board of Directors of the IAJPSE is set up as and intends to act as a group of managing partners – managing the direction and future endeavors of a conglomerate of groups and individuals with similar goals and objectives.  We will seek to become better as a whole, not as individuals. 

JEWISH PUBLIC SERVICE HISTORY

The first Jewish police officer in North America was Asser Levy.  He was a Portuguese Jew who lived in Recife, then the capital of Dutch Brazil.  Many Portuguese Jews fled the Inquisition of Spain and Portugal by moving to the then Portuguese colony of Brazil.  Others fled to Protestant Holland where Jews were allowed to openly practice their faith.  When the Dutch conquered several areas of Brazil in 1620, they were warmly welcomed by the Jews who had been forced to live as Conversos by the Catholic Church.  Thirty-four years later, when the Portuguese re-conquered Brazil, and re-introduced the Inquisition, the Jews were severely persecuted and large numbers were killed for the assistance they rendered to Holland during the wars.  The Jewish community of Recife, 5000 strong, fell apart and scattered.  Some returned to Holland, others lived as best they could as Conversos and many abandoned all and fled to nearby Caribbean islands.  A small number took a ship to the Dutch colony in North America, New Amsterdam.  Twenty-three of them arrived there, penniless, in September of 1654.  One was Asser Levy.

He and his co-religionists were denied Dutch citizenship in the colony.  Levy was also denied the privilege to serve in the Burgher Guard, a volunteer type of community militia (and was therefore taxed to pay for his protection).  Jews had been living in Holland since 1492 and had prospered.  Despite some restrictions, the Jews received far more liberal treatment from the Dutch that found in other European countries.  By 1654 many Dutch Jews, originally from Portugal, were investors in the Dutch West India Company (sponsors of the investment colony of New Amsterdam) and influential members of the community of Amsterdam.  Peter Stuyvesant, governor of the colony, met their resistance when he tried to deny admittance to the twenty-three Portuguese Jews fleeing from Recife, among them Asser Levy.  In Stuyvesant’s letter to the Company he prayed that the deceitful race, such hateful enemies and blasphemers of the name of Christ, be not allowed to further infect and trouble this new colony.  The Dutch West India Company overruled their governor and allowed the Jews to remain provided the poor among them shall not become a burden to the Company or to the community, but be supported by their own nation.

Once Levy and the others were allowed to remain, Levy fought all restrictions placed upon him.  In 1655 he petitioned the town council to join the Burgher Guard and be permitted to keep guard with the other burghers.  His petition was denied and Levy was told he was free to depart whenever and wither it pleases him.  But Levy also appealed this ruling to the Company’s directors in Amsterdam, who again sided with the wishes of Holland’s powerful Jewish community who supported the Jewish colonists.  Thus Asser Levy, became the first Jewish watchman in New Amsterdam, winning the privilege of manning the stockades along Wall Street against Indian attacks.  (In later years, the only attacks on Wall Street his descendants would fear, were from bulls, bears and the SEC!)  Finally in 1657, Asser Levy petitioned for another right.  According to the official court record:

Asser Levy, a Jew, appears in Court; requests to be admitted a Burgher (citizen); claims that such ought not be refused him as he keeps watch and ward like Burghers and showing Burgher certificates from the city of Amsterdam that Jews are Burghers there.

On April 21, 1657, New Amsterdam’s first Jewish watchman (and our first Shomer) became its first Jewish citizen.  Twenty years later Citizen Levy was given a license to operate a kosher butcher shop.  Before his death in 1681, in what was then New York, Asser Levy, who began his new life as a laborer and part time Shomer, became a tavern keeper, a real estate investor, trader and civic leader.  It wasn’t until 1728 that the British permitted the first synagogue to be built in New York.  Prior thereto, the houses of public worship allowed were for those that profess the faith of Christ. That first synagogue was built on South William Street (later known as Jews’ Alley) and for the first time the Jews of New York could publicly worship their faith.