By David A. Schwartz, Staff Writer

 

U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, of Fort Lauderdale, recently welcomed about 30 other Congressional Democrats, including Ted Deutch of Boca Raton, Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston and Frederica Wilson of Miami, to a breakfast for Black and Jewish members of Congress.

 

The breakfast is "a healthy thing," Hastings said in a phone interview from his office. "The history of the Black and Jewish committee is a solid one. It causes us to stick together as we move into legislative matters," including the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and Iran.

 

The Wednesday breakfast was one of nine that he has hosted over the last 15 years with Nita Lowey, of New York, or Henry Waxman, of California, Hastings said. Waxman was the co-host of the breakfast on March 12.

 

In opening remarks, Hastings said the Black and Jewish American communities have been "brought together by common histories of prejudice and discrimination — both working to eliminate hatred and bigotry from our country and our world in search of a brighter future."

 

The breakfast was "very powerful," Deutch said in a phone interview. He said he was impressed by the words of a local rabbi and an African-American chaplain, and several Black and Jewish high school students who are participating in Operation Understanding D.C.

 

The program teaches about culture, history and religion and forges "a strong bond and a deep appreciation for the roles that Jews and African-Americans have played in working for civil rights," Deutch said.

 

Wasserman Schultz said in a phone call that the breakfast is "always an important event." While it celebrates the historic ties between the African-American and Jewish communities, it also focuses "attention on the work ahead of us." She added, "Civil rights is an inherent Jewish value and part of Jewish identity."

 

"It was just a moving morning," Wilson said in a phone conversation. The former school principal said she was particularly moved when students talked about Operation Understanding.

 

The four members of Congress from South Florida said they were impressed by what Ron Dermer, Israel Ambassador to the United States, said to the group.

 

Dermer, who was born and raised in Miami Beach, said the civil rights movement is part of his American identity and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a boyhood hero.

 

The values that King put forward were the values of the Jewish prophets, he said. American Jews feel that the civil rights movement is "part of their Jewish identity," added Dermer, the son of former Miami Beach mayor Jay Dermer.

 

Ron Dermer said the city was founded on anti-Semitism and racism. But by 1967, when his father became mayor, the Miami Beach was two-thirds Jewish. Today, with a population that is one-third Jewish, the city is "one of the most open and tolerant cities in the United States."

 

For more on what Ron Dermer said, see "Dermer discusses U.S.-Israel relations, Iran, Peace."

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/news/broward-county-news/fl-jjbs-breakfast-0320-20140317,0,7119393.story