TALHASEEE (VINnews/Sandy Eller) – A Surfside collapse victim’s family joined Governor Ron DeSantis for his annual Chanukah celebration on Monday night, lighting the menorah in front of community leaders and rabbis at the gubernatorial mansion in Tallahassee.
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20 year old Avi Cohen and his soon to be 14 year old sister Elisheva stood attentively behind DeSantis as he welcomed those in attendance and thanked faith leaders for their assistance in the weeks after the devastating Champlain Towers South collapse.
The siblings lost their father, Dr. Brad Cohen, who was in the doomed building along with his brother Gary, when the structure failed, with Elisheva capturing the media spotlight after being spotted reading from a Jewish prayer book at the collapse site, as previously reported on VIN News.
DeSantis opened the celebration by speaking glowingly about the explosion of growth in Florida’s Jewish community and touting his own record of supporting Israel, providing millions in funding for Jewish day schools, combatting anti-Semitism on college campuses and recognizing Hatzalah as an emergency service provider in the Sunshine State.
He described Florida as “a beacon of freedom” in the United States, both in its response to COVID and in its position as a state with values and ethics.
“You look at different states in our country, how members of the Jewish community have been treated, how criminal acts take place and people don’t seem to get upset about it in some of these other states and I think that is one of the reasons why you’re seeing our Jewish pop boom in Florida because people see it as a free state, but they also see that the values align,” said DeSantis.
The governor described Surfside as the most tragic event of his term, its impact eclipsing even that of Hurricane Ian, which took over 100 lives when it struck Florida’s west coast as a category four storm in September.
“We’ve faced some big hurricanes in Florida,” said DeSantis. “You kind of know in Florida that’s something that can happen. You don’t think that when people are going to bed at night that their building, that their condominium is going to collapse.”
The governor credited the Israeli Defense Force troops and first responders from within the community for their extended efforts as the recovery effort continued, praising them for joining together to help survivors.
Rabbi Mark Rosenberg, a law enforcement chaplain who assisted the Cohen family during the tragedy, relayed a message from the Cohen children, asking those at the celebration to have their father, Yaakov Reuven ben Moshe Avraham Hakohen, in mind as they lit the menorah together.
Avi and Elisheva’s mother, Soraya Cohen, was also present in Tallahasee for the menorah lighting. She credited DeSantis for his kindness, which she said was evident in the wake of the tragedy, with the governor speaking to her children often at the collapse site as the lengthy search continued.
“This event last night showed he did not forget the pain and trauma of this disaster by inviting my kids to light the menorah and speak to us beforehand,” Soraya Cohen told VIN News. “We would like to publicly thank the governor and his staff for helping our family through this difficult time.”
Avi Cohen expressed his gratitude to DeSantis as well saying, “It was nice to see how the governor is making positive changes to help the Jewish community. Being invited symbolized the care and recognition towards us.”
Seeing DeSantis sending out a clear message to those that lost loved ones in the Surfside collapse was extremely rewarding and one that reinforces his position as a strong leader, said Rosenberg.
“Chanukah is a time that we remember the triumph of light over darkness,” said Rosenberg. “It is an opportune time to remember how the governor, much like Chanukah, has been a candle throughout the year, taking us through the dark times like Hurricane Ian, Covid and Surfside, to better times.”