Together with First Lady, Commander-in-Chief meets with families, thanks Jewish community
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited Surfside, Florida, yesterday to meet with families of those who perished or are still missing in last week’s devastating Champlain Towers collapse, encourage first responders who have been working without stop for a week, and support the community.
In an effort to ensure that the visit did not hamper relief efforts on site, the First Couple did not actually approach the site, going only as close as the Wall of Hope and Memorial set up in front of the condos.
Up the block at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, Biden was briefed by local officials, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, before spending three hours with families.
Biden also met with representatives of the Surfside area’s Jewish community, thanking Rabbi Zalman Lipskar of the Chabad-Lubavitch Shul of Bal Harbour for the work they’ve been doing on behalf of everyone affected by the tragedy from day one.
“Families are telling me what impact you are having,” Biden said.
While thanking local rabbis, the president also took a few moments to particularly comfort one of them, Rabbi Yanky Fellig, director of Chabad of South Dade, whose sister and brother-in-law Tzvi and Itty Ainsworth remain unaccounted for.
“This is life and death,” Biden said during the briefing with officials. “We can do it, just the simple act of everyone doing what needs to be done, makes a difference.”
