When Rabbi Moishe Meir and Penina Lipszyc moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1990 to establish a Chabad center, they were told not to waste their time. The upper-crust coastal city was notoriously inhospitable to Jews and the couple would be better served directing their efforts to other parts of Florida, those friendlier to Chabad's line of work.
For decades, Fort Lauderdale was a city hostile to minorities. Many of the hotels and clubs in the area had official policies restricting access to, as the old line goes, Jews, blacks, and dogs. The closer toward the ocean you went, the swankier—and more discriminatory it got.
When the young rabbi first arrived, Lipszyc asked local Jews which part of the city was the most antisemitic. The consensus was the Galt Mile—a strip of luxury homes, condominiums and clubs that line roughly a mile of Fort Lauderdale’s beachfront.
That’s exactly where the Lipszycs chose to establish their new Chabad-Lubavitch of Fort Lauderdale.
The history of Fort Lauderdale would not be complete without mention of its three-decade evolution from a place that restricted and discriminated against Jews to one of South Florida’s most prosperous and vibrant Jewish communities. This transformation is in large part due to Chabad’s presence in the city, a result of the vision of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—to bring an inclusive and authentic Judaism to wherever Jews live. The result today is a Fort Lauderdale transfigured.
In recognition of Chabad’s decades of service in the area, on Wednesday, March 6, the City of Fort Lauderdale officially renamed NE 35th St., where Chabad of Fort Lauderdale has been for the last 34 years, to “Chabad Drive.”
‘I Thought He Would Be Gone Soon’
The Galt Ocean Mile came to be after the 1913 purchase of an 8,000-acre property by Mr. Arthur Galt. Only a portion of the large land purchase, the Galt Ocean Mile (or colloquially known as just “the Mile”) became one of Fort Lauderdale’s highest-end areas and the home of some of Southeast Florida’s wealthiest residents.
As was common in exclusive upper-class neighborhoods in the late 20th century, east Fort Lauderdale curated a culture of selectiveness and exclusion that aimed to keep people from different backgrounds, races and religions out. The Galt Mile was the most intense iteration of a ubiquitous city-wide bias against minorities.
The community maintained their homogeneity through a series of measures: overt and legal ones, such as encoding restrictions of certain types of people into condominium and club bylaws; and the more covert and social, like fostering a general atmosphere of disdain for people unlike them.
Marlene Katkin moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1984 and described the situation for Jews there. “There was no Jewish presence,” she told Chabad.org. “The few Jews that lived here kept it secret. I have a generic last name, so people didn’t know right away that I was Jewish, but those who had Jewish-sounding names changed them.”
A building that Katkin later lived in called The Fountainhead had one of the longest-running bans on Jews in the area, only lifting the restrictions following a lawsuit by a Jewish family.
Paul Roseman, a British Jew who moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1988, said that when he first arrived he did not feel comfortable walking down the Galt Mile with a kippah.
For some time Jews in the city simply hid their religious identities in order to blend in the broader community and gain access to the local amenities. Then Chabad showed up.
“When Rabbi Lipszyc arrived, I thought he would be gone soon,” said Katkin. “ Everyone knew we weren’t welcome. The closest synagogue at the time was a Reform temple across the federal highway.”
Ali Regli was a young woman living in Fort Lauderdale when she became one of the first people to walk into the half-storefront that served as Chabad of Fort Lauderdale’s first home. When she entered, she was met by a young and enthusiastic Rabbi Lipszyc, who welcomed her into his synagogue.
Some 34 years later, Regli is still part of Chabad of Fort Lauderdale; now, however, the synagogue and the city she’s spent over four decades in are almost unrecognizable.
An Integral Community Asset
Chabad soon moved from their rented storefront and began purchasing chunks of properties that now form a sprawling set of buildings stationed in the heart of east Fort Lauderdale. The 24,000-square-foot, $9-million campus almost spans an entire square block of coastal Fort Lauderdale and serves as the home to a synagogue holding daily prayers, a Hebrew school and Jewish preschool; a CTeen chapter; a Young Jewish Professionals center; mikvahs for both women and men; and a public Jewish library.
But its influence is not limited to efforts hosted within its own walls or only tailored to the Jewish community. Chabad is also involved in chaplaincy and local crisis intervention; it runs a Friendship Circle program for individuals with disabilities; a food distribution center that helps distribute thousands of Thanksgiving meals; and offers kosher food and hospitality suites at Broward Medical Center and other area hospitals.
Far from what it once was, today the city itself sees Chabad as an integral part of the broader community that advances the nature of the city as a whole.
‘Reaffirm Our Commitment to Unity’
Fort Lauderdale’s marked change in its attitude towards Jews came to a head at the March 6th ceremony dedicating the new Chabad Drive street sign, attended by Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, Commissioners John Herbst and Steve Glassman, and hundreds of members of the community.
After uncovering the new sign, proudly displaying “Chabad Drive” under the street number, they heard from the rabbis and town officials who addressed the occasion, reflecting on Chabad’s journey and the change the city has seen since.
“As we unveil the Chabad-Lubavitch street sign in Fort Lauderdale, we celebrate not only the thriving Jewish heritage of our city but also reaffirm our commitment to inclusivity and unity,” said Mayor Trantalis. “In a time when antisemitic sentiments are on the rise nationwide, this new street sign stands as a powerful symbol of hope, welcoming all to our community.”
Commissioner Herbst noted the influence that Chabad has had on Fort Lauderdale in the last 34 years. “The City of Fort Lauderdale wants to acknowledge all of the contributions that the Chabad has made to the community since it was established here in 1990. The services and programs continue to grow and deepen their impact on the lives of our residents,” he said. “I am very proud to be able to honor Chabad-Lubavitch.”
Decades after she first walked into Chabad, Regli is a mother raising her family in the same community. Her son, Trevor, became an active youth leader in the synagogue, helping kick-off Chabad of Fort Lauderdale’s CTeen chapter.
“I walked into Chabad as a young 24 year-old with a slim connection to my Judaism,” Regli said. “Now, part of my son’s decision of which college to attend is based on the Chabad there. It’s changed my life.”
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