Surfside

Lazaro Carnero mourns for his best friend Edgar Gonzalez, during a remembrance event at the site of the Champlain Towers South building collapse, Friday, June 24, 2022, in Surfside, Fla. Friday marks the anniversary of the oceanfront condo building collapse that killed 98 people in Surfside, Florida. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

June 25, 2022, 1:29 am

Victims of Surfside collapse remembered at site where tower once stood

Ceremony marks one year since 12-story oceanfront condo imploded, killing 98 people in one of the deadliest structure collapses in US history; Israeli rescue team honored

By Adriana Gomez Licon and Curt Anderson

Illustrative: Rescue personnel work in the rubble at the Champlain Towers South Condo, in Surfside, Florida, June 25, 2021. (Gerald Herbert/AP)

June 24, 2022, 7:41 pm

Judge okays $1.2 billion settlement for Surfside collapse victims

Families of those killed in civil disaster and former residents of Miami-area tower to divide money, as complicated negotiations wrap up day before first anniversary of tragedy

By CALEB GUEDES-REED

Artificial flowers on a fence on June 21, 2022, surrounding the site where the Champlain Towers South collapsed killing 98 people last year in Surfside, Florida. (AP/Wilfredo Lee)

June 24, 2022, 10:37 am

One year later, Surfside remembers 98 victims of condo building collapse

In addition to a private gathering for families of victims, US First Lady Jill Biden is expected to speak at a public event organized by the Florida town devastated by disaster

By Adriana Gomez Licon and Curt Anderson

Search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida, on June 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

June 15, 2022, 8:34 pm

Federal probe into collapsed Florida condo to begin structural testing

Officials say tests will help investigators find potential flaws in Champlain Towers South to determine what role they played in disaster that left 98 dead

By Curt Anderson

Workers pump water out of the foundation of the former Champlain Towers South building, Surfside, Florida, May 12, 2022. (AP/Marta Lavandier)

May 21, 2022, 2:15 pm

Dubai developer buys site of Florida’s Surfside building collapse for $120 million

No other bids submitted; melting pot of Orthodox Jews, Latin Americans, Israelis and Europeans were residing in the condominium when its came down last year, killing 98

By AP

Photos of missing residents are posted at a makeshift memorial at the site of a collapsed building in Surfside, Florida, north of Miami Beach,on June 26, 2021. (Photo by Andrea SARCOS / AFP)

May 12, 2022, 1:45 am

Lawyers say $997 million settlement reached for Southside condo collapse survivors

Still pending final approval, agreement involves insurance companies, developers of adjacent building and other defendants; judge says ‘amazing’ deal far exceeds his expectations

By Curt Anderson

American author Joshua Cohen is seen at the Coop Ambasciatori bookshop in Bologna, Italy, September 5, 2019. (Roberto Serra - Iguana Press/Getty Images via JTA)

May 10, 2022, 5:49 am

Joshua Cohen’s satirical novel ‘The Netanyahus’ wins Pulitzer Prize for fiction

Committee hails ‘a mordant, linguistically deft historical novel about the ambiguities of the Jewish-American experience’; Miami Herald wins news award for Surfside coverage

By Andrew Silow-Carroll

Newly elected mayor of Surfside, Shlomo Danzinger. (LinkedIn)

March 16, 2022, 2:44 pm

In first election since condo collapse, Surfside elects an Orthodox mayor

Shlomo Danzinger, 42, beats Charles Burkett, who was in office during last year’s disastrous building collapse when 90 died

By TOI staff

Antisemitic flyers distributed in South Florida, January 24, 2022 (via Twitter)

January 24, 2022, 9:22 pm

Antisemitic flyers distributed in Florida list health experts claimed to be Jews

‘Every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish,’ pamphlet reads, with names of officials leading fight against pandemic

By AP

Mordy Oknin, left, and Natali Oknin, right. (Courtesy/Facebook)

November 14, 2021, 2:11 pm

Daily Briefing Nov. 14 – Why is Turkey detaining two Israeli bus drivers?

ToI editor David Horovitz and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman discuss detainees in Istanbul, US firefighters in Israel, and religious affairs

By TOI staff

IDF Home Front Command soldiers train with US firefighters who worked at the Surfside condo collapse with them, Novemer 2021 (courtesy IDF)

November 13, 2021, 5:00 am

After Surfside tragedy, US team visits Israel to develop joint rescue doctrine

American firefighters spend five days training and learning with IDF team they met amid the rubble in Florida

By Lazar Berman

Illustrative: People look at a portion of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building that partially collapsed on June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. (JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty images via AFP)

October 18, 2021, 3:18 am

Venezuela’s tight-knit Jewish community is still mourning its Surfside victims

After the number of Jews dwindled to roughly 6,000 from a peak of 25,000 in the ’90s, denomination and ethnicity are not dividing lines and most people know each other by name

By Orge Castellano

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, and Rabbi Sholom Lipskar participate in a moment of silence, June 14, 2021, at The Shul of Bal Harbour, Florida. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

September 14, 2021, 5:36 am

For a Surfside-area rabbi, these High Holidays are for processing communal grief

Sholom Lipskar built his community from the ground up and keenly feels the loss of several members in a high-rise collapse in June. But that doesn’t stop him from moving forward

By Shira Hanau

People look at a memorial that has pictures of some of the missing from the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on July 7, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)

September 10, 2021, 4:09 pm

Four arrested for stealing identities of Surfside victims

Plot uncovered when relative discovered victim’s bank account and credit card passwords and contact information had been changed; prosecutors call them ‘skilled identity thieves’

By AP

September 4, 2021, 5:18 pm

Land swap proposed to allow on-site memorial for Florida building collapse

Financial viability of proposal to be examined, as many survivors and victims’ families oppose memorial at nearby park, are uneasy with building luxury units at site of disaster

By Curt Anderson