Area Schools Lock Down As Protestors Protest Outside Meeting At Convention Center On Jog.
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher | DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A raucous public meeting set to discuss the Agricultural Reserve clarified two things Friday morning: many of the people who transplanted to West Boca Raton and West Delray Beach communities during COVID have absolutely no idea how local government works, and local developers know how to take advantage of that ignorance.
Case in point: the stunning meeting Friday morning designed to be an info session but straddled the line between legitimate concern over traffic problems on Lyons Road and the appearance of Jewish-led anti-Islamic fear. As protestors gathered outside — causing area schools on Jog Road and Linton Boulevard to “lock down,” speaker after speaker at the South Palm Beach County Convention Center expressed concern — some less cryptically than others.
Said one man speaking to Commissioner Maria Sachs: “We don’t want strangers in our community.” A man who identified himself as an IDF member said he moved from New Jersey to South Florida due to the “rapid spread” of the Islamic faith — and that it must be stopped here.
This was not a commission meeting. No votes took place. And that’s the issue. The people complaining about the proposed Islamic Center and School set for Lyons Road south of Atlantic had no idea that Palm Beach County officials approved the plan back in 2022 — despite the fact that Palm Beach County publicizes agendas and meeting minutes. No one seemingly cared until a self-proclaimed Zionist took to social media earlier this week to complain about the Islamic Center. Under Palm Beach County rules: religious institutions are approved administratively after public zoning hearings. No one apparently cared when Palm Beach County Planning and Zoning discussed this years ago.
Commissioner Maria Sachs — who chastised attendees that wouldn’t follow public speaking rules, including Congressional Candidate Scott Singer — encouraged constituents to hire an attorney to force Palm Beach County Commissioners to change the rules. Whether a change could result in a stoppage of the Islamic Center is unclear.
Not all comments were anti-Islamic. Some speakers truly were focused on parking and traffic problems affecting the whole area. But one speaker received applause when she suggested that someone from Palm Beach County should be planted inside the Islamic center to make sure it is not being used to plan some sort of an attack.
We are publishing a rush transcript of the meeting and selected clips. We note the transcript is computer generated and may contain errors, but should give you a good idea of what was said. The last few minutes of the meeting are not in the transcript due to a tech error, but the full video appears at the bottom of this page.
RUSH TRANSCRIPT OF AGRICULTURAL RESERVE MEETING
OFFICIAL VIDEO RECORDING OF COMPLETE MEETING FROM PALM BEACH COUNTY:
Follow us on Google News
As you correctly stated, the developers took advantage of Covid to push through approvals. How that happened was questioned at the meeting and an investigation was requested (I attended). Per Maria Sachs, the permit application signage was posted 500 ft off the main road, which violates policy. If the community had seen the sign, questions would have been raised earlier. Our community has a right to be informed about any public hearing, regardless of the timing of when it is released. And your remark about a “self-proclaimed Zionist?” Based on the number of attendees from our community and their standing ovation of the American IDF soldier who spoke, there were many Zionists in the room. As a media rep for our community, creating divisiveness only fuels the phobias you’ve mentioned this week.
Sheri, you misinterpreted the Zionist line. The woman literally has that on her Facebook page. It’s a factual mention, not a negative comment. The other issues will almost certainly play out publicly. Thanks for your comment.
If you’re too lazy or self-involved to attend meetings and participate in local government, don’t come crying to the people who make the effort.
I take offense to how this article was written. There are serious undertones of anti- semitism in the article by Mr Colton. There are 250,000 Jews living in palm beach county and 6,000 Muslims. With what’s going on in this world, look no further than the fly Dubai incident this week, it is fair for the Jewish community to be concerned for our safety and security. All Muslims are not terrorists and i would like to think they most want peace with their neighbors but it has been well documented that mosques are the source of the spread of anti semitic acts of violence around the world. Jews do not feel comfortable and Mr Colton’s words call into question bias or animosity he has towards the Jews and Jewish community. Jews will not be the target or cause of this hatred any longer.
David, it’s Andrew responding. I thank you for taking the time to write. I am Jewish so any animosity you perceive is incorrect. The only undertones of anything would be the frustration that comes when anyone seeks a “do over” because they are unhappy with a result they could have — but did not — influence when it was open for discussion.
I take the same offense as David, reading through many of your headlines you clearly put your point of view front and center and the fact that you are jewish only makes it more disheartening. As far as David’s point he is exactly correct and the commission must have known back in 2023 that this was going to be contentious but political correctness and not wanted to be seen as Islamophobic won the day. I went back and watch the meeting from Sept of 2023 only one speaker was there and he was the representative from the neighboring Church. He explained the recent nature that they even learned of the school and ask for more time to hire their own professional. It seems clear to me the meeting was not well publicized for the significant impact it would have on the area. Lastly, since it isn’t being reported I will list the 4 members of the commission who voted to approve the school, Maria Marino, Gregg Weiss, Marci Woodward and Mack Bernard. Interestedly, Maria Sachs who’s district covers this area voted against as well as Sara Baxter and Michael Barnett.
Agree. Not all Muslims are terrorist. Yet, Mosques have been used (as previously stated) to spread antisemitism. This needs to be thoroughly thought out, and DISCUSSED – not rammmed through by a few. Freedom, Rights, and RULES need to be followed.
I would belive that you may be muslim by what you have said.
Our representatives are neglecting how alarming that this project was approved 7-0 without any concern for the surrounding community and environmental impacts.
The overall general community is adamantly against a project of this scale in this agricultural district.
There has been no address of traffic, environmental, overcrowding and other impacts on the surrounding community. The use of this land should be preserved as either agricultural land or open space.
These are additional factors to my opposition to this Islamic center of this scale and the impact on the surrounding residential communities. We should have a say!
I watched the entire livestream. Please remember that private schools are not obliged to follow state curriculum guidelines. Therefore, if the donors/organizers of the Islamic Center (including the school and Mosque) are affiliated with any extremist ideologies, they will be able to teach their radicalized version of religion freely and without oversight. That is a legitimate cause for concern.
Beyond this, I believe we shouldn’t be parceling out the land. The Islamic center can rent one of the already vacant spaces in the area or hold schools in one of the six existing Mosques in the area. Under this same rationale, the county should also rescind the Chai Chabad parcel. There are plenty of spaces that can be allocated. We don’t need to build more.
On a personal note, I do not appreciate your disparaging tone. It was clear to me during the meeting that the original proposal did not land on anyone’s radar because signage was posted within 500 feet of the site. This is totally inadequate and it’s reasonable to request a reversal because the community did not have a chance to share their concerns. Representatives should represent the people – especially at closed administrative hearings which are not open to the public.
I have no problem with the way this article was written. It is clear that no one cared until someone cared. All these protestors need something to do. Finding how to open their hearts would be a great first step. They’re so angry that it’s sad they are so sad. All they had to do was go to a meeting or read a meeting agenda or even be aware. They keep complaining about signs. All of this is on the Palm Beach County website. They’re obviously not very smart.
You people are amazing. I am reading these comments and am absolutely flabbergasted as members of our Jewish community show why so many people are against our community. Instead of showing love and openness, you are all showing the very hatred you claim our Islamic neighbors have. The irony is that they have done nothing other than follow the rules, apply for a permit, receive the permit, and plan to build a center not unlike “the J” or a Chabad or a large synagogue. You should all be embarrassed. I praise BocaNewsNow for exposing the hypocrisy and promoting inclusiveness instead of exclusiveness. The fact that the author is Jewish shows even more how bad so many members of the Jewish community are. If you care, care when it’s time to care. This isn’t the Palm Beach County commission’s fault. This isn’t Florida’s fault. This isn’t anyone’s fault. You all moved to Florida thinking it was your promised land. It’s just a place with rules and ordinances and statutes that you should follow and learn about instead of claiming as always that you were wronged because you just didn’t know and didn’t care enough to find out when you should have. Shame on all of you.
All you Jewish people have np room to talk, you should be ashamed of your behavior. I don’t want you around my neighborhood.
Comments are closed.