Sunny Isles Beach commission directs city manager to create Hebrew Club after debate over religious content and wait-list impacts

The Sunny Isles Beach City Commission voted on a resolution directing the city manager to create and maintain a Hebrew Club program serving young children, after an extended discussion about whether the program could include religious content and how it would affect existing aftercare wait lists.

The measure, introduced as Resolution 10H, would authorize the city manager to implement the program either within the city's CASE aftercare program or as a standalone offering. Commissioners debated the scope of the program, whether religious instruction would be permitted, which age groups should be served, and whether creating the club would inadvertently exclude children already on the CASE waiting list.

Commissioners raised multiple concerns during the discussion: one commissioner said there is an unresolved legal question about permitting religious instruction in city-sponsored programming and urged the commission to specify that any Hebrew Club content be cultural or historical rather than religious. Others asked how dedicating the limited Pelican Community Park room to the club for select days would affect the CASE program, which provides multi-day aftercare for children on current wait lists. A commissioner asked whether the resolution as written would force staff to exclude children on the wait list; another insisted staff had exhausted prior implementation options and needed direction from the commission to proceed.

City staff and managers told the commission they had explored multiple implementation options, including hosting the program in other hours or locations and treating it like existing standalone programming (for example, evening karate classes). The deputy manager reportedly met with program proponents and identified a partial solution that would serve kindergarten and first-grade children in timeslots when rooms are unused.

After debate, commissioners amended the resolution to (a) allow the city manager discretion to determine how the Hebrew Club will be run (standalone or part of CASE) and (b) change the lower age from 6 to 5 to align with kindergarten age referenced in related library programming. The amended motion was moved and seconded and approved by voice vote.

The commission did not adopt language that explicitly authorized religious instruction; rather, it left implementation details to staff under the direction of the city manager, with the expectation that any program must conform to applicable law and that staff will return for further direction if major resource or legal barriers arise. The commission directed staff to consider access for children on the CASE waiting list during implementation.

What happens next: staff will draft program details, including scheduling, room assignments and enrollment procedures, and the city manager will determine whether the Hebrew Club is integrated into CASE or operated as a standalone program. The commission indicated it expects staff to return with clarifying implementation details if substantial obstacles or costs arise.