Anti-Semitic ‘return to Boca’ post against Fine produces social media stir

An anti-Semitic Facebook post targeted at Florida Rep. Randy Fine was creating comprehensive social media buzz this previous week.

At concern is a comment that appeared on Brevard County Democratic Executive Committee Chair Stacey Patel’s Facebook page– but was not written by Patel

The post stated: ” Randy Not-so-Fine requires to return to Boca or anywhere the heck he came from … He picked the county that would probably choose him. Unfortunately he was right …”

Fine is Jewish, and Boca Raton has a big concentration of Jewish residents. Fine, a Republican from the South Beaches location of Brevard, has actually never lived in Boca.

Fine says, considering that the post appeared on Patel’s Facebook page, Patel or other local Democratic authorities must have been more proactive in denouncing it.

While the remark was on Patel’s page for a period of time, Patel has since taken it down, after some back-and-forth over Fine’s interpretation of the remark.

More: State Rep. Randy Fine convenes on Melbourne water quality

More: Brevard County civility proposal stalls without a vote as people, Sheriff weigh in

In three successive days of posts on among his Facebook pages– on Aug. 3, 4 and 5– Great directed his social networks criticism at Patel and Mel Martin, a previous Florida Home candidate, who now is the interactions chair for the Brevard Democratic Executive Committee.

” The Brevard Democratic Celebration management is bigoted” for not more aggressively calling out the “go back to Boca” comment, Fine told FLORIDA TODAY.

Great termed that comment “a repulsive, anti-Semitic slur equivalent to a racist informing an African-American to ‘return to Africa.’ ”

David Pelzman of Melbourne, local president of the Florida Federation of Jewish Guy’s Clubs and past president of Temple Beth Sholom in Melbourne, said he saw the “return to Boca” remark as “pure, outright hate” targeted versus a Jewish person.

Pelzman, who says he is “a moderate Democrat,” felt the Democratic Party leadership should have done more to condemn the comment, and is ” shocked” that party leaders have actually refrained from doing so.

” When you lead, you need to lead from the front,” Pelzman said. “It clearly, to me, was anti-Semitic, and it should have been called out.”

In a remark posted Aug. 4 on her Facebook page, Patel composed: “It’s clear that a current remark left on my Facebook page was hurtful to State Agent Randy Fine. Not understanding the author of the remark, and, honestly, not immediately acknowledging the viewed minor, I pick not to ascribe intentions, however I’ve removed the post, as I ‘d never want to unnecessarily harm anyone, including Rep. Fine. The remark wasn’t made by me, and was totally unrelated to my initial post about his voting record, but there suffices divisiveness in our lives and our nation, and, honestly, in our community, that I more than happy to get rid of any words that could trigger extra pain.”

However, Patel, a citizen of Satellite Beach, included that “I do believe it’s defamatory and unreasonable of Rep. Fine to utilize the words of a commenter I don’t even know to falsely ascribe despiteful intentions to me or to the organization I lead. I’m sure he would not wish to be held personally responsible for the words and actions of every commenter on his Facebook page.”

In remarks to FLORIDA TODAY on Thursday, Martin stated that “words are powerful, and can have various significance for different individuals. This is one of the reasons why ‘political correctness’ emerged in our society, to account for the vast diversity of historical, cultural and experiential discomfort amongst our fellow Americans. We ought to not want to do or say anything to anger our neighbors.”

Martin said she is “grateful to have actually discovered what ‘back to Boca’ can indicate. This was a crucial instructional chance for many, across generations and celebration lines, who were not knowledgeable about its potential context. Regardless of what might have been originally intended in the comment, we have actually learned that the term has been used formerly by others in a shameful, bad sense against Jewish individuals, and anti-Semitism certainly has no location here. With or without offending intent, when we know better, we need to consider the truth of possibly offensive impact, and adjust how we talk. It’s the right thing to do.”

At the same time, Martin– a Cocoa resident who likewise is an organizer of the FLORIDA TODAY Civility Brevard initiative– said she hopes Great “continues to be zealous in advocating versus all the many other phrases utilized by chosen authorities to ‘dog-whistle’ and prompt tension and intolerance in our society, from Brevard to Washington, D.C. Minority voices have actually long been suppressed, denigrated and in some cases dehumanized through such language by bulk voices in power, so political correctness– holding ourselves liable to how we talk, to prevent upseting our fellow Americans– might absolutely utilize more support by everybody in a leadership role.”

Martin said she was speaking for herself in her remarks, and not on behalf of any company.

In one of Patel’s Facebook posts reacting to Fine’s remarks, she composed: “Suffice it to state, to stretch the words of someone I do not even know to openly attack me as an anti-Semitic or a bigot is beyond far-fetched; it is careless, defamatory, and demonstrates an overall disregard for the fact. Unfortunately, in these times, when local folks have made comments like, ‘when the shooting starts, kill as numerous dumocRATS as you can as quickly as you can,’ Rep. Fine’s post also shows an overall disregard for public safety.”

Fine stated he has actually gotten in touch with the Florida Home sergeant at arms and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office over his analysis of posts by regional Democratic authorities and to make sure that critics “do not present a threat to either myself or any other member of our community.”

This isn’t the very first time Fine has felt he has actually been under attack for his religious beliefs.

In July 2018, Matt Fleming, who at the time was a Democratic prospect for Brevard County Commission, described Fine in a Facebook post as a “double citizen” of Israel, implying Fine was more loyal to Israel than the United States.

Patel has actually come under fire in the past for a Facebook post she made about the 2020 governmental election, in which she posted: “Friendly tip: Under no situations need to the last Democratic ticket be 2 white males. Thanks. Back to our frequently arranged shows.”

Politically focused social media posts have actually been fodder for controversy, both at the local and nationwide levels.

Last month, for example, a series of tweets from President Donald Trump was criticized in some quarters as racist and xenophobic.

Trump tweeted: “So intriguing to see ‘Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen, who initially came from countries whose governments are a complete and total disaster, the worst, most corrupt and inefficient throughout the world (if they even have an operating federal government at all), now loudly and viciously telling the individuals of the United States, the best and most effective Country on earth, how our government is to be run. Why do not they return and help fix the completely damaged and crime infested places from which they came.”

The tweets were directed at four liberal freshman Democratic congresswomen jointly referred to as “the Squad”– Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib. Three of them were born in the United States, while Omar concerned the United States as a refugee from Somalia.

Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY.

His Political Spin column runs Sundays in FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649

or dberman@floridatoday.com.