AVENTURA, FL—During a meeting to continue smothering antisemitism in Florida, centrist Democratic Senator Jason Pizzo said city commissioners opposing support for Israel would "suffer the consequences," as they would lose his state-level support for what he views as being on the wrong side of history.
In other words, commissioners from cities he represents should side with Israel. If not, funding for local projects and bill ideas for their city may not reach the state legislature, because Pizzo will not speak for them.
"It's time now to either say you're with and on the right side of history, or you're not," said Pizzo at a Tuesday Aventura meeting, discussing Sunny Isles Mayor Larisa Svechin's recent trip to Israel. He warned that if there is no "authentic, hearts-and-minds, one-group of commissioners" by the next council meeting on July 18th, "They will suffer the consequences of not having my support at the state level. And that's the way it's got to work,"
"You're either on the right side of history or you're not," he added, his last words drowned out by a sea of applause. Pizzo, who's been to Israel, spoke about the importance of educating students on crucial bits of Jewish history, because, "When you're talking to an 18- or 19-year-old who's completely frickin' ignorant and gets their information and news from TikTok—it's important to put it in context."
🚨MUST WATCH: Florida State Senator @senpizzo condemns antisemitism, and warns that local lawmakers who oppose Israel 🇮🇱 will "suffer the consequences."
"You're either on the right side of history or you're not."
READ MORE: https://t.co/h7JMCMv8uW#FlPol #Israel #Antisemitism… pic.twitter.com/71BVG8t9tz
— The Floridian (@Floridianpress) July 10, 2024
He seemingly referenced a recent uproar in college campus protests advocating against Israel and for Palestine, some of which resulted in an antisemitic exclusion or targeting of Jewish students attempting to attend classes. The protests, which began at Columbia University after the terrorist group Hamas massacred Israelis on October 7th, hit colleges across 45 states and resulted in nearly 3,000 arrests—including 40 from Florida. Two students from the University of Florida have been banned for up to four years and five from Florida State University have received one-year bans.
Pizzo's words follow a recently signed, bipartisan law codifying a definition of "antisemitism" into state statute, a quick response to the 320% spike in antisemitic incidents in the past year. His staunchly pro-Israel stance—which Republicans quickly platformed—is shared by the state's congressional Democrats as well as most state-level Democrats; a position that has garnered some members criticism from far-left, pro-Palestine activists.
As for cities taking sides in the 10-month-long war, the city of Doral was the first municipality to issue a ceasefire resolution—interestingly spearheaded by its Republican Mayor. However, after conservatives like Sen. Marco Rubio condemned the shaky resolution, the city soon retracted it and replaced it with a staunchly pro-Israel one.
The Miami Israeli Consul General Maor Elbaz-Starinsky hosted the meeting.
In Florida, Democratic Reps. Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, along with fellow congressional Republicans, Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, as well as Reps. Carlos Gimenez, Mario Diaz-Balart, Cory Mills, Brian Mast, and many others, have all been at the forefront of condemning antisemitism and terrorism.
