After Donald Trump poached Rep. Mike Waltz for his next administration, Florida Republicans plan to send the state Legislature's most pro-Israel hardliner to Congress where he will sit alongside Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, who he calls "antisemites."
So is state Sen. Randy Fine, Florida's sole Jewish Republican lawmaker, worried about antisemitism in Congress?
"I’ve dealt with it my whole life; I swore a long time ago I’d never be scared to be Jewish again," he told The Floridian. "It’s the antisemites who should be worried...[Tlaib and Omar] are both antisemites."
On Tuesday, he had posted that both Democrats should "consider leaving" before he arrives in Congress, attaching the controversial tag "#BombsAway," referring to Israel's bombing onslaught against Hamas. In the past, Fine called Omar an "avowed Jew-hater" and Tlaib a "terrorist" in reference to their pro-Palestine stances; Tlaib was voted "Antisemite of the Year" by the pro-Israel group StopAntisemitism and Omar came under fire for calling some Jewish students "pro-genocide."
Fine announced his run for Congressional District 6 early Tuesday, days after President-elect Trump urged him to run for the seat vacated by Waltz—who resigned to be the next national security advisor—with a "RUN, RANDY, RUN!" call to action post. Fine was just elected to the state Senate in early November after serving eight years in the Florida House.
A leading pro-Israel advocate, Fine visited Israel after the Oct. 7 terror attacks committed by Hamas. He also passed legislation tightening security around Jewish Day schools and defining antisemitism in state statute, all before he expressed his "disappointment" in Gov. DeSantis traveling to Ireland after the European nation recognized Palestine as a sovereign state.
Considering only two other low-profile Republicans have filed to run in the CD-6 race, and Fine has scored endorsements from Trump and many Florida Republican Congressmen, the "Hebrew Hammer" appears to have a clear pathway to victory in Jan. 28's primary. He shouldn't face much resistance from Democrats either in the northeast Florida district's special general election on Apr. 1; CD-6 hasn't elected a Democrat congressman since 1986.
"The “Hebrew Hammer” is coming," said Fine on X. "@RashidaTlaib and @IlhanMN might consider leaving before I get there. #BombsAway."
