Second Florida city adopts resolution urging John Thrasher to remove student government leader

At least two Florida cities have now adopted resolutions urging Florida State University President John Thrasher to remove the university’s embattled Student Government Senate President.

The Hallandale Beach City Commission voted unanimously late Wednesday to adopt a resolution that both condemns SGA Senate President Ahmad Daraldik‘s history of anti-semitic social media posts and calls upon Thrasher to remove him.

The resolution, sponsored by Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub, comes roughly three weeks after the City of Aventura adopted a similar resolution.

“Jewish FSU students feel unsupported and I want them to feel supported,” Lima-Taub said. “They feel abandoned by the FSU administration.”

Daraldik became the school’s SGA Senate President in June after his predecessor was removed for making transphobic comments. Weeks later, he too came under scrutiny when anti-Semitic remarks comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, among others, were unearthed.

Despite controversy, Daraldik refused to resign and survived a subsequent no-confidence vote. The incident garnered lawmakers’ attention and made international headlines.

He would later attempt to deny two Jewish lawmakers of the Florida Jewish Legislative Caucus from speaking at a student senate meeting on July 15, sparking more frustration among some in the university and legislative community.

The controversy prompted Jewish FSU student Cindy Chamides to speak in favor of the resolution before the Hallandale Beach City Commission.

“As a FSU Seminole, I feel absolutely alienated on campus as a Jewish student,” she said. “I do not feel safe telling others about my identity on campus. I have many Jewish friends from Hollywood, many from Hollandale and the South Florida area including myself who unfortunately feel similarly to me. A few of them even saying that they do not feel safe to return on campus at all and there’s talks of students even transferring out of the university completely.”

Chamides, a student in her junior year, explained that Jewish students have felt “uncomfortable” on campus long before Daralik took office.

“In the past, I’ve been photographed, posted, and cyber-bullied for standing next to an Israeli flag and tabling with my organization,” she said.

FSU has found itself at the center of criticism in recent weeks amid the nation’s renewed dialogue on equality and racial injustice.

In response, the university removed an on-campus statue of Francis Eppes and created an anti-racism task force in late July. They also canceled a continuing service agreement with one of the school’s biggest construction contractors after photos surfaced of one of the company’s co-owners in blackface.

Chamides, however, feels the Jewish community has been overlooked.

“The FSU administration has assembled a task force to deal with the issue, but has been silent in condemning Ahmad, our student senate president, for his actions,” she said. “Until we see the school speak up, we truly feel unsupported by the university.”

While Chamides’ message to city commissioners resonated with local leaders, it was not without objection from one local resident, Dara Hill.

“I am both surprised and saddened that Commissioner Lima-Taub will continue to file resolutions that are not only ridiculous but are superfluous and have nothing to do with city or local business,” Hill said in public remarks. “I don’t know why she would be butting in or trying to poke her nose into a media position — that is all I could think of.”

Before voting, Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper took a moment to address Hill’s remarks.

“My taxpayers, her taxpayer dollars and all our taxpayer dollars go to this institution,” Cooper said. “This isn’t a private school. It is our taxpayer money being spent.”

According to the resolution, FSU researchers received $233.6 million in funding for fiscal year 2019 from a mix of federal, state and private sources.