A.G. Gancarski
Florida’s current Governor has thus far not commented on a series of antisemitic displays in Jacksonville Saturday, but his predecessor is condemning them.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott responded to reports during an interview on CNN Sunday morning.
“It makes you mad,” Scott told host Dana Bash. “I became Governor in January 2011, and we were dealing with this at one of our universities. I dealt with it as Governor.”
“Antisemitism: it’s disgusting, it’s wrong, we have to push back against it,” Scott said, adding that the country is “blessed” and that “we need to accept people.”
“We need to, we can cherish our differences, but let’s accept people,” Scott said. “So let’s quit dividing ourselves and quit attacking other people, and let’s talk about how we make this a better place.”
“This stuff is disgusting to me. I’ve never understood it and it’s disgusting to me,” Scott said.
Jacksonville’s Georgia-Florida weekend was marred by high-profile displays of antisemitism before and after the nationally-televised football game that saw a cameo by the thus-far reticent Ron DeSantis.
The antisemitic messages first surfaced on a overpass on I-10 in western Duval County. A banner urged drivers to “end Jewish supremacy” and “honk if you know it was the Jews.”
Another one surfaced on Arlington Expressway, extolling Kanye West for being “right about the Jews.”
After the football game downtown, similar messages were broadcast on the stadium and other downtown buildings.
Other federal representatives of Jacksonville have commented also.
“The kind of anti-Semitic hate speech being circulated online purportedly from the Florida-Georgia game is despicable and extremely disappointing. There is absolutely no room for this sort of hate in Northeast Florida. I continue to stand in support of the Jewish community in Jacksonville and across this nation,” asserted Rep. John Rutherford, a former three-term Sheriff, early Sunday morning.
Local leaders are also weighing in.
4 comments
SteveHC
October 30, 2022 at 10:11 am
Referring to “Governor” Ronald DeSantis’ refusal to even comment on – let alone condemn – public displays of antisemitism within his own state as being “reticence” is pretty ridiculous. “Evil” would be a much more appropriate descriptor.
Ocean Joe
October 30, 2022 at 10:56 am
When the leader of your party tells those who chanted “Jews will not replace us” to “stand back, but stand by”, or that “Jews should appreciate me like the evangelicals do before it’s too late,” this kind of stuff shouldn’t surprise anyone, other than maybe Randy Fine.
Listen, Proud Boys, neo-nazis, skinheads, etc. all get to vote, assuming they meet legal requirements, and the Republican party is where they belong.
Thomas
October 30, 2022 at 12:14 pm
This is the same Senator Scott who compared the FBI to the Nazi Gestapo. Reprehensible false equivalency, and an affront to the memory of all those who perished in the Holocaust.
Jo Neeme
October 30, 2022 at 3:14 pm
I’m sorry Representative Rutherford, you supported Trump, who lifted up the rock that these vermin crawled out from, in his attempt to overthrow the outcome of the election. Actions speak louder than words.
Comments are closed.