Randy Fine was right to call out clean water group for accepting anti-Jewish money from Patagonia

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 11/7/23-Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, center, rubs his eyes during a prayer by Rabbi Gil Perl of Miami at the start of the House session, Tuesday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Rep. Randy Fine on Monday shared a tweet from Florida Voice News podcaster Brandon Leslie about findings that Patagonia had given significant funding to a group linked to a Palestinian terrorist group, adding that he “wouldn’t accept money from a group that funds #MuslimTerror.”

#MuslimTerror in Florida. I have shared with law enforcement and I know they will act. https://t.co/BBJT28508J

— Rep. Randy Fine (@VoteRandyFine) June 17, 2024

But it doesn’t stop there, the group Captains for Clean Water has also accepted money from Patagonia, prompting Fine to similarly call them out. He shared it with the hashtag, #ReturnAway, a call for the clean water organization to return the funding.

This is a big issue for Fine, who is Jewish and outspoken in his support for Israel as they continue to face ongoing threats from Hamas.

Fine is now running for a seat in the Legislature’s upper chamber, in Senate District 19, where he faces a GOP Primary.

Last month, Fine called on the Florida Board of Dentistry to suspend a Miami dentist, Fadi Kablawi, over statements he made calling for violence against Jews and calling Jewish people “the brothers of apes and pigs.”

And during the GOP presidential Primary he withdrew his support for Gov. Ron DeSantis in favor of former President Donald Trump because he said DeSantis had not done enough to combat antisemitism in the state.

So it’s no wonder Fine would get involved in a conversation related to funding for a group that supports an organization tied to an anti-Jewish terror organization.

At issue is the more than $139,000 Patagonia has given to the Alliance for Global Justice since 2016. The Arizona-based organization has been linked to The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to the Washington Examiner, which reviewed tax documents to uncover the funding. The Alliance for Global Justice has said it sponsors 140 projects. That includes Samidoun, an Israeli-designated terrorist coalition that shares staff with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and works on the group’s behalf internationally.

The U.S. Department of State listed The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine as a designated terror group in 1997, at the same time it listed Hamas as a terror group.

Meanwhile, Patagonia since 2018 has also given $45,000 to Captains for Clean Water, a group of fishing guides that work to raise awareness for and protect clean water. The group also previously sold special edition Patagonia-branded hats to support fisherman during the COVID pandemic.

It’s altogether possible the clean water organization wasn’t aware of Patagonia’s financial ties to designated terror groups known for anti-Israel activism, and they have time to do the right thing.

But the clock is now ticking. The organization has been put on notice, thankfully, by a stalwart official whose commitment to supporting America’s most important ally is unwavering.

The war between Hamas and Israel is heartbreaking. Hostages are still being held. Thousands of Israelis have died, in horrific ways, at the hands of Hamas.

And while it is also tragic that so many civilian lives have been lost in Palestine, it is misplaced to put the blame entirely on Israel when a terror group is wreaking death, devastation and starvation onto its own people.

It’s one thing to accept funds from a group that also provides grants to terror groups, when a recipient is unaware. But once sunlight is cast on those expenditures, there’s only one right thing to do.

Thanks to Fine, that light has indeed been shone and Captains for Clean Water can no longer claim ignorance.