TALLAHASSEE — A state Democratic leader in Florida has come under withering criticism after she opposed a bill targeting anti-Semitism, a move that has energized Republican efforts to woo entrenched Jewish voters in the nation’s biggest battleground state. State Sen. Audrey Gibson’s vote, and her ill-received defense of it on Tuesday, have Florida Republicans drawing comparisons to Reps. Ihlan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, congressional Democrats whose comments critical of Israel have caused firestorm in Washington. Florida Democrats, like their national counterparts, are sweating over the politics of how to respond.Story Continued Below “It is sad that in the world propagated by Washington Democrats like Congresswomen Ihlan Omar and Rashida Tlaib and Tallahassee Democrats like Audrey Gibson, fighting anti-Semitism is ‘divisive‘,” state Rep. Randy Fine, a Jewish Republican and the bill’s sponsor, wrote Tuesday. Gibson, an African American and the state Senate’s top Democrat, caused a rift even among her own party members, many of whom are Jewish, as she tried to explain her decision to vote against the measure. Florida GOP legislators pushed the anti-Semitism bill after Omar suggested in February that pro-Israel activists and lawmakers hold “allegiance to a foreign country.” The fallout from her comments divided Congress and… Read full this story
- Democratic leaders press GOP to update Voting Rights Act
- Black Lives Matter is accused of anti-Semitism after posting photo of mural featuring Jewish stereotypes on Facebook advertising protest march in Oxford
- Can Trump’s anti-mail-voting crusade hurt him in key states?
- Phoning It In: Democrat Thomas Suozzi Switches to Proxy Voting Midday Because He Did Not Want to Attend Procedural Votes
- Can Trump's anti-mail-voting crusade hurt him in key states?
- A deeply divided Poland chooses a president in runoff vote
- Here's where your state stands on mail-in voting
- How George Floyd’s death, anti-racism protests are changing 2020 politics
- The blessing of Black men: Our lives, our voices, and our votes matter
- Political establishment takes a hit as chaos reigns supreme
Democratic leader takes heat as anti-Semitism vote roils Florida have 321 words, post on www.politico.com at April 8, 2019. This is cached page on wBird. If you want remove this page, please contact us.