Bipartisan Bill Would Make Antisemitic Acts in Florida a Felony

The legislation makes explicit references to vandalism that manifests antisemitism and the use of Nazi symbols.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Florida are pushing an anti-hate crime bill to make anti-semitic acts a felony. This bill follows a rise in the number of antisemitic protests in Florida over the past year.

House Bill 269 proposes raising such offenses from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony. This includes littering yards with fliers, harassing people, disrupting schools or religious services, or projecting images of religious hostility on a property without permission, among other actions.

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The bill makes explicit references to vandalism that manifests antisemitism and the use of Nazi symbols.

“Today, we are called to stand for the 672,000 Jews that live in Florida. If we don’t do something now, then soon we may just have 1933 Nazi Germany here all over again, and I will not stand here and do nothing. I will not be complacent and I will not sit around. For, with that attitude, are we just going to wait for these haters to start breaking the glass windows and storefronts of Jewish store owners again, like they did in the past, before we wake up?” Florida Rep. Mike Caruso (R-DB) said in a news conference.

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A series of antisemitic incidents have been reported in the state in recent months. For example, an antisemitic message was projected on the outside of the TIAA Bank Field football stadium in Jacksonville. Also, men with masks and flags or banners with Nazi symbols, like the swastika, have appeared at events, rallies, and in Jewish neighborhoods. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis has not made comments condemning any of these incidents.