Florida voter slams GOP governor hopeful in brutal letter to the editor

A voter has accused Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate James Fishback of antisemitic rhetoric in a letter to the Sun-Sentinel media outlet published today.

Fishback called Israel’s Western Wall “stupid” in a February speech at the University of Central Florida. He stated that he had no interest in traveling to Israel if elected “just to kiss a stupid wall.”

Footage from that event sparked social media outrage, including from fellow GOP candidate Jay Collins, who said the remarks were “indistinguishable from radical terrorists.”

Fishback’s campaign has had several statements that have drawn fire for being anti-Israel, including a tweet in which he called the claim that criticism of Israel is antisemitic and that Israel is America's greatest ally a "scam" and "cringe and pathetic propaganda."

A letter to the editor from Holly Rothkopf of Boynton Beach, Florida published Tuesday by the Sun-Sentinel, added to the condemnations of Fishback and urged wider condemnations by Republicans.

“I urge the Republican National Committee to speak out forcefully against antisemitism in all its forms — harassment, intimidation, assault, vandalism and threats — and to disavow candidate Fishback,” Rothkopf wrote. “Our best future is to unite against hate and defend the truth.”

The Florida gubernatorial primary is on August 18. The state has been solidly Republican, boasting its governor and two senators as GOP members. The state also went for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election by 56 percent.