On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 187, which defines antisemitism in the Florida Statutes. Local Republican John R. Johnson appears to meet the lawmakers’ definition.
- The bill was passed unanimously by both chambers of the Florida Legislature.
- According to law, “antisemitism” means “a certain perception of Jewish individuals which may be expressed as hatred toward such individuals. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish and non-Jewish individuals and their property and toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
Among the examples listed in the law:
- Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jewish individuals as such or the power of Jewish people as a collective, such as the myth of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy or of Jewish individuals controlling the media, economy, government, or other societal institutions.
- Accusing Jewish people as a collective of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group or for acts committed by non-Jewish individuals.
In an Inweekly interview, Republican John R. Johnson attacked Commissioner Lumon May, a Democrat, and his Jewish supporters: “I’ve been running all this time to save the public, and now I’m convinced it’s rigged. Lumon May and his dirty Jew friends can go to hell. I’m antisemitic, and I’m proud of it.”
The new law has no legal penalties but is to “assist in the monitoring and reporting of anti-semitic hate crimes and discrimination and to make residents aware of and to combat such incidents in this state.”