Proposed Antisemitism Task Force draws heavy criticism during Senate panel hearing

A proposed state task force designed to track and monitor the number of antisemitic acts in Florida drew heavy backlash before a Senate panel.

The Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee approved the bill (SB 1072), but only after a long line of speakers criticized the legislation.

Sen. Alexis Calatayud, a Miami Republican, sponsored the measure. She pointed out that the number of incidents of antisemitism in the U.S. is on the rise.

Calatayud said the task force would be established within the Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights. It’s designed to strengthen community relations and advise law enforcement on how to investigate incidents and other stipulations.

Walker Smith, a civil rights lawyer in Orlando, said such a task force would be too arbitrary.

“We as a state of Florida cannot pick and choose which religion we’re going to establish a task force for,” Smith said, adding that the bill would favor one religion over another unconstitutionally.

Vance Ahrens, a Democrat running for the Senate District 19 seat along the Space and Treasure Coasts, blasted the proposed task force for potentially targeting speech critical of Israel’s government.

“It risks bringing political speech into antisemitism,” Ahrens said. “It risks allowing speech against a country, a state which we should be allowed to speak out against, into antisemitism. … It is too easy to incorporate things that don’t fit under antisemitism. And it’s too easy to steamroll other groups that should be protected.”

Other speakers felt the task force would criminalize free speech and threaten academic freedom on college campuses. Some Jewish advocacy organizations, such as the Progressive Jewish Coalition of Tampa also opposed the bill, arguing it would marginalize many residents of Florida.

The Antisemitism Task Force would be composed of 18 members from across the state. Those panelists would be appointed by various agencies and officials. Each member would serve two-year terms.

The panel would also be expected to monitor antisemitic hate crimes and advise the state on possible changes in laws governing hate crimes. The task force would automatically disband Oct. 1, 2029, unless lawmakers approve an extension.

The Senate bill now moves to the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice and the Fiscal Policy Committee.

A similar bill in the House (HB 111), sponsored by Rep. Mike Gottlieb, a Davie Democrat, has cleared the first of three assigned committees.