James Fischback, a former Republican candidate for Florida governor, was forcibly removed from a Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners meeting Tuesday afternoon after protesting the county’s decision to expand its investment in Israel-backed bonds.
“Do you serve the people of Hialeah or of Haifa? Do you serve the people of Aventura or of Tel Aviv? Do you serve the people of South Miami or of Jerusalem? This money should be invested here in this community. It should be invested in Miami-Dade County,” Fischback said before officers escorted him out of the room.
The protest follows a vote earlier this summer by the county to raise its investment cap tied to Israel from 3% to 5% of its portfolio, a change that allows the county to invest roughly $400 million to $450 million. The decision has drawn criticism from residents and public figures, including Fischback, who object to using taxpayer-linked public funds for investments connected to Israel while the war in Gaza continues to shape political debate across the country.
“What this is about, very simply, is whom do you serve?” Fischback said at the meeting.
A history of confrontational politics
Fischback, a Republican, ran as one of 11 GOP candidates seeking to succeed outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis. He received 10.4% of the vote in the Aug. 18 primary, a race won by Rep. Byron Donalds, one of the only Black Republicans in Congress.
During the campaign, Fischback drew national attention for a series of inflammatory remarks aimed at Donalds. At one news conference he repeatedly referred to Donalds as a “slave,” saying: “Byron Donalds is a slave. I’m sorry, he’s a slave. He is a slave to his donors. He is a slave to the corporate interests, to the tech bros that want to turn our state into, in his own words, a financial capital.”
He later shouted a similar line directly at Donalds through a megaphone outside a public appearance: “You’re a DEI hire. You’re a slave. Go back to New York.”
Others also objected to the bond change
Fischback was not the only member of the public to raise concerns at Tuesday’s meeting. A woman who identified herself as Ivar Fandel spoke while wearing a “let Gaza live” T-shirt, addressing the agenda item directly.
“Item 5B does exist in the context of a budget crisis as well as a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of Israel,” Fandel said.
During his gubernatorial run, Fischback was one of the only Republican candidates in the race to refuse donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and he pledged to divest public funds from Israel-backed bonds if elected.
“Florida has a specific policy. You’re not allowed to use taxpayer funds to buy foreign government bonds, with one exception: Israel. And so my premise is, first principles, we should not be lending taxpayer pensioner money to any foreign government,” Fischback told The American Conservative during the campaign.
He also criticized other candidates, including Donalds, for what he described as a “singular allegiance” to Israel. In a post on X, Fischback wrote: “I think people like Randy Fine and other AIPAC politicians have a singular allegiance. And that allegiance is to the best interests of Israel. The idea of saying ‘I am running to represent a foreign country’s interest in the United States Congress’ is preposterous. They’re buying allegiance.”
Fischback did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
