PALM BEACH COUNTY (VINnews) — A Jewish Florida lawmaker says antisemitic abuse has become a daily part of her public life, and she recently shared examples of the messages with a local television station to show what she faces.
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State Rep. Debra Tendrich, D-Lake Worth, represents House District 89 in Palm Beach County. Tendrich, who was first elected in 2024, told WPBF 25 News that she received antisemitic messages while campaigning and that the volume and intensity have grown since she took office.
She said the messages come from across the political spectrum and focus almost entirely on her being Jewish. According to her account of the correspondence, senders have told her Jews should leave the United States, questioned whether a Jewish person can be American, and invoked classic antisemitic tropes, including praise for Hitler. Station editors said identifying details were removed from the messages shown on air.
Tendrich said she posted some of the messages on Facebook so constituents could see what arrives in her inbox. She said the post drew support, and also more hate.
The Lake Worth-area Democrat has spoken often about antisemitism in Palm Beach County, which has a large Jewish population and has recorded a high share of Florida’s reported anti-Jewish incidents in recent years. She has previously said Jewish residents should be able to live, work and pray without fear.
Tendrich has also condemned other local cases, including the firing of a Palm Beach County employee after an investigation confirmed antisemitic gestures and remarks directed at a Jewish driver during a traffic encounter.
Jewish organizations in South Florida have reported graffiti, threats and other harassment over the past several years. Tendrich said the abuse directed at her has gotten worse “on a day-to-day basis,” and that she chose to speak publicly rather than stay silent.
Debra deserves enormous credit and praise for facing this horrendous situation head-on. Only the disinfecting effect of daylight can begin to demonstrate the deep, widespread, and virulent nature of this disease in our beloved USA and possibly lead to an eventual cure.
It is not that great living in southern Florida. While it is true that the 3-4 months during the bitter cold winters and snow up north, are not very pleasant, the downside is for the rest of the nine months in in southern Florida, one has to contend with the multitude of bugs and other insects, intense heat, hurricanes and floods, very bad traffic, and bad drivers, y high costs of homeowner’s insurance, and high rents, not the greatest health care system (i.e. the West Boca Medical Center), and very high crime rates. Yes, there are some very nice Jewish restaurants in southern Florida, and there is Epcot, Disneyland, Universal, etc. However, whenever I visiited Florida, I was always happy to return home.
You spend your week managing the firm, keeping the marriage upright, and answering every demand that lands on your desk. Then you close the door and wonder why the machine you built feels like it owns you. That numbness is not a failure. It is the cost of protecting a status quo that stopped asking who you actually are.