Cpl. Pablo Lima of the police department of Bay Harbor Islands in Miami-Dade County, southern Florida, was suspended on Friday because he “liked” a social media post of his wife in which she called US Representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional district Rashida Harbi Tlaib “a Hamas-loving anti-Semite,” and suggested she wouldn’t put it past said Congresswoman to “become a martyr and blow up Capitol Hill.”
Cpl. Lima’s wife is Hallandale Beach city Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub, whose name you’ve never heard of, mostly because you don’t live in Hallandale Beach city. Born in Haifa, Anabelle Lima-Taub calls herself the Rogue Commissioner. She says she is a “Disrupter of the status quo, patriot, conservative activist fighting for my community, the [globe emoji] & the voiceless! City commissioner hated & maligned by some of my fellow commissioners (elected in 2016). Plant based lover of all animals.”
But wait, there’s more. According to Saira Anwer, reporting for WPLG & Local 10, Lima-Taub’s fellow commissioner, Michele Lazarow, condemned her anti-Tlaib statement, declaring: “This is a black eye to our community, and I would like to see us move forward,” noting, “I don’t know if that’s possible, which is unfortunate.”
Tlaib tweeted a response, calling Lima-Taub’s remark “hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric.”
Not really – it was mostly anti-Rashida Tlaib rhetoric, and one which many of us reading this narrative would absolutely support. Much like Cpl. Lima, who liked his wife’s diatribe at the wrong time, apparently. See, Cpl. Lima had just submitted an application to become the town’s next police chief, and then someone took a look at his Facebook activity which resulted in his being promptly placed on administrative leave by Bay Harbor Islands’ police.
Here’s another thing: those comments by the policeman’s wife? They were made about a year ago. As was the like. Then both sat there, comment and like, gathering digital dust, until Pablo decided to run for office.
On Saturday night, a bunch of Bay Harbor Islands residents rallied in support of Cpl. Lima. According to WPLG & Local 10, “Lima-Taub had a major presence at the rally.”
We can imagine.
“We’re here to support my husband,” she said.
And former Bay Harbor Islands mayor Linda Zilber said, “Though he didn’t say anything mean, his wife said something, and he just supported his wife.”
A police labor expert named John Rivera told the TV station: “Have we gone so mad in our nation that if you do this then you get your entire career stained?”
OK, I give up, what’s a police labor expert?
Bay Harbor Islands Town Manager J.C. Jimenez responded in a statement, saying, “The content of the social media posts that were brought to our attention are not consistent with our town’s values and policies. Cpl. Pablo Lima is currently on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.”
Wait, so, according to south Florida values, Rashida Tlaib is not a Hamas-loving anti-Semite? Did anyone run a survey? We’re talking Miami-Dade County, right? Land of the hanging chads? Of course they think she’s a Hamas-loving anti-Semite, it’s the probably the only one thing they agree on.
