The race to fill the House seat previously held by former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) kicked off on Tuesday with the primary in a reliably conservative district that strongly supported President Donald Trump. In the 6th Congressional District, which spans south of Jacksonville and includes Daytona Beach, Trump has endorsed state Sen. Randy Fine, a vocal conservative known for his strong support of Israel and his efforts to limit LGBTQ rights.
First elected to the Florida House in 2016, Fine recently distanced himself from Gov. Ron DeSantis, criticizing the governor for what he views as insufficient action against antisemitism.
According to the NY Times, Fine is distinguishing himself with a relentless campaign to cleanse Florida’s college and high school textbooks of antisemitic content.
Test questions from a class at Florida International University sparked outrage from Fine. One question, shared on social media by a student, stated that Palestine was a country before the creation of Israel. Another implied that Zionists had invented terrorism. To Fine, these questions exemplified what he called a troubling prevalence of antisemitism in college textbooks and accompanying test materials.
Fine expressed his frustration, saying, “It makes me wonder, how many other Muslim terror textbooks are being used in our university system?”
Ray Rodrigues, the chancellor of Florida’s State University System, which serves over 430,000 students, took swift action in response to the controversy. He removed the textbook “Terrorism and Homeland Security” from the system’s curriculum, pending a review. In August, Rodrigues announced a significant initiative that raised concerns among professors and advocates of academic freedom: all 12 universities in the system were directed to establish faculty panels to review course materials, including textbooks, for antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.
Rodrigues argued that the test questions slammed by Randy Fine were not only biased and antisemitic but also violated a 2024 Florida statute, which classifies certain criticisms of Israel as antisemitic.
The United Faculty of Florida (UFF), which represents more than 25,000 faculty members across all twelve public universities in Florida, sixteen state and community colleges, four K-12 lab schools, and the private institution Saint Leo University,
The United Faculty of Florida at Florida International University (UFF-FIU) became embroiled in controversy after the X account “Documenting Israel” shared the test questions from FIU’s “Terrorism and Homeland Security” course, labeling them as antisemitic. FIU launched an investigation into the matter.
At a holiday party last December, faculty members gathered to discuss the growing concerns surrounding the incident. However, the event saw a more subdued atmosphere compared to previous UFF-FIU gatherings, influenced by new regulations introduced by the Board of Trustees requiring antisemitism reviews of university courses and materials.
Recently, the FIU Board of Trustees called for faculty volunteers to join committees tasked with reviewing courses and textbooks for antisemitism, but faculty largely refused to participate. Despite these challenges, the UFF remains resilient.
Marc Weinstein, UFF-FIU treasurer and professor in the College of Business, criticized the Rodrigues initiative, asserting that its true purpose is not combating antisemitism.
“What they’re interested in is owning the libs or finding some way to get some political advantage,” Weinstein remarked. “It’s really an effort to bait faculty because now we’re in a situation where we want to oppose this really unjustified intervention into academic affairs.”
The statewide vetting effort is taking place against the backdrop of ongoing tensions in academia following the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre and Israel’s military response. While campuses that saw protests last spring against Israel’s bombing of Gaza have largely quieted, the pressure from lawmakers has led many colleges and universities to implement stricter rules on protests, expel students for conduct violations, and scrutinize courses more closely.
OFF TO THE RACES
On November 26, 2024, Randy Fine announced his candidacy for the United States Congress, receiving endorsements from President-elect Donald Trump, Senator Rick Scott, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer.
On the day of his announcement, Fine declared on Twitter that “the Hebrew Hammer was coming” and suggested Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar “might consider leaving before I get there. #BombsAway.”
