In the midst of an increase in hate crimes in the neighborhood, a Florida firefighter is facing backlash after a photo of him dressed as Adolf Hitler surfaced.
I’m afraid I can’t claim that I’m startled. The executive director of the Jewish Council of North Central Florida, Linda Maurice, said, “I wish I could because that would actually make this easier if this was a rare, out-of-the-norm incident, but regrettably, these types of incidents have become mainstream.
The Melbourne Fire Department is looking into an incident when a firefighter was allegedly seen imitating Hitler and even giving the Nazi salute while sporting a military helmet and fake mustache.
Who nowadays dresses like Adolf Hitler? It’s really abhorrent,” Maurice added. We all make mistakes in what we say and do, but it was on purpose for him to stand there in front of the camera. Accountability is essential and education is powerful.
Florida Community Demands Action After Second Antisemitic Incident in a Week
When the event was reported to Aaron Starkey’s union, he claimed that nothing was done about it. According to reports, the person in the picture addressed Starkey and ordered him to refrain from making any more complaints.
This hate crime is the second antisemitic event to occur in Brevard County this week, according to officials. State Representative Randy Fine tweeted on Saturday that his son had received a bag containing antisemitic comments.
According to data from the Anti-Defamation League, occurrences of antisemitic harassment increased 29% last year, with Florida ranking among the top five states for the number of cases.
“That is what I think is one of the scariest things, that we hear about them, we say ‘Oh my God,’ it happened again, but we’re used to them, and that, in my opinion, is scarier than if it was just a random incident,” stated Maurice.
Following the firing of a Brevard County firefighter last year due to the online distribution of pictures of him wearing blackface, this has happened.
As situations like this continue to grow more common, the community is now demanding that something be done.
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