A good indication of the expected age of attendees to an event is what type of music they play (if they have music). The bike ride I went to on August 16 fit that description. They were playing music from the ‘50s as opposed to music for 50-year-olds. This was probably the oldest crowd I have seen for a bike ride.
That probably explains why so many riders signed up for the 22-mile ride instead of the 46-mile and longer ones. Usually, the longer routes are more popular. None of the routes were flat rides as on a Rails to Trails ride. These were very hilly. That makes it more impressive that those riders who appeared to be in their seventies and maybe in their eighties were able to ride 22 miles. It shows that if you exercise regularly and do not have major health issues, you can ride at an advanced age. I do understand the thrill of going down a hill at 30 to 35 miles an hour. The problem is that you need the energy to get up the hill before you go down. Not my speed. Having to ride up a steep hill tires me out. It may be due to the bike, my riding technique, or not being in good enough shape to navigate the hills. Whatever, count me out. The problem is that many of these bike rides outside of New York City take place on hilly terrain.
Now to my main article. Last week, during Friday night Shabbat services at Central Synagogue in Manhattan, an antisemite came into the synagogue, knocked over the Shabbat candles and candlesticks, and injured a worshiper and a security guard. Whether you would ever set foot in that synagogue is irrelevant. For Jews, different denominations matter, while for the antisemite, we are lumped together. A Jew is a Jew, and an attack on one is an attack on all. This is the world we live in. The mayor can make all the condemnations he wants. It means nothing. The point is that he is stirring the pot with his rhetoric, and thus he cannot profess shock when incidents like this happen.
This is not only a New York or Democratic Party problem. In Florida, a Jewish Republican member of Congress, Randy Fine, is being challenged by Dan Bilzerian in the Republican primary. On his website, Bilzerian lists a nine-point plan. Some of the points are implied to be antisemitic, but the last one puts it out there: “End Jewish Supremacy This country is being run into the ground by Jewish Special Interests. We have two years to shake the tree in Washington and put real outsiders in charge, or America is done.”
In his talking points, Bilzerian has four top reasons not to vote for Fine. Number 1 is “He put the interests of a foreign country ahead of you and every American citizen.” We know which foreign country Bilzerian is talking about.
He also has various videos on his website, including one on October 7 where he first claims that Israel has engaged in many terrorist attacks, committed genocide, and is an apartheid state. He claimed that October 7 was a false flag operation done by Israeli intelligence against its own people. He has other videos, such as “Israel in position of power,” in which he talks about Jews in America having power in every part of American life. Then, in another video, he claims that Netanyahu got America into the war by falsely claiming there were weapons of mass destruction. Additionally, he claims that when there were reports of Palestinian prisoners being raped, there were riots, but not because of what was done. The government of Israel lies 10,000 times. I am sure there is more in the other videos, but you get the message.
He also put out a two-minute video on X on August 13. It was AI-generated as a music video with antisemitic imagery and statements. There was a woman singing with various images. You can see it on Facebook. It had every antisemitic stereotype in the book. As bad as the words in the video were, the imagery was worse. Lyrics included repeatedly calling Fine a “fat Jew” and showing him being obese. “What type of psychopath likes watching children dying?” The image showed Fine laughing. “Why are they just Goyim cattle to him?” “Should we revisit that Austrian painter’s opinions?” The image was of Hitler, who was a failed painter from Austria. “We need America only and Israel never, fat Jew Randy needs tar and feather.” An image showed Fine covered with tar and feathers. Fine is also shown in jail. More than once, he called Fine a Satanic whore while the video showed Fine growing horns. There was also an image of Fine holding a duffle bag full of money and smiling while the singer called him “Satan’s creepy little minion.” “Stop raping kids sounds so contrarian” sounded while showing Fine on a bed. This was shown on a few occasions. “Throw out Shylock and all his tricks.”
On August 17, both Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries denounced Bilzerian for his antisemitic video. Right now, in the polls, Bilzerian is seen as the greatest challenge to Fine of all the candidates on the ballot. That says something about Florida Republicans in that district. Bilzerian has a significant social media following, which also speaks volumes as to the amount of antisemitism there is in this country. Some of the comments he has made sound like something you would hear from the far-left anti-Israel candidates. As I have said before, the far left and the far right might not agree on much, but they both hate Jews. By the time this article is published, the Florida primary results should be known, so we will see how Bilzerian and the progressive candidates running against Jewish members of Congress from the Democratic Party perform.
In Florida, one Jew decided he had enough of the nonsense going on. The Jewish owner of a venue in Fort Lauderdale had booked a rally for DSA candidates running against two Jewish members of Congress. Rashida Tlaib was going to be the featured speaker. There was an uproar in the Jewish community as to how this Jewish venue owner could book an event with Tlaib and the others present. The owner, when he heard about it, asked that Tlaib not be allowed to be there. Tlaib refused, so the event was moved to another location. The owner then issued a statement that, among other things, said, “The Venue Fort Lauderdale is Jewish owned and operated and our values and commitment to the Jewish community is deeply important to us.”
These are tough times. If we are strong and stick together and stand up, we can be successful. It won’t be easy, but it can be done.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.