Florida Lawmakers Walk Out of Meeting Over Pro-Palestinian Remarks

Two Florida officials walked out of a county commission meeting after an attendee made a speech in solidarity with the Palestinian population amid the recent Hamas attacks on Israel.

Broward County Commissioners Michael Udine and Steve Geller were seen walking out of Tuesday’s meeting while a woman, who identified herself as Tiffany Burks, took the podium to read a statement on behalf of herself and the Black Futures Alliance, of which she is an organizer.

“The injustices facing the Palestinians share the historical baggage of systematic and racial oppression of Black people in the United States,” she said. “Malcom X once said, ‘If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people being oppressed and loving the people doing the oppressing.'”

The far-reaching and deadly attacks on Israel by Hamas militants over the weekend have sparked fierce debate over the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, with some calling for unwavering support for Israel and others taking a pro-Palestinian position. The latter has been criticized by those arguing that failure to stand with Israel amid the chaos is support for groups like Hamas.

Demonstrators hold Palestine flags and signs as they protest during a rally outside the U.S. Federal Building & Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 18, 2021. Two Florida lawmakers walked out of a county commission meeting in Broward County, Florida, after an attendee made a speech in solidarity with the Palestinian population amid the recent Hamas attacks on Israel. Chandan Khanna/AFP

When asked if he intentionally left the meeting, Udine told Newsweek, “Yes, I did.”

Explaining his decision to walk out, Udine told reporter Chris Nelson: “I’m not going to sit and listen to someone try and justify the behavior of militant terrorists who are chopping heads off of babies and equating that to anything.

“I just didn’t feel like listening to it. I support Israel, the people of Israel. This is something that both parties should be able to agree on, that all reasonable people should agree. No one wants to see barbarism and people slaughtering women and children.”

Udine also sponsored a resolution earlier in the day condemning the attack on Israel, supporting Israel’s right to defend itself and urging Congress and President Joe Biden to provide emergency assistance to Israel.

During her pro-Palestinian speech, Burks said that the Holocaust was horrific but the decision to grant Jewish people the state of Israel was made “without consulting the people who already lived there.” She did not mention Hamas directly.

“Britain had no right to make that deal or that promise, and so once that agreement was made in 1948, the Zionist movement worked relentlessly to carry it out,” she said. “That required, in their eyes, the demolishment of the Palestinian nation. People were viewing this as a liberation movement, which we know it wasn’t, because it was the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

Tuesday’s meetings reflect the ongoing disagreement over the Middle East in Florida’s Broward County and other areas of the U.S. Supporters of Israel and the Palestinians held opposing rallies in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday that reportedly became violent after protesters physically clashed and at least one individual was arrested, according to the Miami Herald.