Gabrielle Fox, a GOP candidate for a state House seat in the central and western part of Palm Beach County, has been called out for making alleged anti-Semitic comments that also have resulted in a veterans group withdrawing its endorsem*nt of her.
The comments, made on social media, were first reported this month by Florida Jolt News, a conservative and Republican-leaning website operated by long-time activist Jack Furnari. The article, written by Furnari and Tracy Caruso, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Delay Beach four years ago, contains multiple Fox posts that both Furnari and Caruso claim are clearly anti-Semitic, a charge Fox denied.
In one Facebook post, Fox, 41, of Palm Beach Gardens, replies to someone who says Israel "was founded by the Rockefeller family to further enslave Jewish people." It goes on to say that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, is a "figurehead working for the Mafia to the detriment of not only all Jews, but all people."
The Fox reply never takes issue with anything said in the post about the Rockefeller family enslaving the Jewish people. She then responds by saying Israel allowed the October attack to occur that resulted in the deaths of nearly 400 civilians at an open-air music festival. The motive, she said, was to help justify the ethnic cleansingof the region of Palestine.
In a Facebook post dated Oct. 4, 2023, Fox wrote: “Pharisee Jews killed Jesus, and that their descendants are alive and well. This is not rocket science.” She explained that the post was in response to a post the day earlier that complained about Hasidic Jews spitting on Christians at Jerusalem's Lion Gate, noting that CNN reported on the incident.
Fox called the Florida Jolt article "a hit piece" designed to boost the candidacy of Meg Weinberger, who along with Fox and three other candidates are seeking the GOP nomination to represent House District 94 in the general election against Democrat Rachel Litt, a former mayor of Palm Beach Gardens. Weinberger is Jewish.
Fox also claims that the article was written after the Weinberger campaign made contributions to the campaign of state Rep. Mike Caruso, R-West Palm Beach, Tracy Caruso's husband. Fox said other Weinberger endorsem*nts also took place after she made campaign contributions to the endorser.
Former President Donald Trump is among those who have endorsed Weinberger.
Fox acknowledged that some of posts were authentic but claims that they are not anti-Semitic, and are truthful. "They are factual statements that can be verified," she said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post. There were other posts cited that Fox claimed were fabricated. The Post is only referring to posts she acknowledged making.
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On her website, Fox calls herself "a family first Conservative." She says she is a member of the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee, in addition to the Florida Republican Assembly, the Palm Beach Republican Club and the Palm Beach Young Republicans.
She graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology "but due to the governmental constraints that obtaining a license required," she never obtained a license to practice. She says she currently operates a boutique bookkeeping firm for small businesses in Palm Beach County.
In the past year, Furnari has also been critical of a Palm Beach County teacher because the teacher had sent a letter to School Board officialsasking them to "publicly recognize the Palestinian community"in their communications about the Israel-Hamas war. The teacher also posted a photo that featured the slogan "from the river to the sea" on her personal Facebook page.
The intensity of that issue rose on Nov. 15 when state Rep, Mike Caruso called for the teacher's suspension at a November school board meeting, where Caruso said her letter and social-media posts amounted to "disgusting antisemitic genocidal rhetoric."
The teacher was given a written directive by her principal to "be mindful of how the public may see and/or misconstrue your message if you post it on a public-facing forum." The School Board did not issue any discipline.
As for the Fox posts, Furnari said they were revolting, arguing they show that Fox has no idea what anti-Semitism is.
"You be the judge whether those comments are anti-Semitic. She is saying that the Israeli government deliberately allowed its citizens to be killed and that Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus. The Catholic Church has disavowed that belief a long time ago. And then she responded to the post sent to her claiming the Rockefeller family enslaved Jewish people as if that was true. If those are not anti-Semitic, then I don't know what is," Funari said.
Who is running in the House District 94 primary in August?
The House District 94 seat stretches from Lake Worth Beach west to Belle Glade. The incumbent, Rick Roth, is term-limited. Fox is competing against Weinberger, Anthony Aguirre, Christian Acosta and Jon Carter to be the GOP nominee. The seat has long been held by a Republican. According to the latest campaign filings, Weinberger has raised $280,000; Aguirre, $262,000; Acosta, $48,00; Carter, $28,000 and Fox, $10,000.
Veterans for Trump issued a news release explaining why it withdrew its endorsem*nt of Fox.
"This organization will not tolerate Anti-Israel statements that do not reflect our values and beliefs. Therefore the endorsem*nt of Ms. Fox is officially rescinded," the organization wrote.
In withdrawing its endorsem*nt, Veterans for Trump cited a Fox post that it was upset with: “The STATE of Israel and the Elitist Depopulation Zionists are EVIL. They were at the head of the snake with Covid, and they are war-mongering ethnic supremacists.”
Reaction of Republican leaders over comments
Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Kevin Neal declined to comment on the posts, noting that several candidates are vying for the primary nomination and it would not be proper to become involved in the controversy.
But Roth, the party's vice chairman, said he was disappointed over the comments, noting: "I'm not happy over what has been reported that she has said. It is not right to pit one group of people against another. It is not acceptable, especially when we are living in such unstable times."
Tracy Caruso defended the right of Fox to say what she wants but noted that Palm Beach County Republican voters need to know her beliefs. Caruso also said Fox should be removed from the county Republican Executive Committee, where she serves on REC's Election Integrity Committee.
“The beliefs she (Fox) expresses are abhorrent and one who holds them should not be serving on the REC,” Caruso said. “I don’t feel the county REC has done a good job of standing up to anti-Semitism. We cannot have a few bad apples spoil the cart. They need to be called out.”
Fox recently appeared before the county commission to criticize the operation of the Supervisor of Elections Office. She said she had concerns about the integrity of the machines being used to count ballots, claiming they could be hacked.
Mike Diamond is a journalist atThe Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him atmdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism.Subscribe today.
