Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon tapped her colleagues earlier this week to stand with her in calling for a cease-fire in the wake of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“We are at 10,000 dead Palestinians. How many will be enough?” said Nixon, a Jacksonville Democrat who sponsored a proposal related to her cause that was shut down in a 104-2 vote on Tuesday.
“One of my colleagues said all of them,” she continued. “One of my colleagues also stated that this is going to dry up their fundraising if we vote on this resolution. “That’s what we’ve become in this state? Where we don’t care about innocent babies that don’t even get the opportunity to blow out their first birthday candle.”
In a lengthy thread on X, Nixon explained that it was a Republican legislator who shouted out the “all of them” remark, identified as Rep. Michelle Salzman.
The resolution, HR31- C, calls “for an immediate de-escalation & ceasefire in Israel & occupied Palestine, supporting protection of constitutional rights of Floridians, & advocating for dignity & safety of residents in every community.”
It was only backed by Nixon and Rep. Anna Eskamani. During the tension-filled House special session, lawmakers weighed in, including Rep. Randy Fine, who is Jewish, stating, “If you vote for this, you’re an anti-Semite.”
On X, formerly Twitter, Nixon opened up about the emotional toll after the debate, especially after some of her colleagues turned their backs on her while she spoke.
“I have never witnessed so much hate in real life, in real time as I did on yesterday,” Nixon wrote. “Republicans and Democrats working together to ostracize someone simply asking for them to see the humanity in innocent human lives.”
I have never witnessed so much hate in real life, in real time as I did on yesterday. Republicans and Democrats working together to ostracize someone simply asking for them to see the humanity in innocent human lives.
— State Rep. Angie Nixon (@AngieNixon) November 8, 2023
By Thursday, Salzman, who said she’s been receiving death threats over her outburst, took to X to claim she did not intend to advocate for genocide.
“I am so incredibly sorry for even the slightest of suggestions that I would want an entire community erased,” she wrote. “My comments were unapologetically towards the Hamas regime – I NEVER said Palestine. As a wife and mother of a Jew, I stand strong in my support for Israel. But, the heartbreaking loss of Palestinian lives is never a desire of mine.”
Salzman, who changed her profile to protected view, said her family is receiving security protection from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Adding, “The threats against me and my family are absolutely real.”
It comes over a month after Hamas, a militant group, launched a surprise attack in Israel, killing hundreds. In states across the country, for instance, in Pennsylvania and New York, protesters call for a cease-fire in Gaza, the territory seized by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967. When asked by a reporter if it’s a possibility, President Joe Biden said: “None. No possibility.”
