James Fishback, the former Florida gubernatorial candidate, was escorted out of a Miami-Dade County Commission meeting after protesting the county's expanded investment in Israel-backed bonds.
James Fishback, the controversial former Florida gubernatorial candidate, was forcibly removed from a Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners meeting Tuesday afternoon after protesting the county's expanded investment in Israel-backed bonds.
The confrontation came as commissioners took up a previously approved move to raise the county's investment cap with Israel from 3% to 5% of its portfolio, a change that could put roughly $400 million to $450 million of public money into Israeli bonds.
Fishback did not go quietly. Before officers escorted him from the room, he pressed the commission on where its loyalties lie.
"Do you serve the people of Hialeah or of Haifa? Do you serve the people of Aventura or of Tel Aviv? Do you serve the people of South Miami or of Jerusalem? This money should be invested here in this community. It should be invested in Miami-Dade County," he said.
"What this is about, very simply, is whom do you serve?" he added as he was led out.
The investment change has been brewing all summer. The county voted earlier this year to expand how much of its portfolio can sit in Israel-backed bonds, and Tuesday's meeting gave the public a chance to push back.
Fishback was not the only one. Another speaker, who identified herself as Ivar Fandel, approached the podium wearing a "let Gaza live" shirt and argued the agenda item could not be separated from the ongoing war in Gaza.
"Item 5B does exist in the context of a budget crisis as well as a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of Israel," Fandel said, referring to the agenda item tied to the county's bond policy.
Fishback, a Republican, has built a national reputation for confrontational public appearances. He was one of 11 GOP candidates seeking to replace outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis and pulled 10.4% of the vote in the Aug. 18 primary, finishing far behind frontrunner and eventual nominee Byron Donalds.
He drew headlines during the campaign for repeatedly calling Donalds -- a Trump-backed congressman and one of the only Black Republicans in Congress -- a "slave" at a news conference and again through a megaphone outside a Donalds event.
On the Israel question, Fishback was one of the only Republicans in the race to refuse contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and he pledged to divest from Israel-backed bonds if elected.
"Florida has a specific policy. You're not allowed to use taxpayer funds to buy foreign government bonds, with one exception: Israel. And so my premise is, first principles, we should not be lending taxpayer pensioner money to any foreign government," Fishback said during the campaign.
He also accused rivals, including Donalds and state Sen. Randy Fine, of showing "singular allegiance" to Israel, arguing such ties made them more loyal to a foreign country's interests than to Florida voters.
The county's expanded Israel investment policy remains in place, and the bond debate is far from over. Tuesday's scene guarantees the fight stays in the spotlight as Miami-Dade weighs how much public money belongs in foreign bonds -- and who gets heard when they object.
Fishback did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the meeting. His removal adds another chapter to a political career that keeps generating national attention long after the primary ended.
James Fishback, the former Florida gubernatorial candidate, was escorted out of a Miami-Dade County Commission meeting after protesting the county's expanded investment in Israel-backed bonds.
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