After Tampa Bay Democrats voted last month against disciplining a party activist accused of antisemitism, the leadership of the local party reversed course and decided on Monday to suspend the member for two years, citing “repeated violations of our standards for respectful and inclusive discourse.” 

The steering committee of the Hillsborough County Democratic Party, which encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in Florida, determined that precinct captain Russ Miller “had engaged in antisemitic hate speech targeting both the Hillsborough County Democratic Jewish Caucus and individual members.”

Jewish Democrats in the area have been raising concerns about Miller for months, after he publicly attacked members of the Jewish caucus and encouraged elected officials not to work with them. The matter reached Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, who also called for his removal — but was rebuffed when the matter was first discussed. 

The measure was put before a vote of the party’s executive committee in January and failed. Hillsborough’s party chair, Vanessa Lester, declined to weigh in at the time. 

During Monday’s meeting, Lester also did not vote, saying she would only do so if needed to break a tie. But she said suspending Miller was the right decision.

“This behavior is not acceptable, and it caused a lot of harm to our organization,” Lester told Jewish Insider. “Antiemitism is not tolerated in our organization, and no ‘ism’ within our organization will be tolerated at all.” During the suspension, Miller will not be allowed to participate in Democratic Party clubs, committees or events. 

Steve Shaiken, the chair of the Jewish Caucus, said the suspension is not enough to absolve his concerns.

“There has been no meaningful or significant change, and the [Democratic Executive Committee] is still infested with antisemitism on a large and hateful scale,” Shaiken told JI. 

Miller regularly posted anti-Israel content on his Facebook page, including support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Lester made clear that was not the reason for his suspension.

“This suspension was not a result of Miller’s political views on the Israeli government. Our county party encompasses a wide range of views, including within our Jewish community. The action was taken solely because of Miller’s antisemitic remarks directed at members of the Jewish Caucus,” she said in a press release. 

After the Monday night vote, Miller wrote an angry message in a Facebook group for Democrats in one part of the county, making clear he had no intention of apologizing for his months of antisemitic comments.

“Let us recognize that it is not the fascists who are winning over America, but the Democrats who abandoned the long-suffering voters to appease feared but very unpopular special interest groups like Zionists and their ignorant allies,” Miller wrote. “Appeasement is not a path to victory. It is an obvious sign of cowardice and weakness.”