Apparently, antisemitism is alive and well in Surfside, Florida, where nearly half the 5,700 residents are Jewish, and approximately 35% of those “identifies as Orthodox,” according to a Verified Emergency Petition for Temporary Injunction filed on Friday by former Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger, Chabad of Surfside, United Orthodox Synagogues of Surfside, several rabbis and Surfside residents, against the Town of Surfside and it’s Canvassing Board.

The Town of Surfside’s municipal election for Mayor was held on March 17, 2026, or “the third Tuesday of March,” as required by the Town’s Charter.  Since none of the three candidates reached the threshold of 50% plus 1 vote, a run off election is scheduled for April 7, 2026, also in accordance with the Charter, which reads, “A run–off election shall be held the first Tuesday of April following the general election.”

On election day, Shlomo Danzinger received just a fraction fewer of the necessary votes to win outright against two other contenders.

Even though only 50% of the Town’s 3,748 registered voters came out for this election, Mr. Danzinger received 49.42% of those who voted.  In fact, despite the low voter turnout, he received a nod from 25% of all eligible voters in the entire Town of Surfside.

Shlomo Danzinger is the obvious favorite choice for Mayor!

The run off scheduled for April 7, 2026 is between Danzinger and current Vice Mayor Tina Paul.

The problem this year is that April 7, 2026 falls during the last two days of Passover, one of the most important Jewish holidays of the year.  In a March 27, 2026 article, Florida Politics explains, “Passover runs April 1-9 this year, during which time many traditionally observant Jews are prohibited from activities including driving, writing and using electronics.”

The Florida Politics article also states that the Petition “contends the April 7 election date indeed imposes a substantial burden on observant Jewish voters, in part because some interpretations of Jewish law prohibit voting during Chol Hamoed — the intermediate days of Passover, between the first two and last two days of the eight-day holiday — while others make it impractical due to travel and holiday preparation.”

“There’s also precedent,” according to the article.  “Nearby Bay Harbor Islands unanimously moved its election to April 14 to avoid Passover, and in 2010, the petition notes, then-Gov. Charlie Crist postponed a Special Congressional Election for similar reasons, as was also done in states like New York and New Jersey.”

In normal times, the postponing of an election for religious reasons would be a no-brainer.

But these are not normal times.

In its annual State of Antisemitism in America Report, the American Jewish Committee notes that 2025 “one of the most violent years against American Jews in recent history.”

Sadly, it now appears that antisemitism has now come to South Florida, one of the largest Jewish communities in the entire country.

In tiny Surfside alone, which encompasses slightly more than one half a square mile of real estate, there are four Orthodox synagogues within walking distance of every single on of its 2,500 Jewish residents.

And yet, there are evil forces within the Town trying to prevent the Orthodox Jews from voting for the Mayor of their choice!

It appears that the Town Commission could easily vote to move the run off election from April 7th to April 14th to accommodate the First Amendment religious rights of Surfside’s Jewish community.

But, again, we are not living in normal times.

In fact, current Mayor Charles Burkett, who also writes a blog entitled Save Surfside, posted a virulently antisemitic column on March 21, 2026 — four days after the election — entitled, “The Letter Tina Paul Should Write.”  He obviously supports his colleague on the dais and has an intense dislike (bordering on contempt) for his predecessor, former Mayor Danzinger.

In his nasty blog post, Burkett, who is not Jewish, viciously attacks Shlomo Danzinger with complete lies and misconceptions, and claims that he has “successfully frightened and misled a solid 850 religious voters in our community, who now, out of fear, vote in lockstep to elect him. That number represents 25% of all our voters.  Happily, Danzinger’s fear-mongering has a limit, and that limit is 860 votes.“

What he is really saying is, “If we can stop 25% of Surfside’s Orthodox Jews from voting on April 7, 2026, we can win the election!“

WOW!  JUST WOW!

THIS IS BEYOND DISGUSTING!

This is not the South Florida I know.  I never experienced antisemitism in my entire life until recently, so this is very personal to me.

I grew up in Miami Beach, just a few blocks from the Town of Surfside, and my son and his family live in Surfside now.

JEW-HATRED IN ANY FORM IS AN EVIL ABOMINATION AND MUST BE ELIMINATED!

If you are able, please come to a Special Town Commission Meeting today at 2:00 pm, which was called for the purpose of  discussing the “Direction on the Emergency Injunction and Changing the Regularly Scheduled Town Commission Meeting of April 14, 2026.”

Tell Mayor Charles Burkett and Vice Mayor Tina Paul that antisemitism is not acceptable, and that the only right decision is to move the run off election to April 14, 2026!

The Orthodox Jews have just as much right to vote for their leaders as every other voter in Surfside, and THEIR VOICES MUST BE HEARD!

Stephanie