UF College Republicans recently hosted James Fishback, a GOP gubernatorial candidate in the state who has embraced popular online antisemitic slang on the campaign trail.

By Andrew Lapin, JTA

Another group for young Republicans is in hot water over revelations that its members have engaged in antisemitic activity.

The University of Florida disbanded its College Republicans chapter over the weekend following social media posts in which two members reportedly made Nazi salutes, among other actions.

In response, the group sued the university, accusing administrators of violating its First Amendment rights.

“The University of Florida punitively deactivated and shut down the UFCR, in response to alleged viewpoints expressed by a member of UFCR, and in an effort to silence the club and chill its future speech,” the lawsuit reads.

The chapter is being supported in its efforts by a national umbrella College Republicans organization, whose president said he supported the students’ “right to free speech.”

UF has 6,500 Jewish undergraduates, the most of any university in the country, according to Hillel International.

The revelations concerning its College Republicans group come weeks after a similar controversy involving Florida International University’s chapter, and followed leaked antisemitic group chats among leaders of several statewide Young Republicans chapters, including New York, last year.

In a statement explaining its move to disband the group, UF said members of the College Republicans “engaged in a pattern of conduct that violated its rules and values, including a recent antisemitic gesture.”

Photos posted online by pro-Israel activists appeared to show members of the chapter flashing Nazi salutes, as well as posing with antisemitic influencers Nick Fuentes and Myron Gaines.

Other reports of the leaked material describe group chats stating that Hitler “didn’t do enough.”

The UF statement continued, “The University of Florida has emphatically supported its Jewish community and remains committed to preventing and addressing antisemitism and other forms of discrimination and harassment that are threatening and disruptive to our students and to the teaching, research and expressive activities of the campus community.”

UF College Republicans recently hosted James Fishback, a GOP gubernatorial candidate in the state who has embraced popular online antisemitic slang on the campaign trail.

In its lawsuit and on X, the College Republicans group suggested the two events were linked.

“48 hours after we hosted James Fishback (@j_fishback) at the largest Candidate event at UF in nearly 10 years, @UF terminated our organization,” they wrote on X. The lawsuit claims, “UF likely further deactivated Plaintiff because UFCR hosted republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, a critic of Israel, at a March 11, 2026, event attended by 500 students.”

Fishback himself criticized the university for disbanding the group, likening it to the school’s decision to disband an anti-Israel group in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

“It is disgraceful for Florida’s taxpayer-funded universities to punish student groups for their protected speech,” he wrote. “In 2023, it was Students for Justice in Palestine. Today, it’s College Republicans.”

Also supporting the chapter was College Republicans of America, an umbrella organization, although its website does not include UF as a listed chapter.

“We support our students’ right to free speech, even if their endorsements don’t match our own at the national level,” CRA’s president, William Branson Donahue, wrote on X.

“I’m aware they’ve retained counsel and we will support them in reinstating the chapter.” The group’s recently appointed political director, Kai Schwemmer, is a streaming partner of Fuentes.

The university had claimed it was following the lead of a different College Republicans umbrella group in disbanding its chapter, the Florida Federation of College Republicans — a more moderate organization that condemned antisemitism after the FIU scandal.

UF College Republicans says it has no relation to the Florida Federation of College Republicans.

A Jewish Telegraphic Agency request for further comment to College Republicans of America was not immediately returned. The student who joked about Hitler in the group chat told the New York Times he had not intended to be antisemitic and also claimed he was not affiliated with the UF College Republicans.

Anthony Sabatini, the attorney representing UF College Republicans, is also representing FIU students who were exposed in that school’s recent College Republicans antisemitic group chat controversy.

On X, Sabatini shared a notice from FIU’s general counsel that one of the students, who had been placed under investigation by the university, had been “re-instated.”

The president of that school’s Turning Point USA chapter recently stepped down over his involvement in the chats.

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In a statement, the University of Florida Hillel condemned Damsky’s rhetoric and said that they hoped the school’s administration would review the policy that allowed him to receive the award for his paper.

By Grace Gilson, JTA

A University of Florida law student who posted that Jews must be “abolished by any means necessary” won an award for a paper in which he argued that the Constitution applies solely to white people.

The honor for an avowed white supremacist and antisemite has roiled the campus at the public university, in a state where a 2023 law prevents state funding for university programs that advocate for “diversity, equity and inclusion or promote or engage in political or social activism.”

Preston Damsky, 29, received the “book award” for a paper he wrote for a class last fall. In the paper, he argued for the removal of voting rights protections for non-white citizens and orders to kill “criminal infiltrators at the border,” according to the New York Times.

The award for the paper was given to Damsky by Federal Judge John L. Badalamenti, a Trump administration appointee who taught Damsky’s class.

The law school’s interim dean, Merritt McAlister, initially defended Damsky’s accolade, invoking “institutional neutrality,” arguing in an email to the law school community that professors must not engage in “viewpoint discrimination” and i according to the Times.

McAlister’s argument underscores a growing tension within academia as the Trump administration escalates its campaign against DEI with policies that have seen Holocaust remembrance pages stripped from government websites but allowed far-right sentiments to go unchecked.

After receiving the class award, Damsky, who told the Times that referring to him as a Nazi “would not be manifestly wrong,” doubled down on his incendiary messages.

He opened an account on X in which he repeatedly posted antisemitic and white supremacist sentiments.

Carliss Chatman, a visiting law professor at the school during the spring semester, told the Times that she was struck by the response to Damsky’s essay in contrast to her experience at the school.

A class Chatman had proposed titled “Race, Entrepreneurship and Inequality” was renamed by the school’s administration to just “Entrepreneurship” before being added to the catalogue.

“I just find it fascinating that this student can write an article, a series of articles that are essentially manifestoes, and that’s free speech,” Chatman said. “But my class can’t be called ‘Race, Entrepreneurship and Inequality.’”

Shortly after arriving at the school, a number of Jewish and Black students approached Chatman with concerns about Damsky.

“We should not be giving awards to things that advocate for white supremacy and white power,” Chatman told the Times, adding that she believed the award had “emboldened” Damsky to begin posting his racist and antisemitic comments on social media.

In one post on X, Damsky argued that President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were “controlled by Jews,” a group that he called “the common enemy of humanity,” according to the Times.

In dozens of other posts Damsky made from February to April, he described Jewish people as “parasitizing the West,” described immigrants as “invaders” and advocated for a white ethnostate, according to University of Florida student paper The Independent Florida Alligator.

In a post in late March, Damsky wrote that Jews must be “abolished by any means necessary,” which prompted the school on April 3 to suspend him and issue a trespass order against him, barring him from the university property for three years.

The controversy over Damsky’s antisemitic and racist remarks comes as the Trump administration has cracked down on universities over antisemitism on their campuses stemming from anti-Israel protests.

Earlier this month, Florida officials rejected a bid from the university to hire the former president of the University of Michigan to helm the school, citing his response to anti-Israel protests on his former campus.

The University of Florida has the highest number of Jewish undergraduate students of any public university in the country with a population of 6,500 Jewish students, or 19% of the student body, according to Hillel International.

Following a request for comment from JTA, the University of Florida replied that they could not provide information on student records or disciplinary processes, but shared that on April 3 the University of Florida Police Department issued a trespass warning to “the person in question.”

Administrators haven’t said what led to Damsky’s trespass order, which came following scrutiny of his social media.

In a statement, the University of Florida Hillel condemned Damsky’s rhetoric and said that they hoped the school’s administration would review the policy that allowed him to receive the award for his paper.

“There is no place at UF for this type of hateful rhetoric. We are grateful that the university responded by suspending the student, barring him from campus, increasing police presence around the law school, and initiating disciplinary proceedings aimed at expulsion,” the statement read.

“This “book award” was presented automatically to the student with the top grade in the course, which creates a false impression of endorsement of the student’s work. We hope the administrators will take time to review this policy moving forward,” the statement continued.

On March 21, a University of Florida law professor replied to Damsky’s post calling for the elimination of Jewish people, and asked if he would murder her and her family, according to the Alligator.

In response, Damsky wrote, “surely a genocide of all whites should be an even greater outrage than a genocide of all Jews, given the far greater number of whites.”

One 24-year-old Jewish third-year law student who was only identified by his first name, Daniel, told the Alligator in April that he wanted the law school to denounce Damsky’s views and draw a line between offensive speech and calls for violence.

“From my perspective, it just looks like he got away with it for two years until he threatened a faculty member,” Daniel told the Alligator. “It’s been very concerning. It felt like the administration just thought that they could close their eyes and wait for it to go away.”

McAlister addressed communal outcry over the school’s response to Damsky at a town hall meeting in April in which she said that the law school’s reputation was a “foremost concern” and law school leaders were working with “main campus” to address Damsky’s case, according to the Alligator.

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In just his third season, the 39-year-old became the youngest coach since 1983 to hoist the championship trophy.

By Jewish Breaking News

The Florida Gators are national champions after edging the Houston Cougars 65-63 in a defensive masterpiece inside San Antonio’s Alamodome on Monday night.

For most of the game, a third national title felt distant for the Gators. Houston’s vaunted defense, the best in the nation, lived up to its reputation, stifling Florida’s attack and methodically building a lead that stretched to 12 points in the second half.

The Gators, who found themselves trailing for all but 64 seconds of the entire contest, often looked overwhelmed and outmatched.

But this Florida team, hardened by comeback victories throughout their tournament run, refused to break.

Trailing 63-62 in the final minute, guard Alijah Martin stepped to the free-throw line and calmly sank both shots, giving Florida its first lead since the opening minutes with just 46.5 seconds left on the clock.

From there, it was all about defense. Houston, a team that hadn’t lost all season when holding opponents under 70 points, couldn’t find an answer.

Florida forced turnovers on consecutive possessions, shutting down the Cougars’ potent offense.

Sports bettors must have had a field day when on the final play, Houston’s Israeli-American guard Emanuel Sharp drove for a potential game-winner, but Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. met him with suffocating defense, preventing Sharp from even getting a shot off as time expired.

Houston wouldn’t score again in the final two minutes.

“It’s just how connected we all are,” senior guard Will Richard might have said amidst the celebration, having carried the Gators offensively with 18 points and 8 rebounds.

Clayton Jr., despite a tough shooting night (11 points) under defensive pressure, delivered the ultimate defensive play when it mattered most.

The victory marks a triumphant return to the pinnacle of college basketball for Florida, their first title since the back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007.

It also cemented a place in history for head coach Todd Golden. In just his third season, the 39-year-old became the youngest coach since Jim Valvano in 1983 to hoist the championship trophy.

Notably, Golden also became the first Jewish head coach since Larry Brown led Kansas to victory in 1988 to win the men’s NCAA Division I title.

“Every time, it doesn’t matter how. We can outscore people, we can get to a hundo. Tonight, we had to do it a different way. We played an incredibly tough, gritty, great program. We had to win an ugly game,” Golden said post game.

“What we just did, nobody can ever take that away from us. Each and every one of you guys are national f—— champions.”

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Students were suspended for up to 4 years which is long enough to make it unlikely that the students serving them will return to the University of Florida.

By Dion J. Pierre, The Algemeiner

Anti-Zionist faculty at the University of Florida (UF) are demanding lighter sentences for six student protesters who the university suspended for as long as four years as punishment for their role in occupying the campus in an attempt to intimidate officials into boycotting and divesting from Israel, according to The Independent Alligator, the school’s official newspaper.

As The Algemeiner previously reported, UF’s disciplinary body was set on slapping the students’ wrists, sentencing most to probation only based on recommendations from “hearing bodies,” until its new dean, Chris Summerlin, intervened and issued full suspensions for as many as four years.

The harshest suspensions — including four years for Allan Hektor Frasheri, 21, and three years for other students — while not being formal expulsions, are long enough to make it unlikely that the students serving them will return to the University of Florida.

“We, as faculty at the University of Florida, must stand in solidarity with students because they are being deprived of educational opportunities without justification. In fact, it is clear that the University of Florida is bypassing its own policies and processes to issue these suspensions,” a faculty group known as Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) wrote to Summerlin earlier this month.

“Chris Summerlin overruled the recommendations of the Student Conduct Committee by finding the student-protestors responsible on all charges and suspended the students for 3-4 years. At our university, a three-year suspension is equivalent to an expulsion given that students suspended for more than three semesters must reapply to the university before returning.”

Propagating falsehoods about Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, the professors continued, “We know that UF values free speech and viewpoint diversity and respect President [Ben] Sasse’s stated commitment to them …We issue this statement as faculty who value the honor code and mission of this university, and wish to protect the integrity of the institution which we serve.”

Speaking to the Alligator, UF spokesman Steve Orlando defended the punishments, stressing that “students who break rules face consequences.”

He continued, “UF clearly, patiently, and repeatedly communicated existing rules to protesters and then the university enforced those rules — just like we said we would. The University of Florida upholds free speech and enforces the rules. We expect our students to act like adults and take responsibility for their actions.”

Summerlin’s suspensions may not be the only consequences six students may face.

According to earlier reports, they were part of a group of nine who local law enforcement arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest, charges that are being prosecuted by the Alachua County State Attorney’s Office.

They are taking their chances at trial, after having rejected “deferred prosecution,” an agreement that would require them to plead guilty, or no contest, in exchange for the state’s expunging the convictions from their records in the future so long as they abstain from committing more criminal acts.

One of the nine, computer science student Parker Stanley Hovis, 26, — who was suspended for three years — has proclaimed that they will contest the state’s cases.

“We did not resist arrest, and we are prepared to fight our charges,” Hovis said in a statement.

“We’re standing in solidarity with each other, and collectively demanding that the state drop the charges against us.”

The University of Texas at Austin has also meted out lengthy suspensions to pro-Hamas protesters who violated school rules, a course of action that experts believe is a deterrent against similar behavior in the future.

Three students have been sentenced to deferred suspensions, a form of probation which allows them to continue their studies so long as they comply with school rules going forward, according KUT News, a National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate.

As part of their punishment, they must pass an exam testing their knowledge of school policies on free speech and protests and formally declare their awareness of the harsher, full suspensions they will receive should they violate school rules again.

However, some colleges have “downgraded” disciplinary measures levied against pro-Hamas demonstrators.

Harvard University infamously did so earlier this month, feeding an impression that it initially punished the students to temper a wave of negative publicity prompted by dozens of allegations that it declined to regain control of the campus despite a surge in antisemitic rhetoric and harassment.

The amnestied students reviled the university anyway, accusing it “caving in” and vowing to continue what they call the “student intifada.”

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The seven students have reportedly submitted appeals to overturn their punishments that are pending.

By Dion J. Pierre, The Algemeiner

The University of Florida (UF) has handed down severe and potentially life-altering punishments to seven pro-Hamas rioters who participated in occupying the campus in an attempt to intimidate officials into boycotting and divesting from Israel, according to Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the university’s College of Journalism and Communications.

UF’s disciplinary body was set on slapping the students’ wrists, sentencing most to probation only based on recommendations from “hearing bodies,” until its new dean, Chris Summerlin, intervened and issued full suspensions for as many as four years.

The harshest suspensions — including four years for Allan Hektor Frasheri, 21, and three years for other students — while not being formal expulsions, are long enough to make it unlikely that the students serving them will return to the University of Florida.

The seven students have reportedly submitted appeals to overturn their punishments that are pending.

Summerlin’s suspensions may not be the only consequences that the students will face.

According to Fresh Take Florida, the students were part of a group of nine that were arrested by local law enforcement for trespassing and resisting arrest, charges that are being prosecuted by the Alachua County State Attorney’s Office.

They are taking their chances at trial, the news service added, noting that all nine have rejected “deferred prosecution,” an agreement that would require them to plead guilty, or no contest, in exchange for the state’s expunging the convictions from their records in the future so long as they abstain from committing more criminal acts.

One of the nine, computer science student Parker Stanely Hovis, 26, — who was suspended for three years — proclaimed on Tuesday that they will contest the state’s cases.

“We did not resist arrest, and we are prepared to fight our charges,” Hovis said in a statement. “We’re standing in solidarity with each other, and collectively demanding that the state drop the charges against us.”

The University of Texas at Austin has also meted out lengthy suspensions to pro-Hamas protesters who violated school rules, a course of action that experts believe is a deterrent against similar behavior in the future.

Three students have been sentenced to deferred suspensions, a form of probation which allows them to continue their studies so long as they comply with school rules going forward, according KUT News, a National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate.

As part of their punishment, they must pass an exam testing their knowledge of school policies on free speech and protests and formally declare their awareness of the harsher, full suspensions they will receive should they violate school rules again.

One student, KUT added, was given a “full” two-year suspension during which he is banned from campus. The suspension effectively disenrolled him from the university, but he can reapply for readmission in 2026.

“The University of Texas at Austin provided a world-class learning environment where every student can thrive,” said a letter, as quoted by the outlet, sent to one of the students who was placed on deferred suspension.

“At this juncture, suspension appears to be the appropriate consequences for these serious infractions.”

It continued, “However, recognizing your commitment to educational growth, we want to offer you an alternative path to avoid suspension by proving that you have learned from this experience. We offer you the choice to accept a deferred suspension.”

Administrators and faculty have also been disciplined for their conduct amid a wave of anti-Israel demonstrations that upended campus life at universities across the US this past semester.

On Monday, Columbia University announced that three administrators have been placed on involuntary leave for sharing communications which “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes” while serving on the job, president Minouche Shafik said in a statement.

The action followed an explosive Washington Free Beacon report which revealed that administrators Susan Chang-Kim, Cristen Kromm, Matthew Patashnick, and Josef Sorett, who is dean of Columbia College, sent a series of text messages which denigrated Jews while spurning their concerns about rising antisemitism and the fate of Israel, denouncing them as “privileged” and venal.

“Whether intended as such or not, these sentiments are unacceptable and deeply upsetting, conveying a lack of seriousness about the concerns and experiences of members of our Jewish community that is antithetical to our university’s values and the standards we must uphold in our community,” Shafik said.

“We are taking action that holds those involved in this incident accountable … more broadly, we will launch a vigorous program of antisemitism and antidiscrimination [sic] training for faculty and staff this fall, with related training for students under the auspices of university life.”

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