FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Rabbi Efrem Goldberg offered an unusual political recommendation: His Orthodox congregants and the “decent people of Boca Raton” should change their voter registrations to Democratic so they could vote for U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz in the upcoming party primary.

Goldberg, the senior rabbi at Boca Raton Synagogue — the largest Orthodox synagogue in the southeastern U.S. — took his own advice. He changed his own registration from Republican to Democratic so he could vote for Moskowitz in the Aug. 18 primary — and against the other candidate, Oliver Larkin.

The faith leader’s exhortation shows the depth of the divide in the Moskowitz-Larkin contest. Moskowitz, a centrist known for cooperating with Republicans, and Larkin, a democratic socialist, are far apart on many issues.

But there is an enormous chasm between the two candidates’ views on Israel, its conduct of the war in Gaza, and the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the big pro-Israel lobbying organization.

Moskowitz said the views of some of Larkin’s supporters are so abhorrent that he won’t appear with his challenger. He said Larkin has embraced supporters who “have repeatedly trafficked in antisemitic rhetoric and hostility toward the Jewish community.”

Goldberg said via email, “I didn’t speak out in order to support Congressman Moskowitz as much as to ensure an antisemite is unsuccessful.”

Larkin said antisemitism is unacceptable both to him and within his campaign, and said at a town hall meeting he phoned Goldberg and “reaffirmed my commitment to standing up against antisemitism.” Larkin has not rejected the views of two of his most prominent supporters, cited by the Moskowitz camp, who have helped the challenger raise money for his campaign. And the call didn’t persuade Goldberg to change his opinion.

The charge of antisemitism, plus issues involving Israel and its conduct of the war with Hamas, are especially salient in the 25th Congressional District, where Moskowitz and Larkin are competing.

Many of the communities in the 25th District — which hugs the Atlantic coast in South Florida after the state’s congressional boundaries were reconfigured this year — are home to large numbers of Jewish residents: Hallandale Beach and Hollywood in Broward County; Boca Raton and Highland Beach in Palm Beach County; and Aventura, Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside in Miami-Dade County.

An estimated 25% of the residents in the 25th District are Jewish, one of the highest concentrations of Jewish voters in the country. The district includes the vast majority of Holocaust survivors living in Florida.

Antisemitism

In the U.S., antisemitism has been surging. The American Jewish Committee’s 2025 annual survey found nearly one-third of American Jews reported they’d been targeted in person or online in the last 12 months — and more than half have changed their behavior, including taking steps so they’re not identified as Jewish.

It’s profoundly personal for Moskowitz, who is Jewish. His grandmother, whose parents were killed at Auschwitz, escaped Germany as part of the Kindertransport of refugee children. His name was found on a would-be assassin’s hit list of Jewish and Black targets.

In a March interview, before redistricting and when Larkin was already running against him in a different district, Moskowitz said his faith was a reason why some people, including the online influencer Hasan Piker, wanted him defeated.

“I can tell you why I’m being targeted. I’m being targeted simply because of my faith and being pro-Israel,” Moskowitz said. “It’s all the people he signed up with. Hasan. It’s all about Israel, all about my faith.”

Larkin, who is endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, offers a range of progressive ideas, many of which are far to the left of Moskowitz. He said he’s challenging the congressman because he doesn’t believe Moskowitz is offering bold solutions to the nation’s problems, is too willing to go along with some Republican policies, and is beholden to campaign contributors, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.

Larkin has used Moskowitz’s refusal to appear with him to accuse the reelection-seeking congressman of ducking debates and avoiding the voters.

In a letter to the South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board declining an invitation to participate in a joint interview with Larkin, Moskowitz wrote: “I do not believe it is appropriate to share a platform with a candidate who has embraced the support of individuals and organizations that have repeatedly trafficked in antisemitic rhetoric and hostility toward the Jewish community.”

“Among those promoting and fundraising for his campaign are figures who have called Jews ‘demonic,’ ‘inbreds,’ ‘bloodthirsty,’ and ‘Nazis’ while characterizing defensive military action by the only Jewish country as ‘Jewish supremacy,’” Moskowitz said. “These same figures openly embrace Hamas and refer to Jewish people in dehumanizing terms. These are my opponents’ largest funders and he has welcomed and benefited from their support rather than rejecting it.”

Moskowitz added that “candidates for public office have a responsibility to draw clear lines against these voices, not embrace them.”

Goldberg, the Boca Raton rabbi, said his concerns were “not simply a difference over policy but a pattern of rhetoric and positions that I believe normalize hostility toward Israel, minimize the very real concerns of the Jewish community, and contribute to an environment in which antisemitism becomes more acceptable."

Larkin has repeatedly rejected the charge of antisemitism.

“Antisemitism is a real problem in this country, and it’s something that we’ve seen with attacks on synagogues and mass shootings and certainly that’s something that our campaign rejects,” Larkin said in a July interview with Sun Sentinel opinion writers and a news reporter.

At a July 23 town hall in Dania Beach, a woman in the audience asked Larkin to respond to “the claims of Jared Moskowitz’s campaign that your campaign is built on antisemitism.”

“I reject that wholeheartedly,” Larkin answered. “Our campaign believes in collective liberation for all people, and that includes the liberation of Jewish South Floridians and Jewish people the world over from antisemitism.”

He said his campaign has been “very involved with the South Florida Jewish community,” had internal antisemitism training, and has Jewish canvassers. “We want to make sure that everyone in South Florida feels safe and protected and the fact that we are living with the scourge of antisemitism and Islamophobia and different forms of hatred, it carries real ramifications.”

He listed, and condemned, violent attacks on Jewish institutions in the U.S., “attacks on our Muslim neighbors and colleagues,” and rising anti-Asian sentiment.

Larkin’s answer lasted almost five minutes, and he received sustained applause from about 75 people who were present.

Broader trend

The 25th District Democratic primary campaign is emblematic of a political transformation taking place across the country.

For generations, the U.S. has been Israel’s most stalwart ally, and it has received strong support from Democratic and Republican elected officials and voters.

But that support has started to erode as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has more overtly supported President Donald Trump and openly opposed actions by former President Barack Obama, which has alienated many Democrats.

Recent national polling highlights this shifting landscape: a June Quinnipiac survey showed 48% of U.S. voters think the U.S. is too supportive of Israel — the highest percentage since it first asked the question in January 2017.

“Too supportive” was the view of 66% of Democrats, 55% of independents and 20% of Republicans.

Governments, legal scholars and human-rights groups are sharply divided over the question of genocide in the Israel-Hamas war.

The war began with the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks Hamas launched against Israel, killing 1,200 people. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry puts the death toll at 73,000 Palestinians.

Polling shows that many younger voters, especially independents, progressive Democrats and some Republicans, have turned sharply against Israel in recent years amid widespread debate over Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza.

A national poll conducted in June by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found one-third of U.S. adults who responded — including roughly half of Democrats and 13% of Republicans — believe Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians. The poll found 30% of Jewish respondents believe Israel has committed genocide.

Larkin, like many progressives, said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. “I believe, again agreeing with the assessment of the international community, that Israel’s committing a genocide.” He said he agrees with organizations that have deemed it a genocide because of bombing and “blockading aid from entering the Gaza Strip, which has contributed to starvation, famine conditions.”

Goldberg said Larkin’s assertion that Israel has perpetrated genocide and has targeted children “are blatant lies, and are modern-day blood libels that endanger Jews everywhere.”

Larkin also called for ending U.S. aid to Israel with money redirected to priorities “here at home and not contributing to war crimes overseas.” Moskowitz supports and votes for U.S. aid to Israel.

Hasan Piker

Piker, who has an enormous online presence, has appeared with Larkin, and Larkin has welcomed the support from Piker and his followers, who are called Hasanabi heads.

In a joint appearance on a March 9 livestream, Piker cited Israel and AIPAC as he urged his followers to donate to Larkin. At one point, the video shows Piker urging his viewers to “Open your f—— wallets.”

Piker personally contributed the legal maximum of $7,000, helping reach what he said was a total of $52,000 for Larkin’s campaign during the livestream.

Larkin said it was “the best fundraising day of the campaign. Let me emphasize that. This has been, thanks to Hasanabi heads, the best fundraising day of the campaign. This is probably about 20% to 25% of the total fundraising that we’ve had for this entire race.”

“This has been really, really incredible and shows the power of just people, ordinary people all across the country. We have the power to take on these entrenched corporate interests and AIPAC, and we’re gonna kick their ass on Aug. 18th,” Larkin said.

Larkin’s campaign finance report shows the March 9 contribution from Piker, part of the $199,900 in contributions he received in the first quarter. The $52,000 Piker said he and his followers donated on March 9 represents 26% of Larkin’s total contributions during the three months.

Piker also headlined Larkin’s virtual rally on June 29, just before the end of the second quarter. During the 31 minutes Piker was streaming with the candidate, a graphic at the side of the screen showed the campaign took in $26,400. That represents 12% of the $214,200 Larkin raised in the quarter.

The progressive news site The American Prospect reported that “Piker’s fans contributed just under $70,000 to Larkin’s campaign during and directly after the broadcast” on March 9. The total raised during the three-hour June 29 virtual rally that included other guests before and after Piker was $56,700.

The global advocacy organization American Jewish Committee describes Piker as “a far-left antisemitic streaming star who has attracted millions of fans” who has used his platform for “justifying the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel along with other antisemitic comments and dog whistles, while blaming Jews who decry anti-Zionism for the rise in antisemitism.”

AJC’s website says Piker “promotes antisemitism,” and “is driving Jew hatred in young progressive circles.” In one stream, AJC said he called a Jewish man a “bloodthirsty, violent pig dog.”

The national CEO of AJC, which was founded in 1906, is former U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, who preceded Moskowitz in Congress.

The Anti-Defamation League has an article on its website, “Hasan Piker: What You Need to Know,” describing “a history of rhetoric that sanitizes violence and denigrates Jewish people.” U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote to executives of the live-streaming platform Twitch and its owner, Amazon, “to express alarm about the amplification of antisemitism on Twitch at the hands of Hasan Piker, who is one of the largest political streamers with a following of 2.7 million.”

In a November 2025 interview with Variety, Piker rejected the label. “These last two years, I’ve been called antisemitic. I abhor antisemitism, and I’ve spent my entire professional media career combating it,” he said, explaining, “I just happen to be anti-Israel.”

Larkin also appeared in a livestream with Michael Beyer, who goes by the online name “Mike from PA.” In a social media post, Beyer said his March 5 interview with Larkin raised more than $15,000 for his congressional campaign.

Jewish Insider and the Los Angeles Times reported that Beyer was temporarily suspended by Twitch after comments surfaced in which he called Jews a “demonic ethnicity.” Beyer later apologized and told his followers, “I despise and abhor antisemitism,” adding, “What I said was wrong.”

After Larkin filed his first-quarter report, showing Piker donated the maximum $7,000, Larkin touted his contributions from Floridians, adding, “That said, I’m glad to have the support of voices like Hasan Piker, who has spent years using his platform to fight for working people.”

In the Sun Sentinel interview, Larkin said Piker and Beyer have used “language that I personally have not used and will not use” and as a candidate it is important “that I speak in respectful terms and based in fact.

“But I believe that when those individuals have made those references it’s been towards members of the Israeli government … as well as the settlers that have attacked and displaced Palestinians in the West Bank, which has been under illegal occupation by the Israeli government since 1967.

“So certainly they’re not politicians and, and they don’t speak in political terms, and I don’t condone language that dehumanizes any individual. I do think that they have legitimate criticism — even if it is rather unvarnished in how they convey it — of what the Israeli government has done,” Larkin said.

AIPAC factor

Larkin and his campaign have repeatedly criticized Moskowitz for support he has received over the years from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “We should not be supporting or allowing AIPAC to influence our elections,” Larkin said.

AIPAC has long been a force in American politics. It marshals support for Israel, endorsing and providing financial support for Democratic and Republican candidates.

AIPAC and its affiliated super PAC, the United Democracy Project, have spent heavily this year to oppose candidates it opposes, including more than $30 million in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, who won Michigan’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday. It spent millions of dollars to defeat two candidates who had been critical of Israel in Illinois Democratic primaries, winning one race and losing the other. And it spent $2.3 million to defeat a Democratic congressional candidate in New Jersey who had described himself as “pro-Israel,” but who The Forward, a prominent Jewish news site, said “crossed the group’s red line of supporting conditions on military aid” to Israel.

AIPAC explained what it does last month in a social media post. “AIPAC and our 6.5 million members across America are proud to participate in the political process and advocate for an alliance that helps keep America safer, stronger and more prosperous,” the organization said. “We are unapologetic, and we won’t be deterred.”

AIPAC has become increasingly controversial in recent years, especially in 2026, when its involvement in political campaigns has generated opposition from the progressive left.

Larkin said AIPAC has had a “corrupting influence.” He said AIPAC supports members of Congress “on the condition, in my estimation, that they support wholesale U.S. military aid to Israel.”

He accused AIPAC of “undermining American democracy” because it supported “insurrectionist Republicans,” referring to lawmakers who objected to or voted not to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. “My criticism of AIPAC and of the influence they hold over our political system is not antisemitic. It is not focused on members of the Jewish community. It is a product of the anti-democratic bent that this organization has had,” Larkin said.

AIPAC has endorsed Moskowitz for reelection and its website features a section where people can click on links to give contributions directly to Moskowitz’s campaign.

The website OpenSecrets, which tracks money in politics, reports that of the $2.5 million Moskowitz raised through June 30 for this year’s election, AIPAC was responsible for $667,200.

Moskowitz defended his AIPAC support in an interview on the WFOR-Ch. 4 “Facing South Florida” program.

“Am I gonna take donations from Jewish Americans? Yes, I am going to take donations from Jewish Americans. And that’s what AIPAC is. It is not anything other than Jewish Americans donating through an organization,” Moskowitz said, observing that progressives give money to “very progressive PACs” that fund campaigns as well. “And so this is part, again, of the singling out of just the Jewish organization.”

The organization Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption has its own donation section. From there, people can click on links to contribute to Larkin’s campaign.

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