Florida Guy Tells Jewish Woman: ‘Get Over Hitler’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — A woman told police in Palm Beach, Florida that a man in a hotel bar told her to “get over Hitler” and physically pushed her when she ignored him.
The man, identified by local media as Clifford Scholz, 73, also said he was descended from “German royalty.” Scholz, who was arrested on Saturday hours after the incident and charged with simple battery and breaching the peace, both misdemeanors, told the Palm Beach Daily News that he is a yacht broker.
The unidentified victim said that the man approached her at the bar at The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach and said: “You must be Jewish.” He then yelled that: “You Jews and blacks should just get over Hitler.” The victim also said that when she continued to ignore the man that he pushed her on the shoulder.
The woman told police that the man’s remarks were especially hurtful because several of her relatives were killed by the Nazis, according to CBS12.
She said that she will ask the state attorney’s office to charge Scholz with a hate crime, which would carry a longer sentence if he is convicted.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
