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.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
