Fla. City Won’t Name Bridge After ‘Anti-Semitic’ Henry Ford
Henry Ford receives award from German diplomats in 1938.
Officials in Fort Myers City, Fla., withdrew a proposal to rename a bridge for Henry Ford after residents raised concerns about his anti-Semitic publications.
A vote on the proposal had been scheduled for Monday evening but was withdrawn, according to WZVN, the local ABC affiliate.
“He really has a very dark history as far as the Jewish community and Jews are concerned,” said Alan Isaacs, the executive director of the Jewish Federation of Lee and Charlotte Counties, told the news station.
Ford in the 1920s published Jewish conspiracy theories in the newspaper he owned, the Dearborn Independent. He later apologized.
He summered in Fort Myers and a museum occupies his one-time house.
Florida’s state Legislature had approved the name change for the Caloosahatchee Bridge, but local authorities must give their permission before it goes ahead.
State Rep. Matt Caldwell, who had proposed the name change, told WZVN that he still thinks it should be considered, but he is also sensitive to the Jewish community’s objections.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
