A Palm Beach County building inspector has been suspended after allegedly shouting "Heil Hitler" and making a Nazi salute toward another motorist during an apparent road-rage incident on Aug. 22.
The allegation surfaced after StopAntisemitism, a national advocacy group that monitors antisemitic incidents, posted a photograph showing the county employee making what appeared to be a Nazi salute toward a Jewish driver. The post quickly gained widespread attention online.
County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo said the county immediately launched an investigation after learning of the allegations.
“Any employee who engages in antisemitic conduct should understand one thing extremely clearly. If they haven’t been paying attention, they have the wrong county
administrator for that kind of conduct. There is no place for antisemitism, hatred or discrimination in Palm Beach County government,” Abruzzo said.
Nazi salute accusation triggers county response
The county did not identify the employee, and additional information about the incident was not released.
"The County will follow all required personnel procedures while addressing this matter promptly and appropriately. Because this is an active personnel matter, we will not comment further on the specific facts until the appropriate process has been completed," Abruzzo said in his statement, released by the county Public Affairs office.
U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz and his Republican challenger for Florida's newly drawn 25th Congressional District, former Boca Raton mayor Scott Singer, issued posts on X.com calling for county officials to take swift action against the unidentified county employee.
"This is repulsive and isn’t welcome in Palm Beach county or anywhere. I’m sure @pbcgov is looking into this and if confirmed he will no longer be working there," Moskowitz wrote.
Moskowitz said in a prepared statement that the country is seeing more and more antisemitic attacks.
"Jews are becoming afraid again, like before. Now is the time to speak out. I will always fight against antisemitism, we have to stop what we are seeing before it is too late."
Singer posted on X.com that he has "been in touch with the county regarding this incident. Look forward to their swift response."
He added: "We will not tolerate any antisemitism or hate in our community."
The StopAntisemitism group were not immediately available for comment.
Mike Diamond is a journalist atThe Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Abruzzo: 'No place for antisemitism' as county employee suspended
