Chaos Erupts After Surfside Mayor Calls Commissioner Anti-Semitic

A Surfside town meeting descended into mayhem this week after Mayor Shlomo Danzinger lobbed claims that a commissioner was engaging in anti-Semitic conduct by emailing a town manager about taking down Israeli hostage signs.

Danzinger "called out" Commissioner Marianne Meischeid at the December 12 gathering, triggering a 10-minute shouting match that got so loud the microphones projected garbled distortion in place of voices. Caught off-guard by the accusation, Meischeid yelled that Danzinger was twisting her words around and making residents afraid to speak their minds in the town.

Even in a town where commission meetings regularly feature screaming and sharp insults, Tuesday's affair was pandemonium. Former mayor Charles Burkett called it the "most astounding" Surfside meeting "ever held."

When the ruckus finally subsided and the chamber was back in order, a resident chastised the mayor.

"This deserves serious discussion and frank discussion, but frankly, you are reprehensible," resident George Kousoulas said. "What has happened up here in the past 15 minutes is just a complete you-know-what show."

Before the meeting devolved, Danzinger discussed how he had recently watched an uncensored video from the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. Though dozens of hostages have been released in the Israel-Palestine War, Hamas is still holding more than 130 captives, according to the Israeli government.

"I think the only thing worse than what happened October 7 is for the people to pretend that it didn't happen and try to silence this message, and unfortunately, that is what we are seeing in Surfside," the mayor said.

That's when he pivoted and said he would not be "silent anymore."

Danzinger said Meischeid sent emails to multiple residents, trying to rally people against Israeli hostage signs posted around town.

Meischeid interrupted Danzinger, accusing the mayor of taking her emails out of context. She said she was only relaying residents' concerns about hostage posters and a banner on 9300 Collins Ave. next to town hall to Town Manager Hector Gomez.

"[Residents] do not feel comfortable talking about anything, so I bring it to the town manager. Read the emails. This is not from me. These are emails from residents because they do not feel comfortable talking because they are afraid they are going to be called anti-Semitic. And you are causing this," she told the mayor.

At one point, Meischeid grasped her microphone with one hand, pointed her finger at Danzinger with the other, and shouted, "This is outlandish. This is outrageous."

The mayor entered a motion directing the town manager to allow people to place Israeli hostage posters on their private property — and the item passed 3-2, with Nelly Velasquez and Meischeid registering the two no-votes.

As the chaos persisted, the town manager stepped in to restore order.

"We cannot conduct this meeting the way it is right now," Gomez said. "One person at a time. Otherwise, I will call for a recess or send the clerks home."

New Times dug into the conflict and reviewed the emails at the center of the dispute.

In her email conversations with the town manager, Meischeid said she is "receiving photos and phone calls from residents regarding unauthorized and inappropriate posters and banners popping around Surfside." She claimed they were "offensive to many residents and not in our code," declaring, "No one is above the law."

In one email referring to the banner across from town hall, Meischeid told the town manager, "These banners are in violation of Surfside's code compliance. Additionally, they are emotionally upsetting and inappropriate. What is the status of their removal? Do you know who installed them? They are right across from town hall. They appeared Friday afternoon. They are too political. Residents are upset!"

Gomez responded, explaining he granted the developer's request to install a banner temporarily on its property at 9300 Collins Avenue. In September, the site was acquired for $40 million by Kushner Companies, a New York real estate company founded by Charles Kushner, a disbarred lawyer and father of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Gomez noted the fence is private property, and the banner was approved only for a temporary time.

"To date, we have not received feedback from residents that they are upset. If that is the case, you can refer them to me or explain it's only temporary," Gomez wrote.

Resident Eliana Salzhauer, a vocal Danzinger critic who regularly skewers him at town meetings, tells New Times she believes Danzinger is exploiting claims of anti-Semitism for political gain.

"It does a disservice and it's disrespectful to the people who actually suffer from anti-Semitism and for people who lost their lives to anti-Semitism," she argued. "He is fomenting anti-Semitism by doing this."

Resident Gerardo Vildostegui tells New Times Commissioner Meischeid was merely raising a concern about the possible non-enforcement of the town code. He claims the mayor's strategy from his first day in office has been to create division in the small beach-side town.

"What he did last night — calling Commissioner Meischeid an anti-Semite and rhetorically linking her to the gruesome violence of October 7 — took that strategy to a dangerous new level," he tells New Times. "It was McCarthyism, pure and simple."

When reached by New Times, Danzinger did not comment on the dispute and referred us to the emails.

At the meeting, the mayor said he's been subject to anti-Semitic, bogus rumors, including a claim that he went to a  Surfside restaurant and warned management that if they didn't close during the Jewish Sabbath, it would be bad for their business.

"Anti-Semitism is running rampant in the U.S. ever since the attack," Danzinger told the crowd.

According to the mayor, one online post showed a picture of his office, which has an Israeli flag, and stated, "The Israelis are invading."