Israel on the ballot: Moskowitz, Singer battle for Jewish vote in new FL district

In the race to represent Florida’s newly redrawn Congressional District 25 — one of the most heavily Jewish districts in the country — voters heard from prospective candidates for the first time on Tuesday evening during public forum at a synagogue event in Boca Raton. Amid a myriad of issues voters are facing, the conversation centered on Israel.

“As a Jewish American, I’m especially alarmed at the dramatic and metastatic rise of antisemitism in the Democrat Party and anti-Israelism,” said Republican nominee Scott Singer. “My opponent talks a good game, but his votes tell a different story.”

His opponent, Democratic incumbent Jared Moskowitz, touted himself as “the most pro-Israel Jewish Democrat in Congress,” and said that he was proud to have the endorsement of AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Singer, a Trump-endorsed Republican and the former mayor of Boca Raton, is facing off against Moskowitz to represent District 25, which runs from Delray Beach down to Miami Beach. The race, set to be one of the most expensive in the nation, is a highly competitive one, according to many political analysts. The congressional redistricting map was approved by Florida’s Republican-dominated Legislature earlier this year and designed in a way that disadvantages Democratic incumbents seeking reelection.

While candidates spent some time debating foreign policy and domestic issues, including insurance costs, Social Security, taxes, stock trading and ethics, the bulk of the forum focused on Israel and antisemitism. Those two issues are key to Jewish voters, who make up an estimated 25 percent of the majority coastal district, according to moderator and South Florida Sun Sentinel journalist Anthony Man. Although Jewish voters have traditionally supported Democratic candidates, Republicans seem to be making gains since Trump’s first campaign in 2016; part of that shift is due to candidates’ stance on Israel.

“This election is about keeping Americans strong and Jews safe,” Moskowitz said. “Antisemitism is absolutely out of control. And how lucky we are in this district, District 25, to think that the forum debate that we’re having today is in a synagogue,” Moskowitz said, referring to Congregation B’nai Israel, a Reform Synagogue in Boca Raton, which also happens to be Singer’s home synagogue.

Moskowitz has a largely pro-Israel and anti-antisemitism legislative record in Congress, but his past vote to keep U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar on a foreign affairs committee has drawn criticism from some in the Jewish community and his political opponents. Singer brought up that 2023 vote in his opening statements and mentioned several times throughout the night Moskowitz’s tendency to “vote with The Squad,” referring to the progressive political alliance in Congress.

After the candidates opening statements, Man, the moderator, led with a series of questions of high interest to Jewish voters: What have you done, and what will you do to combat antisemitism? Do you think Congressman Moskowitz has been insufficiently supportive of Israel? Why do you think so many people believe that Israel has committed genocide, and what do you believe?

For a solid thirty minutes, the candidates defended their honor as the race’s most pro-Israel candidate — at times sneaking in jabs about their opponent.

Moskowitz made sure to distance himself from the far-left Democratic Socialists of America, at one point mentioning how the DSA “spent millions” trying to remove him from the Democratic primary and how he has received multiple death threats over his support for Israel.

“You don’t have to listen to me on whether my record is or is not on Israel. It’s public. Listen to the antisemites and the people who are trying to come after me every single solitary day,” Moskowitz said.

Similarly, Singer made sure to distance himself from the far-right Republicans who have been criticized for their own antisemitic rhetoric.

“There’s a party that’s standing strongly with Israel. It’s the Republican Party. Majority or not, it doesn’t matter… The Squad is running the show in Washington. They’re running throughout the nation and that’s the Democratic Party today,” Singer said.

Singer said that President Trump has accomplished the most for Israel — noting his successful efforts in bringing home the Oct 7 hostages, moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and striking Iran and killing the leader of the Islamic Regime.

Changing the Jewish vote

Jewish voters have historically supported Democratic candidates by a substantial margin, but that may be changing due to Republicans’ hardline stance on Israel.

In 2024, Democrats showed their weakest performance among Jewish voters since 2012, according to . While the majority of Jewish voters cast their votes for Kamala Harris in that presidential election, Trump held an edge in support for Israel, which voters cited as one of their top reasons to vote for him.

As the Democratic Party continues to elect candidates who are openly critical of Israel and the war in Iran, Republicans could see more support from Jewish voters.

Like the religion itself which holds a spectrum of beliefs ranging from Orthodox to Reform Judaism, Jewish voters are not a monolith, said Brian Siegal, director of the Miami and Broward regions of the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

Siegal said despite the fact that Jewish voters do not vote in lockstep, “It is reasonable to expect any political candidate to strongly support measures to combat antisemitism, and to vocally condemn antisemitism across the political spectrum, even when it comes from their own party.”

Those things should be a no-brainer for anyone running for office, said Siegal. “We regret that these issues have become so politicized in so many elections around the country.”

Boca residents lean toward Singer

At the forum, both candidates received their fair share of cheers from the few hundred voters in the audience. Rabbi Cy Stanway said he was happy that members of his congregation and local voters could hear from both candidates on issues that matter to them.

“They’re both very strong candidates. I like both of them very much,” said Stanway.

Stanway said though the candidates touched on issues that were likely on the minds of those who attended, he wished they had discussed their views on other important issues: our “trade war with Canada,” tariffs, the financial strain on everyday families and the “epidemic of gun violence,” he said.

At least three voters who spoke with the Miami Herald were planning on voting or already voted for Singer. Most cited Singer’s strong support for Israel as a reason for choosing him over Moskowitz, whose mere Democratic Party association seemed to dock him points with some in the crowd.

Farley Weiss, who attended the forum with his wife and two sons, said as someone who follows politics very closely, he is voting for Singer, a Republican, because the Democratic Party has taken a sharp turn against Israel.

“Everything’s gotten worse on the Democrats with Moskowitz there, so I don’t see it getting any better. I see it only getting worse for the Democrats if he got re-elected. I don’t see him doing anything to change things,” Weiss said.

Supporting Israel and standing up against antisemitism are two key issues for Weiss, as well as many other Jewish voters in his community, he said.

“I think the Jewish community in America is in danger,” said Weiss, who added that any verbal attacks or accusations of genocide against Israel are included in his definition of antisemitism.

Boca Raton resident Lauren Cohen said antisemitism is the most important issue for her going into election season. She said she understands that both Moskowitz and Singer are Jewish candidates with pro-Israel views, but that she knows and trusts Singer more than Moskowitz.

“There is no gray area for Scott. I don’t know Jared as well,” said Cohen who works as an immigration lawyer and runs a nonprofit that helps Canadian Jews find a path to U.S. citizenship.

As a mother to a 16-year-old, Cohen said she is also concerned about safety for Jews in a world where antisemitism is on the rise.

“It’s not about the Jews as much as it’s about the infiltration of the hate. So if you don’t minimize that and manage that, you’re in trouble,” she said.

This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and donors in South Florida’s Jewish and Muslim communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza and the Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.

This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 5:09 AM.