WASHINGTON — Social media personality and former Florida congressional candidate Dan Bilzerian has drawn swift, widespread condemnation across the political spectrum following a series of media appearances and online posts attempting to justify anti-Jewish sentiment and dismiss definitions of antisemitism.
During public commentary and interviews—including appearances on high-profile podcasts and media outlets—Bilzerian claimed that hostility toward Jewish people is a “valid” response rather than bigotry, arguing that the term “antisemitism” is a “made-up term” used to shield political interests and religious practices from criticism.
“Antisemitism is kind of a made-up term,” Bilzerian asserted in a recent interview. “I think Palestinians are the real Semites… the term focuses only on Jews, but the real Semites are Arabs, and Palestinians are Semites too.”
Bilzerian’s remarks come alongside his high-profile primary campaign challenging incumbent U.S. Representative Randy Fine in Florida’s 6th Congressional District. Throughout his platform, Bilzerian repeatedly promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories, including Holocaust denial—claiming on air he would “bet [his] entire net worth that it was under six million”—and accusing Jewish people of controlling global finance, media, and foreign policy. His campaign also faced heavy criticism for deploying AI-generated campaign advertisements featuring explicit anti-Jewish tropes and Nazi imagery targeting his Jewish opponent.
Civil rights organizations and political leaders quickly denounced the comments. The American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) released statements condemning Bilzerian’s rhetoric as textbook hate speech, noting that definitions of antisemitism—including the IHRA working definition—specifically encompass blood libels, conspiracy theories of collective control, and attempts to strip Jewish communities of civil dignity. Congressional leaders from both major parties similarly repudiated his statements, emphasizing that invoking linguistic technicalities to dismiss anti-Jewish prejudice does not excuse public bigotry.