He wears a kippah on the House floor, declares that choosing between dogs and Muslims is no hard call, and refers to Britain and France as "the United Islamic Kingdom" and "Francestan." Republican Rep. Randy Fine of Florida is Washington's most blunt and provocative pro-Israel voice – and he makes no effort to soften his message. In an interview with Israel Hayom, he delivered a sharp attack on his primary rival, the antisemitic social media figure Dan Bilzerian, and defined the US-Israel relationship as Washington's most important foreign partnership.
Fine, who represents Florida's Sixth Congressional District, said his family roots lie in Eastern Europe. "I'm a third-generation American. My family immigrated from Eastern Europe around the turn of the 20th century. My grandmother was a victim of the pogroms. Eight of her brothers and sisters were killed, and she actually walked across Europe to get on a boat to come to the United States," he said. "So I grew up and was educated in Kentucky, and not the easiest place for a Jewish kid to grow up."
His path into politics, he said, was unplanned. "I started three companies and retired when I was 40. I ended up getting into politics because I had time and capacity to do good," he said. After eight years in the Florida state legislature and a victory in the state senate race in November 2024, a call came from President Donald Trump. "Two weeks after I got elected, President Trump asked me to run for Congress." Fine ran in a special election after his predecessor, Mike Waltz, left Congress to serve as Trump's national security adviser – a post Waltz held until his dismissal in May 2025. "I got elected to Congress on April 1st of last year and got sworn in on April 2nd," Fine said.
Fine argued that in his brief congressional tenure, he had already shifted the national conversation. "I've been a good spokesman for why the Republican Party is a great place for Jewish Americans to belong. I've helped rid us of antisemites in the Republican Party. I served with two: Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie. One of them, we ran out of town, and she quit. The other one we beat in an election." He added that a central part of his mission has been "talking about the importance of the relationship with Israel, and the threat of the spread of mainstream Islam in the United States."
Fine, who wears a kippah, said politics has deepened his Jewish identity. "I have unquestionably become more Jewish as I've been in politics," he said. He recalled beginning to wear the kippah regularly after his son urged him to do so at a congressional hearing on antisemitism on university campuses. "He said, Dad, you're known as 'the Hebrew Hammer.' Why don't you wear a yarmulke today and show these guys where you got that reputation from? And I've worn it ever since."
He added, "I've unquestionably wrapped tefillin many, many more times as a politician than I ever did as a non-politician." Fine said with a laugh, "Over December, I grew a beard. You know, many politicians get elected, and they give up their morals. By the time I'm done, I'll probably be a rabbi."
For him, the kippah carries a message. "I realized it's a symbol to people that American Jews are here to stay. We're not going to be afraid of who we are. It's meant to inspire younger people to be proud to be Jewish." Fine added, "I'm probably the highest-profile Republican Jewish politician in American history. I understand that I'm sending a message to American Jews that we're not backing down, we're not going to be afraid. And the people who don't like us can leave."
On the apparent contradiction between strong support for Israel and the "America First" worldview that Trump has championed – a posture that the isolationist right interprets as a retreat from global engagement – Fine responded without hesitation. "I believe being America First is caring about Israel." He argued that Israel protects not only Jewish interests but also Christian and Western heritage. "America is a Christian country. And the religious sites most important to Christians are in Israel. Christians and Americans who care about their own heritage need to care about Israel because that is what protects their own religion.
"The values of Israel are very similar to the values of America – free speech, free expression, the ability to assemble, democracy." He said, "The only two countries in the world that are unambiguously fighting back against the modern-day Islamification of the world are the United States and Israel. We're the only two countries standing up for Western civilization." In keeping with his provocative style, he warned against a scenario in which the US ends up like the European countries he nicknamed "the United Islamic Kingdom" and "Francestan."
"Crazy stuff"
Fine attacked popular right-wing, anti-Israel commentators, including conservative pundits Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens. "I think people realize at this point that Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, they're just nuts. And that's why their message isn't working in the Republican Party. The elected Republican Party is moving away from the Tucker Carlsons and the Candace Owenses, not towards it."
The more immediate threat, however, lies in the Republican primary for his district in August. His rival, Dan Bilzerian, has become a symbol of open antisemitism. Fine said Israel recently designated Bilzerian as "the most dangerous antisemitic influencer in the world."
Fine cited examples. "When he announced he was running against me, he said, 'Randy Fine is so fat he wouldn't fit in the fake ovens.' And the next day he wrote, 'We could make a lot of soap out of Randy Fine.' So, you know, that's kind of crazy stuff."
"If we do that, we will solve the problem"
On antisemitism at university campuses, Fine proposed a straightforward solution – enshrining the IHRA definition of antisemitism into federal law and applying the same standard used for racial discrimination. "We solved this problem in Florida because I passed a bill in 2019 that defined antisemitism using the IHRA definition and said antisemitism in our universities would be treated the same as racism." He had introduced the same bill at the federal level. "If we do that, we will solve this problem nationwide as well."
Fine has frequently been accused of making provocative statements that are racist and Islamophobic. Months ago he sparked a controversy when he said, "If forced to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult decision." Even after the criticism he received – including from Jewish figures – Fine did not back down. The comment was made in response to a pro-Palestinian activist who supported Zohran Mamdani and who had argued that "Islam is coming to New York City" and that dogs should be banned as pets because they are "unclean," and that he intended to oppose any attempt to impose Muslim religious norms on the general public. "The problem is not radical Islam. The problem is mainstream Islam," he said. He added, "The three most visible Muslim politicians in the United States are Zohran Mamdani, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib. They all clearly support what you would call radical Islam and Muslim terror.
"When we say, 'Because not every Muslim is a terrorist, there are no Muslim terrorists' – we're lying to ourselves." He said people entering the US from places that "hate America" should be barred, and that citizenship should be revoked from those who obtained it fraudulently. "Those who lied in order to become citizens need to be denaturalized and deported – people like Ilhan Omar. If we don't do these things, we will lose."
Fine addressed the dynamics of the US-Israel relationship with respect to the war against Iran. "The American interest in Iran is: no nuke, no ballistic missiles that could reach America, and a free and open Strait of Hormuz," he said. He acknowledged that Israel may want more – "regime change, stopping the terrorism in Lebanon" – but said America is not obligated to do that on Israel's behalf.
He concluded by describing the importance of the bilateral relationship. "The US-Israel relationship is our most important foreign relationship. We have no better friend in the world than Israel. I'm going to do everything I can to preserve and protect that relationship, because I think as Israel and America goes, so will the world.
"America should tell Israel, do what you've got to do." He noted that Israel is unique in that it does not ask America to fight its wars for it. "Israel is the only country in the world that generally doesn't want America to fight its wars."
