HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. _ She sparked a political firestorm nationwide after accusing Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of being a Hamas-loving anti-Semite who might "blow up Capitol Hill."
Hallandale Beach Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub has been called un-American and worse by critics who have flooded City Hall to condemn what some are calling a bigoted Facebook post she made on Jan. 8, five days after Tlaib, a Muslim and Palestinian-American, was sworn into office.
Lima-Taub's post went viral. And the story, first reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, went national.
Now Hallandale Beach commissioners are bracing for protests from both sides at their next meeting on Wednesday.
"We are stepping up security," Police Chief Sonia Quinones said Sunday. "Our role is to keep the peace (and) to keep everyone safe."
Commissioner Michele Lazarow, who like Lima-Taub is Jewish, is sponsoring a resolution seeking to reprimand her colleague at Wednesday's meeting. Lazarow said she's expecting a huge crowd, both for and against Lima-Taub.
"Commissioner Lima-Taub's hateful remarks have provoked hateful people to come out of the shadows," Lazarow said. "I expect many of them to descend on City Hall on Wednesday. I have complete confidence that our chief of police and her department will keep our city safe."
Lima-Taub could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Her critics accuse her of inflaming already tense relations between Israel and Palestine.
Her supporters defend her right to speak her mind.
