Jewish Congressman Dons Yarmulke Daily in Hat Tip to Those Battling Anti-Semitism

Epoch Times

4 days ago

Though new to wearing the religious skullcap regularly, a Florida Republican aims to inspire college students and others to display their faith despite fear.
WASHINGTON—Like enthusiastic audience members tossing bouquets on stage after a performance that pleases them, fans of a new Republican congressman from Florida are showering him with appreciation for the public positions he's taking in Congress.
But instead of giving Rep. Randy Fine flowers, his supporters are sending him yarmulkes.
About a dozen of the traditional Jewish skullcaps have arrived at his congressional office with missives expressing solidarity with his stand against anti-Semitism. Part of traditional religious garb, the yarmulkes in a rainbow of designs now fill a drawer in his Capitol Hill desk.
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'People want me to wear their kippah on the House floor, and I'm happy to do it,' Fine said, using an alternate word for the headcovering worn by some Jewish men.
One favorite is an orange-and-blue yarmulke from Chabad UF Jewish Student and Community Center at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Another has his name spelled in Hebrew. An enclosed note read, 'May [God] bless you and your family for the way you've been advocating for and defending our people.'
Fine represents Florida's Sixth Congressional District, which stretches from the center of the state to the Atlantic coastline, and from Daytona Beach up to just south of St. Augustine.
He took office in April after winning a special election to fill the seat vacated by Mike Waltz, who was appointed national security advisor in January under President Donald Trump. Waltz has since been nominated by Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. For now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in addition to his main role, is serving as interim national security adviser. A Fine Way to Take a Stand Fine is Jewish, but wearing a yarmulke daily is new to him.
The decision to start wearing such a public-facing symbol of his religious faith came after a gentle prod from his 17-year-old son, Jacob.
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A letter and yarmulke sent to Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) at his congressional office in Washington in July 2025.
Courtesy of the office of Rep. Randy Fine
The congressman was set to participate on May 7 for the first time in a hearing of the House Education and Workforce Committee about campus anti-Semitism.
Acts of hostility against Jews erupted around the world after the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since Israel's retaliation began, intimidation and violence aimed at Jewish students have created chaos on some U.S. college campuses.
Fine's son asked him to wear a yarmulke to the hearing. He told his father about friends in college who are scared to wear the garment that identifies them as Jews for fear of being attacked.
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By wearing it in his congressional role, he could send a message that Jewish students should be able to wear their headcoverings without fear, Jacob Fine told his father.
'So I wore it that day and I got extraordinary feedback for doing it,' the congressman said in an interview with The Epoch Times. 'It meant a lot to people.'
The Jewish community, he said, had an 'overwhelmingly positive' response. People called his office to thank him. Some paid him in-person compliments.
'Way to go,' fellow Jews cheered. They encouraged him to keep wearing it. Even President Donald Trump mentioned he liked the yarmulke Fine wore to a White House reception for congressional Republicans.
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It matters, he realized.
'Remember,' Fine said, 'Jewish kids feel really attacked these days, and to see somebody willing to lean in and pick up the fight and fight for them, I think it gives them hope that the problem will be resolved.'
A kind of mission was born.
Jacob Fine, his father recalled, 'said, 'You know what, Dad? I think the reaction was so good, I think you should continue to wear it until Jewish kids feel safe wearing their kippahs on college campuses.''
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So that 'probably means I'm going to wear it for the rest of my life,' the congressman said.
Rep. Randy Fine attends a hearing in Washington on July 22, 2025.
Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
Fine doesn't come from a religious background. He's worn a yarmulke when attending religious services, he said. But it hasn't been part of his daily life.
Wearing the symbol of his religious faith while being in the speaker's chair on the House floor overseeing a session of Congress in place of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was a moment of jubilation for young Orthodox Jewish kids who attended the hearing.
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From his spot in the chamber, Fine spotted the young people—identifiable by their traditional Jewish garments—pointing at him and gesturing jubilantly, he said.
'I believe God speaks to us in interesting ways,' he said. 'And so what I felt like I was being told is, 'You know what? You should do this to make people feel better.''
Fine then discovered through the House clerk's office that he was the first member of Congress to wear a yarmulke on the House floor.
The late Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), an Orthodox Jew, did not wear one in public, that lawmaker revealed in a 2011 interview.
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Fine felt it was time for a Jew in Congress to proudly display his faith.
'It's important in this time of anti-Semitism to speak loud,' Fine said. 'And so I'm doing it.' Goodbye to Bacon Since committing to a public display of his faith, Fine also has moved toward following religious dietary restrictions outlined for Jews in the Torah books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In 'keeping kosher,' approved foods must be prepared following strict guidelines. And certain foods are prohibited, such as shellfish, pork, and items that mix beef and milk-derived products.
The need to align with those observances at this time in his life became evident recently at a cocktail party, Fine said. As he added nonkosher food to his plate, people stared.
'My rabbi thinks it's hilarious, because he says, 'Well, now you have to keep kosher,'' Fine said with a chuckle.
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'So there's the downside. My days of bacon, apparently, are over.'
But that's OK, he said. He's proud to wear the symbol of his faith.
And his hunger to combat anti-Semitism is stronger than any desire for a decidedly not-kosher bacon cheeseburger.
Fine hasn't always prioritized Jewish issues. But after his election to the state Legislature in 2016, the Orthodox Union asked Fine to put forth legislation to obtain funding for security at Jewish day schools.
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He initially said no. The district didn't have any such facilities.
The Orthodox Union pushed. He was the only one who could put forth an initiative to get funding to protect the institutions, representatives said.
After all, they argued, he was the only Republican Jew in the state Legislature.
Persuaded, Fine put forth a budget amendment to allocate $2 million toward the security funding.
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It passed. But it wasn't easy.
The House speaker at the time objected to the way the funding was added to the state budget, and that put the measure in jeopardy, Fine said. In an attempt to save the funding, Fine asked the speaker to visit a Jewish day school.
They agreed to meet at the school one morning at 9. But the other lawmaker couldn't find the campus. He called Fine, fuming.
There was no sign for the school—and for good reason, Fine said.
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The schools where Jewish children were taught were receiving threats of violence. It was a 'lightbulb moment' for Fine's fellow legislator, who came to realize that the funding was necessary.
As a result of Fine's fight, the 2017 Florida budget included $641,000 for security funding at Jewish day schools. In 2024, the funding grew to $20 million.
The funding battle opened Fine's eyes.
He realized that a Jewish person is needed to fight for issues related to the Jewish community, because they understand the needs better than those on the outside.
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'And I'm not afraid to fight,' he said.
The security funding, Fine said, helped make 'Florida the safest place in America—probably the safest place outside of Israel—to be Jewish.'
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) (L) participates in a ceremonial swearing-in with Rep. Randy Fine and his wife Wendy Fine at the Capitol on April 2, 2025.Now in Congress, Fine also is working to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship. He wants to help President Donald Trump meet his goals. And he wants to help the GOP prove that it can govern well when in the majority.
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He's also chasing ways to bring down the national debt and reduce the federal budget deficit. 'The Hebrew Hammer' Fine's enthusiasm for being identified by his religion has swelled since his time serving in the Florida Legislature.
He served eight years in the Florida House, and then about a year and a half in the state Senate, where he was the only Republican Jew. There, he reluctantly accepted a nickname: 'The Hebrew Hammer.'
Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) stands next to an award noting his nickname, "The Hebrew Hammer," on a wall of his office on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 22, 2025.
Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
'My colleagues started to call me that,' he said. 'Finally, I [told myself], 'Look, if the shoe fits, you might as well wear it.''
Now he embraces the moniker, a nod to his forceful nature.
'I'm willing to say the truth,' he said. 'And I think a big part of the problem that we have in America is we have too many people who are afraid to do that.'