Florida Congressional candidate James Judge (R-FL) condemned the mayor of Tampa and city officials for using taxpayer resources to host a Ramadan iftar on Tuesday, just weeks after a Florida imam called for the annihilation of Israel.
TAMPA, Fla. – A Florida Congressional candidate is condemning the city of Tampa for hosting an Islamic iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan, a month considered holy to Muslims, after a Florida Imam openly called for the genocide of Jews and prayed for Islamic jihadists at a Florida mosque in March.
“The outrageousness here is twofold,” said Judge. “Not only is the lesbian mayor of Tampa celebrating Ramadan with people whose cousins back home would chop her head off for being gay, but she’s doing so on city property, using taxpayer resources. The city of Tampa didn’t celebrate Resurrection Sunday. It won’t celebrate Passover later this month. But since Ramadan scores Mayor Castor points with the pro-suicide bomber diversity crowd, she finds it appropriate to use taxpayer dollars to host it on city property.”
The Second Annual Mayor’s Iftar was hosted at City Center by Mayor Jane Castor in her official capacity as mayor at the government-owned venue, while Tampa’s city hall was proudly illuminated green to show support for Islam. Following the evening, the mayor took to social media to post photos from the event.
“Tonight we hosted our 2nd Annual Mayor’s Iftar honoring Ramadan & celebrating our city’s diversity,” one of the photos from Castor’s post said. The City of Tampa’s official social media page also shared the post.
That’s when Tampa small business owner and U.S. Congressional candidate James Judge criticized the absurdity of the mayor’s and city’s actions.
“This is pure foolishness,” Judge said on Facebook in response to the post. “The LGBTQ+ mayor of Tampa is openly celebrating Ramadan. She would literally face public execution for her lifestyle if she lived in most countries that celebrate Ramadan. Instead, she uses her official office and city resources to promote a religion which preaches hate towards Christians and Jews and is dedicated to the destruction of Israel.”
Shortly thereafter, the Facebook post was deleted, but remained live on the city’s Instagram stories. Then, in a surprising reversal, the mayor and City of Tampa reshared the images shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday.
According to Judge, government resources should not be used to promote fundamental Islam, which he says is an increasingly dangerous threat facing the world, particularly in the United States, referencing a video where Dr. Fadi Yousef Kablawi, an imam in North Miami openly called for the genocide of Jews on March 8.
Calls for jihad and genocide are not isolated incidents within fundamental Islam. Just months prior, a Michigan Imam called for jihad against the west in a social media post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
James Judge is running for Congress in Florida’s 12th Congressional District against incumbent Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL). He was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area and runs his business in the city of Tampa.
About James Judge:
James Judge, a Florida native, graduated from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg and served in the U.S. Coast Guard in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Additionally, he served in Kabul, Afghanistan as a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense from 2010 until 2011. He now owns Judge Public Relations, a Tampa-based public relations, marketing and consulting firm. Judge is married to his wife Danielle, who is also a small business owner. The Judges live on a ranch in Dade City, with their five dogs, three cats, chickens, cows, goats and horses. Judge is a proud member of the NRA, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. The Judges are also longtime, active members at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz.
