A Juno Beach council member resigned last week after about free speech imploded into a public confrontation over personal memories about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, raising accusations of antisemitism.
The town of about 3,800 residents between North Palm Beach and Jupiter is known for its idyllic beaches, artsy festivals and occasional speed traps. But it has been shaken this year by disputes over , a bitter mayoral election and the recently appointed town manager鈥檚 resignation.
Officials have become further polarized by the critical barbs penned by Concerned Citizens of Juno Beach, an anonymous group behind a widely shared email newsletter.
But it was a dispute between Council Members Marianne Hosta and Jacob Rosengarten over her personal online newsletter that prompted remarks about family connections to one of the darkest periods in history.
Rosengarten had taken a strong stance in favor of the public鈥檚 right to criticize the council but drew the line at council members lashing out at the public. He singled out 贬辞蝉迟补鈥檚 newsletter, which she sends to residents via email.
She鈥檚 not alone. All of the council members except Rosengarten issue a newsletter. But Hosta takes swipes at council members and residents in her newsletter. She was also successfully prosecuted this year for physically attacking the former mayor鈥檚 wife.
Rosengarten pointed out that residents don鈥檛 distinguish between 贬辞蝉迟补鈥檚 personal views and her views as a council member. He called for a council code of conduct with consequences for violations.
鈥淭here鈥檚 something to be gained sometimes by actually agreeing to limit your freedoms, if you will, because if we don鈥檛 do that it could affect the reputation of our organization,鈥� he said Oct. 23. 鈥淲hy would citizens think it鈥檚 OK for members of council to have weaker standards of behavior than would be tolerated or allowed in the companies they work for?鈥�
Hosta as a child growing up in post-World War II Germany.
鈥淭he word enforcement just brings back terrible memories,鈥� she said at the Nov. 13 meeting, referring to her birth in Czechoslovakia鈥檚 German-occupied Sudetenland in 1945 at the 鈥渆nd of the Nazi regime.鈥�
鈥淚 would like to have the freedom of speech for everybody, including me,鈥� she said, turning to Rosengarten. 鈥淎nd to find that restricted by other people. I don鈥檛 think they know what they鈥檙e talking about. They should have gone through the experiences I went through then they would probably feel different.鈥�
She was interrupted by Rosengarten鈥檚 wife, Nancy Wolf, exclaiming from the audience that 鈥測ou鈥檙e talking to a child of Holocaust survivors.鈥� Wolf left the room, telling Hosta on her way out 鈥淵ou鈥檙e garbage!鈥�
Rosengarten's response
Rosengarten said nothing until a week later when he raised the issue at on Nov. 20. He asked for the floor before the meeting began and read deliberately from a prepared statement.
鈥淪ince she (Hosta) was facing me as she spoke, I can say that her words are revolting, beyond offensive and demeaning,鈥� he told the council Wednesday. 鈥淚n fact, I do know what I鈥檓 talking about. I am a son of a Holocaust survivor. My father somehow survived Hitler鈥檚 death camps until finally freed by the American Third Army. His entire family was murdered in the Holocaust. 鈥�
鈥淎nd so for Marianne to try to correlate the monstrosity of the Holocaust 鈥� and what that somehow meant for her childhood years in post-war Germany to the words I suggested about why some light-touch enforcement language in a code of conduct is necessary 鈥� is beyond any standard of decency.
鈥淏y Marianne鈥檚 way of thinking, if I could only understand her special experiences as a youngster growing up in post-war Germany, then I might feel differently about the ongoing right she believes she has to insult residents in her blog without any consequences. 鈥�
鈥淢arianne has made it clear that she intends to continue writing future blogs. 鈥� I refuse to be part of such an outcome and refuse to be associated with her on council or in any capacity.鈥�
With that, Rosengarten resigned the seat he had held since January, when the council appointed him to fill the unexpired term of Peggy Wheeler, who resigned to run successfully for mayor.
Rosengarten left and Wheeler returned to the meeting鈥檚 agenda without entertaining comments.
Both shaped by the war
Rosengarten, 69, a retired accountant and risk manager for financial institutions, has lived in Juno Beach for nine years. His father, Matys, who turned 20 the year Germany invaded Poland, survived five Nazi concentration camps.
with the Shoah Foundation in 1996. Rosengarten鈥檚 mother, Ruth, was part of the kindertransport of German Jews flown to adopted homes in England before the war.
Hosta, 79, a retired math teacher, has lived in Juno for 10 years. She began blogging about Juno Beach council meetings after attending meetings five years ago and finding few people knew what was going on. She in 2023.
贬辞蝉迟补鈥檚 , the wife of mayoral candidate Alex Cooke, led to criminal charges. Giancoli Cooke said Hosta injured her finger when she grabbed her cell phone to stop her from videotaping.
Hosta refused settlement offers and went before a jury, which . A county judge required her to take an eight-hour anger management course, perform 30 hours of community service and have no contact with the victim. In exchange, the conviction would not appear on her record.
Hosta described her childhood years as comfortable after her family returned to Germany as part of of more than 2 million ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia.
She said it was simply luck that the home for her family fell in the more liberal West Germany. That鈥檚 where she said elementary school students were taught the horrors of the Nazi regime through exposure to films and documentaries.
鈥淭hey always reinforced (that), when you see something that is not right, you must speak up,鈥� she wrote in her newsletter. 鈥淚t affected me deeply. This mantra is my second nature.鈥�
That鈥檚 why, she said, she objected to the enforcement mechanism proposed by Rosengarten.
鈥淚 have become a person who doesn鈥檛 mince words. I just say it when I see it,鈥� she said in an interview. 鈥淲hen I explained I don鈥檛 like the words enforcement because they remind me of terrible things I have seen before, it has been twisted around.鈥�
She added in her newsletter, published hours before Rosengarten鈥檚 resignation:
鈥淚 am wondering: Are we living in a police state? Is the STASI coming to Juno Beach? Did I immigrate to the USA in 1968 and gain citizenship in 1976, where the terms of 鈥榝reedom and democracy鈥� are used constantly, only to find leaders of our charming seaside community suddenly rule that I should be quashed when I state facts and reveal my honest opinions?鈥�
Antisemitism?
Her critics at Concerned Citizens for Juno Beach labeled her comments antisemitic.
鈥淭his was not a one-time slip; Hosta has repeatedly invoked Nazi rhetoric both in public meetings and private conversations to further her agenda. Her behavior is abhorrent, and her comparison of governance to the atrocities of the Holocaust is not only irrelevant but deeply disturbing and offensive,鈥� Concerned Citizens wrote in its Nov. 22 newsletter.
鈥淲e deserve leadership that reflects the values of inclusivity, respect and integrity. Unfortunately, what we are witnessing is nothing short of a dumpster fire fueled by antisemitism and a blatant disregard for residents鈥� voices.鈥�
They urged residents to contact the , which fights antisemitism.
Hosta took offense at the accusation.
鈥淭he worst thing someone can do to me is call me an antisemite,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat goes so deep to my heart. 鈥� It actually physically hurts me.鈥�
Council Member DD Halpern found 贬辞蝉迟补鈥檚 remarks insensitive and inappropriate.
鈥淪he didn鈥檛 need to start talking about Nazi Germany. Either you are for a code of conduct or you鈥檙e not. 鈥� And who was she to tell him how to feel?鈥�
She mourned the loss of Rosengarten.
鈥淲e lost the kind of person every council needs. His intellect and moral fabric were important to this council,鈥� she said.
鈥楢n appropriate decision鈥�
Rosengarten also lashed out in his comments at Mayor Wheeler, saying she allowed a flawed culture to flourish.
Wheeler鈥檚 insistence on civility at meetings prompted the council鈥檚 monthslong examination of decorum. However, her initial approach resulting in complaints that she was illegally limiting the public鈥檚 right to raise issues in a public forum.
In a statement to Stet, she said that Rosengarten made the right decision.
鈥淲e should all be respectful and appreciative of anyone who serves the town of Juno Beach in any capacity, but based on several incidents and the circumstances I believe this was an appropriate decision for Jacob Rosengarten, council member, and his wife Nancy Wolf to resign from her (audit) committee position.
鈥淚 also believe it was wrong to take a council member鈥檚 statements out of context, turn them 180 degrees to imply a hate speech in a town that has never before had such issues and has always prided itself on being welcoming and open to all.鈥�
Wheeler said the Town Council would discuss steps to appoint Rosengarten鈥檚 successor on Dec. 6.
The debate over decorum began after 贬辞蝉迟补鈥檚 jury verdict.
Resident Andy Spilos, a former Hosta supporter, submitted written comments to the council citing the court鈥檚 findings and demanding Hosta resign her seat. After his comments were censored, he returned at the next meeting to read the comments into the record only to be interrupted by Wheeler and
The result, Rosengarten suggested in an interview, is damaging to the town鈥檚 democratic principles. It helps explain the willingness of critics to seek anonymity to raise issues, he said.
鈥淲e have to learn how to disagree with each other,鈥� Rosengarten said. 鈥淚f you insult people they stop coming and they stay hidden. They still have the same feelings but you鈥檙e just creating these pressure valves.
鈥淗ere we had a jury verdict,鈥� he said, lamenting that the mayor blocked residents from discussing 贬辞蝉迟补鈥檚 legal troubles during public comment.
鈥淒id that make for more cordiality in our town or less?鈥� he asked. 鈥淟ess,鈥� he said, answering his own question.
鈥淧eople went underground. That鈥檚 why the First Amendment is so important to create some type of equilibrium in communities. It鈥檚 not pleasant but I think it makes us better.鈥�
Read a transcript of Rosengarten鈥檚 remarks to the council .
This story was originally published by , a SA国际传谋 News partner.
