Jewish women pray before the funerals of abducted Israeli teens, Gilad Shaer, 16, Eyal Yifrah, 19, and Naftali Frankel, 16, in the Modi'in Cemetery, Israel, July 1, 2014. The murdered Israelis were found in a field outside Hebron, West Bank, last night, after being kidnapped while hitch-hiking in the West Bank on June 12. Israeli forces are search for two Palestinian connected to Hamas who are the major suspects in the case. UPI/Debbie Hill |
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Public Defender Howard Finkelstein apologized Tuesday for the postings. He promised that Muslims, Palestinians and Arabs in Broward County who need public defenders will get lawyers who will represent them without prejudice.
"They are the filthy swine they don't eat. Their ignorance to the world bewilders the dumbest people I have ever met," Sheres said in his posting.
Sheres also clicked "like" to Raticoff's post: "That's why the Palestinian people are considered the cockroaches of the world. Reprehensible and despicable with utter disregard for civility and humanity. Burn them to the ground."
Finkelstein said he has warned his staff many times that as public employees they can be held responsible for comments on social media. He said Raticoff, who has been an assistant public defender for 15 years, was warned in 2005 about a joke in the form of a multiple-choice question with one of the answers being "extreme Muslims."
Raticoff, while denying that he posted the "cockroach" comment, also said Finkelstein "spit on the graves" of those who died to uphold the First Amendment.