Miami Beach commissioner funded billboards targeting activists: court filing

New documents filed in federal court allege that Miami Beach Commissioner David Suarez paid $4,000 for mobile billboard ads last December that targeted two pro-Palestinian protestors.

Miami Beach residents Donna Nevel and Alan Levine were protesting during Art Basel with Jewish Voice for Peace South Florida, the local chapter of a group that calls itself “the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world,” when they saw billboard trucks with their photos and the words “Jew Hater” circling the area.

The group has organized several high profile protests calling attention to Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza over the past two years, drawing scrutiny from Miami Beach officials with strongly held pro-Israel beliefs.

According to the filing, a receipt shows that David Suarez paid a Hollywood-based truck company called Mobile Billboard Miami $4,000 to rent three billboard trucks on Dec. 6, the same day as the Art Basel protest.

The Miami Herald reached out to Suarez asking about the allegations regarding the billboard ads and in response he sent the following statement: “JVP’s vilification of ‘Zionists,’ its use of demonizing antisemitic tropes, and support for terrorists is what raises real safety concerns that we see reflected in the skyrocketing rate of anti-Jewish hate crimes.”

The court filing and subpoena are a part of an ongoing lawsuit filed last September by Jewish Voice for Peace against the city of Miami Beach, Mayor Steven Meiner and Suarez over concerns about the officials attempting to restrict the free speech rights of pro-Palestinian protesters. One of the JVP members targeted in the billboard ad, Levine, is also one of the lawyers in the lawsuit.

Suarez objected to the document discovery request, according to the filing, saying he did not believe the billboard receipts were relevant to the lawsuit’s initial claim.

The filing argues that Suarez’s hiring of the billboard is relevant to the case because it shows Suarez’s hostility toward pro-Palestinian advocacy and the group Jewish Voice for Peace due to the fact that he equates “criticism of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people with antisemitism.”

He ‘called me a Jew hater’

At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Nevel said she believes she was targeted because her viewpoints on Israel clash with those of Commissioner Suarez. Suarez, who is Jewish, has expressed support for Israel and criticized pro-Palestinian activists at commission meetings.

“The commissioner has targeted me and called me a Jew hater because … I stand with Palestinians and millions across the globe, including large numbers of Jews, who demand justice for the Palestinian people and an end to Israel’s genocide,” she said.

Nevel, who went to Hebrew Academy in Miami Beach, said her activism is rooted in her Jewish upbringing and driven by her understanding of the Holocaust.

“That Commissioner Suarez has the audacity to accuse those of us calling for justice for the Palestinian people of being antisemitic makes a complete mockery of that history,” she said.

Other members of JVP pointed out that the commissioner’s actions likely put two Jewish residents in a dangerous position.

“In a city that takes antisemitism very seriously, he knows full well the consequences of having a truck driving around with someone’s face and name on it that calls them a Jew hater,” said Hayley Margolis, a Jewish resident of Miami Beach.

Another JVP member Martha Schoolman said that Suarez is sending the message that Jews who disagree with him “deserve to be publicly shamed.”

“We don’t know how he manages to justify this behavior to himself as an elected official, but to any reasonable person, this behavior is indefensible and he must leave his position in disgrace,” Schoolman said.

Members of the activist group then called for Suarez to resign over the incident at Wednesday’s press conference.

Free speech at center of lawsuit

Free speech related to criticism of Israel has been a hot-button issue in Miami Beach.

Earlier this year, a woman’s negative Facebook comments about Meiner led to police officers showing up at her home — an incident that went viral and sparked a wave of backlash from free speech groups. Last year, Meiner attempted to terminate the lease of an independent movie theater O Cinema for screening a documentary about the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank. At city commission meetings, pro-Palestinian speakers have had their microphones cut off during public comment.

For the group Jewish Voice for Peace South Florida, the concerns over free speech led to a lawsuit, filed last September, which accuses the city, Meiner and Suarez of violating the group’s First Amendment rights by trying to silence its protests by allowing police to obstruct protesters and block off certain areas called “Free Speech Zones.”

In the wake of increasing pro-Palestinian protests organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, Miami Beach passed an ordinance prohibiting protesters from blocking streets or sidewalks, making it a crime to obstruct a public right of way after being ordered to leave by police. The ordinance says police should provide protesters an “adequate and available alternative forum” nearby.

The members of JVP argue that the ordinance was meant to “silence” protesters and critics of Israel.

Suarez and other Miami Beach officials argue that the ordinance is about safety, and that slogans like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” insinuate a threatening call of violence against Jews, prompting the commission to create more restrictions around protests.

This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and donors in South Florida’s Jewish and Muslim communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza and the Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.

This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Miami Beach commissioner funded billboards targeting activists: court filing."