CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Dog Fight in New York: Rep Randy Fine’s Latest Attack on American Muslims

Photograph Source: U.S. Representative Randy Fine – Public Domain

On February 15, Congressman Randy Fine took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend dogs and offend Muslims. Fine posted that “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”

Where on earth did that come from?

Fine, a Republican representing Florida’s 6th Congressional District, was reacting to a post from Nerdeen Kiswani. Kiswani is the co-founder and chair of Within Our Lifetime, a Palestinian civil rights group operating in New York City. On February 12, 2026, Kiswani posted that “Finally, NYC is coming to Islam. Dogs definitely have a place in society, just not as indoor pets. Like we’ve said all along, they are unclean.”[1]

Kiswani immediately added two posts in which she claimed that she was kidding:

“Lmao at the Zionists frothing at the mouth at this, thinking they’re doing something. It’s obviously a joke I don’t care if you have a dog, I do care if your dog is shitting everywhere and you’re not cleaning it.”

“Lmao at the Zionists frothing at the mouth at this, thinking they’re doing something. It’s obviously a joke I don’t care if you have a dog, I do care if your dog is shitting everywhere and you’re not........

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