Few governors have promised and delivered for the Jewish community the way Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., has during his first term as the Sunshine State's chief executive.
There are so many remarkable things DeSantis has done for Jewish Floridians, the Jewish State of Israel, and the cause of religious liberty.
Both conservative and liberal Jews should reflect on this.
While the governor has so many achievements and milestones to highlight — it's important to mention that his support for the Jewish community and the Jewish homeland, Israel, started long ago during his terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 2017 then Congressman DeSantis led a congressional delegation to Israel to support moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Later in that year, DeSantis attended the Friends of Bet El Yeshiva Center’s 35th Annual Dinner and during this dinner, he shared his passion about declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in a special interview with the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce.
In 2018, in his capacity as chairman of the National Security Subcommittee, DeSantis supported Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights saying, "By recognizing the Golan as part of Israel, the U.S. would send a clear that Syrian belligerence will not be rewarded, that Israel’s victory over its aggressor [in 1967] has consequences."
In December of 2017, DeSantis, while still a member of Congress, publicly supported former President Donald J. Trump’s bold decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's eternal and undivided capital.
Other DeSantis milestones include the June 2021 signing of key legislation into law — protecting religious freedom and supporting Florida’s Jewish community. What’s significant about this particular legislation is that he signed it, surrounded by the Jewish community, in The Shul of Bal Harbor.
During the signing, he announced State of Florida grants for; $4 million in security funding for Florida’s Jewish Day Schools, including for the first time ever funding for professional security, $1.35 million for the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Pete, $400,000 for the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach, $100,000 for the Holocaust Task Force, $250,000 for the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator, $1 million in recurring funds for collaborative research, development, and commercialization of projects related to aerospace and other technology — through a memorandum of understanding which Space Florida has entered into with Israel.
Additonally, DeSantis signed a first of its kind bill that would allow Hatzalah of South Florida to be the only private volunteer faith-based emergency response team in Florida. The signing of this bill was a direct message of support to the Jewish community.
DeSantis has also strengthened Florida’s public education curriculum by increasing support for more Holocaust education both in and out of the classroom
Also, the 46th Florida governor has listened to the voices of the Jewish community by not shutting down places of worship and religious schools during COVID-19.
He also led a trade mission to Israel after being elected as governor, with over 90 delegation members; he did this to strengthen economic, academic and cultural bonds between Florida and Israel.
During this overseas trip, Governor DeSantis signed over 20 MOU’s (Memorandum of Understandings) to expand and strengthen the ties between the State of Florida and Israel. He even held his first ever cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, marking the first time a U.S. governor ever held a cabinet meeting in Israel.
It’s important to highlight the governor’s support for Israel because Israel is an integral part of the identity of many Jewish Americans living in Florida.
In addition to Governor DeSantis, the Jewish community in Florida can count on Florida State Representative Randy Fine, R-Brevard, Congressman Byron Donalds, FL-19, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., outgoing Congressman Ted Deutch, D-Fla., (who is now CEO of the American Jewish Committee) to be strong supporters of our community.
In a time of much turbulence in the Mideast, much of it adversely impacting Israel, let's try to focus on the positive, especially remembering those officeholders, past and present, who are allies of the Jewish community, and also of Israel.
Bryan E. Leib is the Executive Director of Iranian Americans for Liberty. Formerly, he served as the National Director for Americans Against Antisemitism and in 2018, he was a GOP Endorsed Congressional Candidate (PA-03). He tweets at @Bryan_E_Leib. Read Bryan E. Leib's Reports — More Here.
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