Amid growing antisemitism on US campuses, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday directed the state’s colleges and universities to make it easier for Jewish students to transfer to a Florida higher education institution.
DeSantis made the announcement during his State of the State Address, in which he also highlighted a few examples of recent actions Florida has done in support of Israel and combatting antisemitism.
“On October 7, Israel suffered one of the worst terrorist attacks in modern history. We knew the effects would reverberate here in Florida,” said the Governor.
“Many Floridians were stranded in Israel after the war broke out and were not receiving adequate assistance from the US embassy or the State Department, so we stepped up by organizing evacuation flights to bring Floridians home,” he added.
DeSantis also noted that he called a Special Session of the Legislature at the first opportunity to pass expanded sanctions on Iran.
“As threats of violence continued here at home, we stood up to protect our Jewish Day Schools, synagogues and Jewish students on university campuses. But we realize that many universities outside of Florida have failed,” said DeSantis.
“This week, Jewish students across the country are returning to campuses that have condoned antisemitism. Over the coming months, they will have a tough decision to make – pack up and leave or stay and endure continued hatred – and if they do decide to come to Florida, we will welcome them with open arms,” he continued.
“This includes waiving minimum credit hour requirements for transfers, waiving application deadlines for transfers, and encouraging universities and colleges to use their existing statutory authority to provide in-state tuition for students with a financial hardship,” added DeSantis.
“The pro-Hamas activities and rampant antisemitism on college campuses exposed the intellectual rot that has developed on so many college campuses. In Florida, our universities must be dedicated to the pursuit of truth, the promotion of academic rigor and integrity, and the preparation of students to be citizens of our republic.”
DeSantis noted that Florida has “eliminated so-called DEI from our public universities. DEI is a highly-ideological agenda – in practice it stands for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination – and it has no place in our public universities…."
DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination in next year’s election, is a known supporter of Israel and has taken several actions to show that support.
Shortly after the war with Hamas began, the Florida Governor announced legislation that would prohibit the state from doing business with companies that support Hamas and other terrorist organizations.
He later announced he had arranged to send drones, weapons and ammunition to Israel.
In addition, DeSantis’ administration ordered state universities to disband chapters of the pro-Palestinian Arab student group Students for Justice in Palestine. Several universities have since taken similar steps.