In Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis refused to say he’d oppose the ethnic cleaning of Palestinians from the area.
“I think to be a good ally, you back them in the decisions that they’re making with respect to Gaza,” DeSantis mentioned. “For us, to be sitting in in Washington second-guessing them, I don’t think that’s the right way.”
When requested to make clear whether or not he would assist the mass elimination of Palestinians from Gaza, DeSantis mentioned that he was “not going to tell them to do that” and that “there’s a lot of issues with that.” Then he added: “But if they make the calculation that to avert a second Holocaust, they need to do that, I think some of these Palestinian Arabs, Saudi Arabia should take some, Egypt should take some.”
DeSantis additionally criticized the thought of a two-state answer to the battle, arguing {that a} Palestinian state could possibly be a step in the direction of Israel’s “destruction.”
“We also have a disagreement, Gov. Haley and I,” DeSantis mentioned. “When she was at the [United Nations], she supported the idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. The problem with that is the Palestinian Arabs don’t recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. So doing a two-state solution doesn’t create something that’s going to lead to a lasting peace. It creates a stepping stone for Israel’s destruction. So under no circumstances as president am I going to pressure Israel to risk their security to do a so-called two-state solution.”
DeSantis has a historical past of taking heavy-handed measures to show his pro-Israel bona fides.
In October, his administration tried to close down College students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters at two public Florida universities, claiming that the teams violated a regulation banning “material support” for terrorist organizations—a transfer that clearly violated the First Modification.
“Based on the National SJP’s support of terrorism, in consultation with Governor DeSantis, the student chapters must be deactivated,” wrote State College System of Florida Chancellor Raymon Rodrigues. “These two student chapters may form another organization that complies with Florida state statutes and university policies.”
In November, Florida quietly walked again these plans, citing considerations about “personal liability” for these tasked with instantly derecognizing the teams.
DeSantis has made a trademark of blending flashy rhetoric with doomed-to-fail violations of the Structure. So it is hardly stunning that he would attempt to quash constitutionally protected criticism of Israel. Apparently, he is even prepared to be ambivalent a couple of hypothetical ethnic cleaning.