DeSantis Addresses Accomplishments for Jewish Community & Israel at Tikvah Fund Conference at Chelsea Piers
Edited by: Fern Sidman
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had been in the center of controversy as of late, when his presence was banned by a New York City Holocaust museum. The governor was invited to address the Tikvah Fund’s Jewish Leadership Conference, yet the venue where the conference was originally slated to take place refused to host it.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park claimed to conference organizers, Elliott Abrams and Eric Cohen, that the Florida governor’s positions on the issues didn’t “align with the museum’s values” and thusly pulled out of the event in an attempt to silence DeSantis.
Despite this odious evidence of yet another “woke, progressive” political decision, the Tikvah Fund’s Jewish Leadership Conference did take place on Sunday, June 12th at Chelsea Pier 60 on Manhattan’s west side.
Right out of the gate, Governor DeSantis squarely addressed the issue of attempts to silence him by political opponents. He opened his speech by saying, “They can’t cancel me, I’m going to speak my mind. You know, I saw that there was a little opposition to me coming here. All I can tell you is this: When the Left is having a spasm, that just tells you that in Florida we are winning.”
Despite the influence of the radical left protestors at the event, Governor DeSantis discussed the Florida Model, people moving from New York to Florida, and the how the Jewish community in the Sunshine State is thriving.
In particular, the praised Florida’s Covid-pandemic policies, including the decision not to order lockdowns, vaccine mandates, or mask mandates. He also said that in general Florida’s residents enjoyed higher levels of freedom during the pandemic. He also took note of the stark contrast with New York City’s mask mandate for preschoolers.
“Now I know New York for a long time, until very recently, force-masked these toddlers, which I think, quite frankly, is inhumane. And so we would never impose those policies in the state of Florida,” Governor DeSantis said.
In terms of his litany of stellar accomplishments for the Jewish community in Florida and throughout the world as well as his unwavering support for the State of Israel, Governor DeSantis said:
“We have enacted robust Holocaust education requirements and standards in Florida schools. We enacted a moment of silence required in every school so that students have the opportunity to reflect. We authorized United Hatzalah to be able to provide emergency services and they’re doing a great job in South Florida. In 2019, I led the largest trade mission in the history of the state of Florida, my first one as Governor, and that trade mission was to the state of Israel, and we’ve seen huge benefits from that trip. That’s a pretty good record. Apparently, that’s the type of record that gets you banned from speaking at a Holocaust museum.”
As to becoming an intrepid voice against “woke” culture in Florida, Governor DeSantis said: “We have said that the state of Florida is not going to be overrun by woke ideology. It’s just not going to happen. I think it’s a cancer, I think it will destroy this country if it’s able to get more of a foothold than it already has.”
