Leaders in the Sunshine State have again asserted a determination to protect the safety of Jewish students at the state’s universities as demonstrations against Israel’s war to defeat Hamas continue to intensify around the country.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ben Sasse, president of the University of Florida, spoke on Wednesday at the campus in Gainesville, Fla.
In his speech, DeSantis noted that anti-Israel protesters are also targeting American symbols and even burning American flags. At George Washington University, said the governor, they “desecrated a statue of the father of our country.”
He said, “We’ve seen a lot of failures of leadership, we’ve seen some of these schools get overrun, that is not happening here in the state of Florida. You are going to behave appropriately or, if not, you’re going to be shown the door.”
Sasse organized his short speech into “four simple messages”: following the law; praising school police; warning student protesters that those who engage in “prohibited actions will face the consequences”; and calling for the safety of Jewish students.
Anti-Israel protesters demonstrated during the two leaders’ speeches, chanting “free Palestine.”
