The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis , participated today (Thursday) in the "Face of Israel" conference on behalf of the Jerusalem Post held in Jerusalem, and commented at length on the political and security relations between Israel and the US and also on the Iranian threat. Also, the governor, who is expected to announce soon On running for the US presidency on behalf of the Republican Party, he also referred to the political storm in Israel surrounding the legal reform , and how in his opinion the US government should act on the issue.
At the beginning of his remarks, he referred to the Independence Day celebrations in Israel, saying that "Israel is 3,000 years old, but is still 75 years young. Over the years, the Jews have gone through riots both in the Holy Land, and also after the Balfour Declaration that recognized Israel's special bond with its land, and in the re-establishment of the Jewish home Here. David Ben-Gurion founded the modern state of Israel, even when he knew all the odds were against him. Especially after the Holocaust, and standing up against strong Arab armies that wanted to destroy the Jewish state. But just as David defeated Goliath, so did Ben-Gurion against the odds, Israel's victory emphasized that the dream is realistic, a home for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel."
Later, DeSantis pondered the security threats facing Israel. According to him, "The re-establishment of Israel is a key moment in history. It is not an easy challenge. Democracy in the heart of the Middle East, it is not an easy task and Israel faced more challenges in its 75 years of existence than any other country. We saw the victory in the Six Day War and the unification of Jerusalem , we have also seen the Yom Kippur War and the destruction of the nuclear reactor in Iraq, as well as the intifadas and Palestinian terrorism. We have also seen international organizations that harm Israel, such as the BDS movement, but above all stands the Iranian threat . And yet, despite all the challenges , Israel stands strong and firm. It is one of the most important allies of the US, and relations between the countries were my top priority, and also for the American public."
Ron De Santis at the Jerusalem Post conference (Photo: Mark Israel Salem)The governor of Florida emphasized that "Israel and the USA have many things in common and so do common enemies, but there is no more dangerous enemy for both countries than the Islamic regime in Iran." When I served in the Navy, I was sent to Iraq to Fallujah, and to areas with a predominantly Sunni population, and what we noticed was that most of the dead were not Sunnis, but Shiites, who were part of militias sent by the regime in Tehran, and were responsible for the deaths of Iraqi citizens and hundreds of Americans. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the US has seen Iran as a threat. If we look at the strategic challenges in the region, Iran's dash to the nuclear poses an unprecedented threat, the regime's ideology is an existential threat to Israel and the security of the US.
DeSantis also referred to the nuclear agreement with Iran that was canceled in 2015, during the Trump administration. He emphasized that "the regime received millions upon millions, and it did not use it to improve the quality of life of citizens, but to finance terrorism in the Middle East, and therefore the agreement failed. We learned from this that it only strengthened the regime in Tehran, and this should be the policy of the United States – to harm the regime, the US is proud to stand by Israel, it does not stand alone."
After that, he emphasized that he stands by Israel against anti-Semitism. The governor noted that "Israel suffers from criticism and unfair treatment from the countries of the world and the UN, when since 2015, 125 proposals against Israel have been passed in the UN, and only 55 against the rest of the world, how can such a thing be justified? And when we look at BDS, we In Florida, we stood against the organization from the first day in my position. You can criticize any administration, you can criticize Israel, but when you target one country, and you criticize the only Jewish country with a different standard compared to the rest of the world, this is anti-Semitism, you are hurting the Jewish country by treating it unfairly."
At the end, he referred to the legal reform promoted by the coalition, and also sent a hint to President Biden . According to him, "the task before the Americans is to stand strongly by Israel's side, and this includes military cooperation and also to ensure that no matter what the political mood will be in the future, the US embassy should remain in Jerusalem. The US must defend Israel against the unfair treatment of the UN and international organizations and reject those who reject its right to exist. However, we also need to respect Israel's right to make its own internal decisions, you are smart and you can make decisions that concern your own affairs. At the same time, we must continue to expand the Abraham agreements."
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