Florida Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis (R) said during his speech at the 2018 Israeli-American Council (IAC) conference that he intends to crack down on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement when he becomes governor.
DeSantis told the audience he has “already warned companies like Airbnb that if you single out Jews in Judea and Samaria for disparate treatment, we are going to review our BDS laws… and we are going to act.”
“We need to fight anti-Semitism on all fronts and BDS is nothing more than a cloak for anti-Semitism,” DeSantis said.
He later added that companies boycotting Israel “is a red line for us” and called Israel “what is right with the Middle East.”
DeSantis also pledged to continue funding for security at Jewish day schools and called on the Trump administration to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, arguing that such land is too strategically important to fall into the hands of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah.
Additionally, DeSantis called on the Department of Justice to begin prosecuting Palestinian terrorists who murder American citizens abroad.
“I want justice,” DeSantis said, pointing out that the United States extradites terrorists from other parts of the world who murder American citizens.
DeSantis concluded his speech with a message to companies that engage in boycotts of Israel: “Go ahead and make my day, because I will act and act quickly.”
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