Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will deliver remarks in Jerusalem on Thursday, addressing officials and journalists there at a time of heightened tension between Israel and the United States and amid a rise in antisemitism within his home state.
DeSantis is scheduled to speak at an event, “Celebrate the Faces of Israel,” hosted by the Jerusalem Post and the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem. The speech comes during the third stop on DeSantis’ worldwide tour that has already landed him in Japan and South Korea, and will end with a visit to the United Kingdom.
The event will thrust DeSantis, a likely presidential contender, into Israel’s national tumult, marked by sectarian violence and domestic uprisings over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to overhaul the nation’s judiciary. Those plans, temporarily on hold, led to rising tension between President Joe Biden and Netanyahu.
DeSantis has not addressed Netanyahu’s proposal, but in a statement last month to announce the appearance, he criticized the Biden administration’s posture toward its Middle East ally.
“At a time of unnecessarily strained relations between Jerusalem and Washington, Florida serves as a bridge between the American and Israeli people,” DeSantis told the Jerusalem Post in March.
Speaking Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Netanyahu indicated he would meet with DeSantis during the visit.
“Of course I’ll meet with everyone. Why not?” he said. “I meet with Republican governors and Democratic governors. I’d meet with every American representative, governor, senator, members of Congress. It’s my job. And I think it’s important for Israel’s bipartisan support in the United States. I make a point of it.”
Leading up to his arrival in Israel, Florida lawmakers passed bipartisan legislation targeting a recent uptick in episodes…
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