Florida House passes measures to support Israel, condemn Hamas

The Florida House passed measures during a special session Tuesday to help secure Jewish institutions and other places that could be targets of hate crimes, express support for Israel and further sanction companies that do business in Iran.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to tout the measures as he campaigns for president. And though the bills were mostly symbolic, there was one lone attempt seeking lawmaker support for calls for a ceasefire in Israel's war on Gaza. That was angrily shot down by Democrats and Republicans alike.

“The fight is not just over there, but the fight is right here at home,” Rep. Randy Fine, the only Jewish Republican in the House, said as he introduced a resolution condemning Hamas and supporting Israel. “Every person that walks through a college campus or marches through the street saying, ‘Kill the Jews,’ is an extension of what we’re seeing over there.”

The resolution passed on a 103-3 vote.

The House also passed a bill to provide $45 million in grants to secure Jewish schools and institutions, as well as other places that could be vulnerable to hate crimes.

The House also voted to strengthen sanctions already in place against businesses that do business with Iranian companies, as well as measures to provide hurricane recovery money and boost money for developmentally disabled students.

The Senate will take up the bills on Wednesday.

The Legislature held the special session two months before its annual 60-day session as DeSantis campaigns in Iowa touting his support for Israel.

House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell said after the chamber adjourned that there’s really little more Florida can do to sanction Iran that the federal government isn’t already doing.

“But it got to be a feel-good moment on the floor for a priority (DeSantis) wanted, and so now DeSantis gets to stand on the debate stage tomorrow and say that the Legislature was tough on Iran,” she said. “It is ultimately all about DeSantis. Pretty much all of this could have waited until January.”

This moves comes as Florida’s university system, working with DeSantis, controversially ordered state colleges to shut down pro-Palestine student organisations on campuses.

The State University System of Florida said chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) had to be disbanded as part of what it called a crackdown in the Republican-led state on campus demonstrations that provide "harmful support for terrorist groups". 

The SJP campaigns for peace and does not affiliate with any particular group in Palestine.