Last Friday, two IfNotNow activists disrupted a speech by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The two women climbed onto the stage where the Governor was speaking and displayed a banner that read: “Ron DeSantis: loves Israel, hates Jews.”
When Security removed them from the stage, one of the women shouted, “Jews against DeSantis.” The group’s tweet below declares: “BREAKING: IfNotNow members are confronting Ron DeSantis at a GOP fundraiser in New Hampshire this evening. We’re making clear that DeSantis is an antisemite whose actions and policies both support Israeli apartheid and put Jews in danger. THREAD”
BREAKING: IfNotNow members are confronting Ron DeSantis at a GOP fundraiser in New Hampshire this evening.
We’re making clear that DeSantis is an antisemite whose actions and policies both support Israeli apartheid and put Jews in danger. THREAD pic.twitter.com/SwCUuCAtMb
— IfNotNow? (@IfNotNowOrg) April 14, 2023
The IfNotNow tweets continued: “In a couple weeks, Ron DeSantis will travel to Israel-Palestine. He’s making this trip as he gears up for his campaign for President, and as Israel’s far-right government continues its efforts to entrench apartheid rule over all parts of Israel and the West Bank. On his last trip to the occupied West Bank, DeSantis signed agreements with orgs in illegal settlements. He even signed legislation ostensibly fighting antisemitism – in reality, it enables the right to frame Palestinians’ human rights as “discriminatory.”
They added: “You know who else is close with Ron DeSantis? AIPAC! Here’s DeSantis speaking to an AIPAC group while in Israel in 2019.”
Republican Jewish Coalition National Chairman Norm Coleman and its CEO Matt Brooks issued a response titled “Democratic Party Going Full Anti-Israel.”
“What was once a fringe opinion on the left has become mainstream and normalized in the Democratic Party. Ascendant voices espousing anti-Israel hatred are displayed openly by the left in the US political arena today. Elected officials like Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) lie about Israel and call it an ‘apartheid state,’ while her comrades on the ‘Squad’ call for ending all US military aid to Israel.”
The RJC cited the March 16 Gallup Poll findings that “after a decade in which Democrats have shown increasing affinity toward the Palestinians, their sympathies in the Middle East now lie more with the Palestinians than the Israelis, 49% versus 38%.”
Of course, IfNotNow is not part of the Democratic party, but the message is clear: Israel is losing the sympathies of registered Democrats.
As to Gov. DeSantis, Matt Brooks noted: “From his time as a Congressman, Governor Ron DeSantis has been a steadfast and stalwart friend of the Jewish community and the State of Israel. The Florida Jewish community appreciates that friendship, and a historic, record-setting 45% of Jews voted for him in his recent reelection. We know Governor DeSantis will receive a very warm welcome in Israel when he visits later this month.”
Provided he avoids certain key intersections in Tel Aviv.
