RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG
A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun
A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Republican candidate for president, traveled to Israel this past April, having previously visited the country four other times. He is a strong supporter of Israel, and in 2019 he tweeted that he “promised to be the most pro-Israel Governor in America.” He refers to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria,” in line with the Israeli right which rejects the idea that the West Bank is occupied territory. He has been a strong advocate against the BDS movement, and his support for school vouchers for private education has garnished great support among the Orthodox community. Regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, DeSantis said “He gave a great speech when I was in Congress...I told him after that speech I had so many constituents who said, ‘Heck why don’t we elect Netanyahu here?’ So, if it doesn’t work out for him, I think he probably could get elected in the United States if he wanted to.” But DeSantis’s support of the so-called “Don't Say Gay” legislation and “Stop WOKE Act,” as well as his support of book banning across the state, has put him at odds with the majority of Jewish voters in Florida. Following DeSantis’s 2019 trip to Israel, why did he specifically say that he wants to go back to Israel?
Ron DeSantis and Benjamin Netanyahu by Government of Florida is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons
A. In an interview with the food writer for the Miami-Dade Jewish News, DeSantis learned that casino magnate and conservative Israel supporter Sheldon Adelson owned the Tel Aviv kosher restaurant West Side, considered one of the top restaurants in the country. “I did not know that,” said DeSantis. “But you can be sure that it’s now on my list of places to go on my next trip to Israel. That's a great incentive to go back.”
B. When DeSantis visited Israel in 2019, he was scheduled to visit the Church of the Nativity, located on the site in Bethlehem where purportedly Jesus was born. DeSantis, who was born Roman Catholic, had stated that “seeing the place where our Lord entered the world will make my trip to the Holy Land particularly meaningful.” However, because of a terrorist incident which took place near Bethlehem the day before DeSantis’s visit, the trip to the church had to be canceled for security reasons, with DeSantis noting that “The Church has been there for 2000 years. It will remain, and with God’s grace, I will surely be back again.”
C. Speaking to a private meeting of advisors and potential donors in early 2020, DeSantis said, “I plan to run for president, but I know that it won’t be easy to defeat Donald Trump if he runs again. But my record regarding Israel is far stronger and more consistent than his, including the fact that he advocated for a Palestinian state. I plan to go back to Israel early in the campaign where I’ll lock down the Jewish vote with my full-on support for the Jewish state.”
D. During DeSantis’s 2019 trip, he traveled with officials from the Walt Disney company, who were exploring the possibility of supporting the building of a theme park in the Negev under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism. DeSantis and Disney CEO Robert Iger held a press conference following their meeting with Yariv Levin, the Tourism minister, where DeSantis stated that he “looked forward to returning to the Holy Land for the grand opening of the Disney Negev.” Ultimately, however, Disney withdrew from the project, which is still moving forward as Negev Park, with plans to open by 2030.
E. On an earlier trip to Israel, DeSantis had brought back a bottle of water from the Sea of Galilee, some of which he used for the baptism of his son Mason in early 2019. But afterwards, a cleaning crew threw away the unlabeled bottle, not realizing what it was. Said the governor, “Now, we don’t have any bun in the oven right now. But I think we do need to go back to Israel to make sure we have a stock of that water on display.”
✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡
© 2024 MMJZ Services, Inc.