Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sharply criticized the Biden administration’s policy toward Israel on Monday, calling it “disgraceful,” seeking to emphasize his pro-Israel credentials as he takes on former President Donald J. Trump for evangelical voters.
In Washington at the Christians United for Israel Summit, an annual gathering of conservatives associated with the Israeli right wing, Mr. DeSantis also to never waver on Israel’s claim to Jerusalem and to vigorously oppose the boycott-Israeli movement that he says promotes prejudice. against the Jewish people.
Three Republican presidential candidates, including Mr. DeSantis, were scheduled to appear at the event, which unfolded as President Biden invited Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Monday and was scheduled to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Washington later this week.
“You are free as a person to have whatever opinion you want,” Mr. DeSantis told the crowd. “But if you invent a movement that focuses all your anger on the only Jewish state in the world to the exclusion of all these other things,” he added, “that’s anti-Semitism.”
Mr. DeSantis never mentioned the progressive Democrats who have said they will boycott a speech by Mr. Herzog at a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. But he used his speech to emphasize his strong support for Israel and attack White House policies, as many conservatives have tried to portray Democrats who criticize Israel as anti-Zionist or even anti-Semitic.
The moment is awkward for both sides.
Anti-Semitism has been on the rise in recent years. Long shot Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been invited by House Republicans to testify on Capitol Hill about censorship. He recently falsely claimed that the Covid-19 virus was developed to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese, leading to accusations of anti-Semitism and racism.
And top House Democrats are rushing to dismiss comments from Washington Democrat Pramila Jayapal who described Israel as “a racist state” at a progressive conference this weekend.
In a statement on Sunday, Ms. Jayapal, who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, sought to clarify her comments. “I don’t believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist,” she said. “However, I believe that Netanyahu’s far-right government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving those policies within the leadership of the current administration.”
Monday, Mr. DeSantis, who received loud applause and a standing ovation, a two-state solution that creates an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. And he denounced efforts that he said “used the economy and business to impose a radical leftist agenda” on Israeli policy.
“They are besieged by terrorism,” said Mr. DeSantis on the Israelis. “And yet when they act to defend their own people, you have all these people on the cheap seats criticizing Israel just because they have the guts to defend their own people.”
