Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) took a stand for national security as he spelled out why the United States should not accept refugees from Gaza.
“…not all of ’em are Hamas, but they are all anti-Semitic.”
Taking action where the federal government appeared to falter, DeSantis had signed an executive order on Thursday to help bring Floridians home from Israel as part of a rescue mission that would also ferry needed supplies to the Middle Eastern nation. Saturday, while barnstorming through Iowa, the conservative statesman tackled the reality of the region’s refugee situation head-on as he warned about possible bad actors President Joe Biden’s administration could see ferried to America.
“We cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees. I am not gonna do that,” the 2024 Republican presidential candidate said unequivocally. “If you look at how they behave, not all of ’em are Hamas, but they are all anti-Semitic. None of them believe in Israel’s right to exist.”
We should not import people from Gaza to our country.
Neighboring Arab nations should open their borders and absorb them. pic.twitter.com/y11MGQfWoK
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) October 14, 2023
“You don’t fly people and import them into the United States of America,” he continued after pointing out that the Arab states didn’t even want to take in people from Gaza.
“We’ve got some serious problems in this country,” added DeSantis speaking to the anti-Israel protests taking place throughout America as news spread of the atrocities committed by Hamas. “We’ve allowed a lot of these problems to fester, but my view is very simple. If you don’t like this country, if you hate America, you should not come to this country. We’ve gotta start being smart about this.”
The governor remained consistent on that point throughout his campaign stops as he also called out Biden’s ineffective leadership and foreign policy positions that had ultimately supported the terror attack on Israel and yet another escalation to war under his watch.
“We gotta start facing reality as a country,” contended Desantis.
“Biden tried to have a rapprochement with Iran, right? They gave ’em oil revenue, all this stuff that’s led to the funding of Hamas and everything,” he continued referencing $6 billion in assets unfrozen by the administration. “Iran has an ideology. The ideology is to destroy Israel, to kill Jews. America, they think, is the ‘great satan.’ That’s their ideology. You’re not gonna be able to have a rapprochement of that.”
It is not our role to be absorbing people from Gaza.
And apart from this situation, if people with anti-Semitic, anti-American, or other toxic views are trying to come into our country, they should not be admitted. pic.twitter.com/IbcPy2zeYS
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) October 14, 2023
He further asserted with a reference to “virulent anti-Semitism” as the norm in the Middle East, “If you’re not willing to acknowledge that, then you’ve got your head in the sand.”
“I think the Arab nations should absorb anybody leaving Gaza. We cannot be absorbing people coming from Gaza to the United States of America,” argued DeSantis.
The presidential hopeful was far from alone on his assessment of the situation, as GOP lawmakers had introduced legislation aimed to prevent the Department of Homeland Security “from funneling Palestinians into the U.S. through the agency’s parole pipeline,” amidst heightened terrorism concerns.
Still, figures from corporate media attempted to frame the position as callous or bigoted. In one such instance, Politico’s White House Bureau Chief Jonathan Lemire had chided, “DeSantis appears to suggest that all Palestinians are anti-Semitic,” earning a chorus of digital “duhs” on social media.
That’s because they are. Far from hiding that, they actively promote anti-semitism.
— ArchLobster (@ArchLobster) October 14, 2023
Ummm, yeah. They are.
— KJP’s Notebook (@KJPsNotebook) October 14, 2023
You could give Lemire a thousand years and he wouldn’t be able to find 10 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who would say Israel has a right to exist.
— Max Twain (@MaxTwain24) October 14, 2023
He’s pretty much right. They are taught to hate Israel from cradle to grave.
— Janice Tabler (@JaniceTabler) October 14, 2023
The Palestinians are so radicalized even Arab countries don’t want them.
— OC and Stiggs (@_Me_Three) October 14, 2023
“Suggest” is way too soft. “they are”
— Jon vanHorne (@vanhornelaw) October 14, 2023
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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