Neither Ron DeSantis or Andrew Gillum are Jewish, but both men are campaigning for governor of Florida as if they were true sons of Israel.
During this past weekend’s first gubernatorial debate between the two men, support for Israel took center stage, as both DeSantis and Gillum made their respective cases for being pro-Israel.
DeSantis calls Gillum anti-Israel, but is he really?
Gillum does not support the Trump Administration’s moving of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying the president’s decision was simply to provoke detractors.
“I think it was a provocation by the president that was unnecessary and it has been costly from a human toll.”-Andrew Gillum
According to his campaign website, Gillum sound very pro-Israel up until he states that only by “legitimate negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel” will the Palestinians obtain what they “rightfully” seek.
I will continue to push back against anti-Israel efforts, like BDS, that question Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, and will support bipartisan measures that help deter such practices. Only a separate state, brought about through direct, legitimate negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, can vest in the Palestinians the aspirations they rightfully seek to achieve.
With respect to Iran, I fully support the Iran divestment legislation passed by the Florida legislature in 2007, the first state in the country to divest its pension funds with companies doing business with Iran’s energy sector.-Andrew Gillum campaign website
And then there is Iran.
DeSantis was one of the loudest voices of opposition to the Iran Nuclear Deal.
Gillum has not commented if he supports the nuclear deal or not, but according to an opinion editorial penned by Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Lois Frankel, Gillum “shares” their “concern about the threat of a nuclear-capable Iran.”
Mayor Gillum also shares our concern about the threat of a nuclear-capable Iran. He has pledged to continue implementation of the Protecting Florida’s Investments Act, landmark legislation that made Florida the first state to prohibit state pension funds from investing in companies doing business with Iran’s energy sector. -Op-ed
Is it fair to say that Gillum doesn’t support the Iran Nuclear Deal?
Rep. Wasserman Schultz voted in favor of the deal, but Frankel opposed it.
Their fellow Jewish Democratic colleague, Rep, Ted Deutch, sided with Frankel and sternly made the case against the nuclear deal with Iran.
Deutch outlined his concerns about the deal, saying that Iran cannot be trusted and that the deal only temporarily slows Iran’s nuclear weapon ambitions.
The unwarranted giveaways for Iran tucked inside this deal are also concerning. Lifting the arms embargo in five years lets Iran procure the sophisticated missile defense systems they need to guard the nuclear weapons they want. And suspending the ballistic weapons ban after eight years allows Iran to develop the technology to deliver a weapon anywhere in the world.
This deal may temporarily slow Iran’s nuclear enrichment, but it speeds up the enrichment of the Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian terror proxies that endanger security and stability in the Middle East.
There are different predictions about what will happen if Congress rejects this deal. But the consequences of approving it aren’t up for debate. Opening Iran up to foreign investment, increasing its oil exports, and unfreezing over $100 billion in assets means more money for Hamas for building terror tunnels in Gaza, more weapons for Hezbollah in Lebanon, more slaughter in Syria, and more violence worldwide. -Rep. Ted Deutch (D)
Deutch clearly makes the case against the deal, but where does Gillum really stand?
Gillum has been in lock-step with just about all of President Obama’s policies, so does he support the deal?
