The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has made its way to American universities and college campuses, with some student-organized groups openly backing Hamas. State Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) has petitioned Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to shut down protests in favor of Hamas on Florida's state college campuses.
The student organization, Students for Democratic Society (SDS), made a presence on Florida campuses where they demonstrated their support for Palestine. The group held a rallies this week, and the photos are posted on their X profile.
We joined SFS, SJP, and a hundred other students to say #FreePalestine 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/lyAmsw8Rsl
— Tampa Bay SDS (@TampaBaySDS) October 12, 2023
From Tampa to Tallahassee, college students marched in support of the attacks that happened last week, sparking plenty of controversy on Florida's preeminent universities, such as Florida State University.
Even Liberal leaning politicians have toned down their support for Palestinians from 2021 in light on the recent attacks, that were found to be brutal, almost in a bipartisan fashion. However, it seems that not everyone is convinced that Palestine's actions were not without cause.
Representative Randy Fine wrote a letter to DeSantis, "imploring him to leverage the laws we have passed to stop the barbaric and illegal protests in support of Jewish genocide at Florida’s state universities." This move was in response to the recent demonstration by campus groups.
Fine listed all the pro-Jewish legislation he and the governor passed and then stated he is, "done passing bills. It is time to start using them." The letter says regarding the attacks, "To see it celebrated in Florida is unimaginable. Even the Nazis did not advertise the Holocaust. They tried to destroy evidence as the war came to an end."
Fine also called out student organizations on state chartered campuses that did support Hamas after the attacks, calling for the students to be expelled immediately if they participated in demonstrations that called for harm against Jews. Depending on the demonstrations or messaging, this could put members of SDS around Florida in serious danger of being expelled.
The full letter can be found here:
“I am done writing bills. It is time to start using them.” I have sent the following letter to @GovRonDeSantis imploring him to leverage the laws we have passed to stop the barbaric and illegal protests in support of Jewish genocide at Florida’s state universities. pic.twitter.com/eLDk5IKm8U
— Rep. Randy Fine (@VoteRandyFine) October 13, 2023
