TALLAHASSEE — After breezing through a special session requested by Gov. Ron Desantis to show support for Israel in its war against Hamas, the House finished its business Tuesday with a fiery debate over whether a resolution supporting pro-Palestinian protests and a ceasefire was antisemitic.
The resolution, filed by Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, called for the House to support a de-escalation and cease-fire between Israel and “occupied Palestine,” supported the constitutional rights of Floridians to protest and advocated for the safety of all involved.
“Two things can be true. We can care about the lives of the Israelis and the hostages and care for the Palestinians who are not members of Hamas,” Nixon said. “Caring about the thousands of lost lives is not antisemitic.”
House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, told reporters after the session that she had an opportunity to withdraw the resolution but decided to go forward with it, which gave members an opportunity to speak out.
“The problem with that resolution is she used the phrase, ‘occupied Palestine,’ which means no Jews exist in Israel,” Renner said, adding that the bill gave House members a chance to express their views on the matter.
The phrase set off a tense exchange between Nixon, who was practically in tears as she said “this is about protecting the babies,” and other House members, who said they believed the resolution expressed support for terrorists.
“This is dangerous because it legitimizes people saying, ‘Gas the Jews!’,” said Rep. Randy Fine of Melbourne Beach, the only Jewish Republican in the House. “If you vote for this you are antisemitic.”
Fine was the author of a bill that was signed by DeSantis during a trip to Jerusalem in 2019 that cracked down on antisemitic comments.
Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, said there was no moral equivalence “between an unprovoked attack on Jews and the ensuing war to eradicate Hamas and those terrorists,” and that Israel had a right to defend itself.
He added that a ceasefire would just give Hamas a chance to regroup.
Even Rep. Mike Gottlieb, a fellow Democrat from Davie whose job was to manage the party’s side of the debate, denounced the measure.
“Never again’ is now,” said Gottlieb, who said he was 99.9% Ashkenazi Jew. He urged fellow members to “push the button and show the world we mean it and vote this resolution down.”
The resolution was rejected 104-2 with Nixon and Rep. Anna Eskamani in favor of it.
“We took a strong stand today with the resolutions we passed and the one we rejected,” Renner told reporters after the session ended. “Sometimes members have to take a stand.”
Nixon called the entire special session, which included a resolution supporting Israel, a political stunt, which other Democrats have said was done to boost DeSantis’ flailing presidential campaign.
“Floridians are tired of political stunts that continue to dehumanize people who want to live in peace,” she said.
The vote on Nixon’s resolution capped the end of a whirlwind two days in Tallahassee for the House, which voted on a number of other bills not related to the Israeli-Hamas war.
It also voted to provide $25 million in funding for Jewish day schools, and expand sanctions against companies doing business with Iran. It also voted to increase aid for Hurricane Idalia victims and expand school vouchers with unique abilities.
The Senate is expected to take a final vote on the special session agenda on Wednesday and adjourn.
