TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis has helped send weapons and ammunition to Israel, his office confirmed Thursday.
In an email, governor’s spokesman Jeremy Redfern said, “cargo planes contracted by Florida were used to transport healthcare and hospital supplies, drones, body armor, and helmets that first responders can use.”
Redfern also said the governor’s office “worked with the [Israeli] Consul General [Maor Elbaz-Starinksy in Miami] to help get weapons and ammunition to Israel through private parties.”
But Elbaz-Starinksy denied asking for drones, body armor or helmets, or that he asked the governor’s office to help get weapons and ammunition.
“Nothing went through me,” he said. “We were never in communication on any shipments of arms or ammunition.”
Redfern did not say if the weapons and ammo were on the cargo planes that left Florida and arrived in Israel earlier this month. Redfern also wouldn’t reveal what types were sent or whether the Biden Administration is helping coordinate the trips.
DeSantis has been campaigning for the GOP nomination for president in part on his commitment to Israel and the 700 people his administration has flown back to the U.S. from that country after the war broke out. His campaign has been selling “DeSantis Airways” T-shirts.
“President Biden is the Commander-in-Chief of our military — not Ron DeSantis,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried in a statement. “The Florida Democratic Party unequivocally supports Israel’s right to self-defense, and American military support for those efforts must come from the U.S. Government — not a handshake deal between a wannabe president and undefined ‘private parties.’ Instead of meddling with military operations to score political points for his failing presidential campaign, Ron needs to stand down and let President Biden do his job.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday that “it’s not illegal for the governor of a state to offer a measure of foreign assistance” to another country.
“There are laws and regulations which govern how the export process is handled and that’s all done through [the U.S. Department of] Commerce,” Kirby said during a White House briefing. “I couldn’t speak with authority today about whether the governor checked all those boxes or not.”
The Florida Division of Emergency Management has been flying Americans back to Florida since Oct. 15, three days after DeSantis issued an executive order to use state emergency funds to bring Floridians home.
Officials have been unclear about how much has been authorized for the operation but said DEM has issued purchase orders totaling $32 million to its vendors so far, an agency official said Thursday, adding that no invoices had been submitted.
That number is expected to go higher as more flights are planned. The Orlando Sentinel has identified from public records purchase orders totaling nearly $50 million set aside for the flights.
The disclosure about the airdrop of military equipment comes days before the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual meeting in Las Vegas this weekend, where DeSantis is scheduled to speak Saturday morning.
He and other candidates have criticized Biden for moving too slowly to start arranging flights home for Americans stranded in Israel when fighting broke out with Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7.
The State Department said Thursday more than 12,800 U.S. citizens have successfully departed Israel and the West Bank using either U.S. government-chartered transportation or commercial air, via the land border or by other means.
DeSantis also has used state resources to make other political points by using contractors to fly 48 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last year and other migrants to California over the summer.
The Associated Press and News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
