Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state would welcome Jewish students with “open arms” seeking to avoid antisemitism on college campuses.
“This week, Jewish students across the country are returning to campuses that have outright condoned antisemitism,” DeSantis said during his State of the State address in Tallahassee, Florida. “Over the coming months, they’ll have a tough decision to make. Do they pack up and leave, or do they stay and continue to endure a hostile environment?”
“And if they do decide to come to Florida, I can tell you this — we will welcome them with open arms.”
The governor said Jewish transfer students would be helped by the waiving of both minimum credit-hour requirements and application deadlines.
“The pro-Hamas activities and rampant antisemitism that we’ve witnessed throughout the country on these campuses has exposed the intellectual rot that has developed on so many university campuses over the years,” DeSantis said.
“In Florida, our universities must be dedicated to the pursuit of truth, the promotion of academic rigor and integrity, and the preparation of students to be citizens of our Republic,” he continued.
“We reject the modern trend of universities that subordinate high academic standards in favor of promoting an ideological agenda. To this end, we have eliminated so-called DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] from our public universities.”
