Civil Rights Groups Express Concern Over Florida Governor’s Cabinet Meeting in Israel

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Palestine Legal joined civil rights and human rights organizations to warn Florida governor Ron DeSantis that his plan to hold a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem violates the law.

In a letter delivered Thursday by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), groups demanded DeSantis abide by Florida’s Constitution and refrain from holding a cabinet meeting during the scheduled trip.

“Conducting any state decision-making in a place that most Floridians cannot attend—and in which certain Floridians would face discrimination—is a violation of the Florida Constitution and undermines the transparency goals of the Florida Sunshine Law,” the letter states.

Florida became the most recent state to pass legislation aimed at silencing advocates for Palestinian rights. In April, the Florida House unanimously passed a bill that would classify criticism of Israeli policies or advocacy for Palestinian human rights as a form of discrimination against Jews in the state’s public schools. DeSantis is expected to sign this bill into law while he is in Israel.

“The fact that Gov. DeSantis plans to sign this bill during his trip to Israel next week indicates that this bill is more about demonstrating that Florida is ‘pro-Israel’ than it is about protecting the civil rights of Jewish Americans,” said senior staff attorney Liz Jackson.

View a press statement from the ADC here.