Governor Ron DeSantis was booed by protestors during a press conference at the University of Florida Wednesday morning.
The governor was on campus to announce millions of dollars in funding for Jewish day schools, K-12 student safety, and increased security and infrastructure for Florida’s historically black colleges and universities.
But DeSantis spent much of his speech calling out protestors critical of the war in Gaza.
A crowd of about 40 people chanted over the governor while he called out accusations.
“They [protesters] were completely fine with those massacres happening. And they had no, no concern, um, about that,” said DeSantis, referencing the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Laila Fakhoury is an alumna of the university. She stood with protestors behind a series of metal gates separating protestors from the governor.
“I completely reject him saying that”, said Fakhoury. “I completely reject the idea of anyone calling for a second Holocaust. And him just saying that and trying to incite that feeling inside of people is Really the problem.”
Chancellor of the State University System of Florida Ray Rodrigues said protestors’ calls to divest from companies supporting Israel and to disclose the university’s investment portfolio would not be met.
“There will be no negotiations, there will be no appeasement, there will be no amnesty, and there will be no divestment. Under Governor DeSantis, Florida will continue to lead by example” Rodrigues said.
UF President Ben Sasse said students have a constitutional right to protest but anyone caught breaking the rules will face consequences. He had a special message for the university’s thousands of Jewish students.
“To our Jewish students, UF is proud to be home to the most Jewish students anywhere in the country,” Sasse said. “This is the most Jewish university in the country, and it is great to be a Jewish Gator. I want all of our students to feel safe, but more than the subjective feeling, I want our students to be safe.”
Last month, 9 people were arrested during protests on the university’s campus, six of them students.
They were ordered by a judge not to return to campus or to have any contact with the university.
