Florida lawmakers question whether pro-Israel bills in special session will make a real impact

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers will be returning to the State Capitol early next month for a special session and one of the big issues on the table is Israel.

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The state has done some concrete things on the issue, like flying more than 500 American citizens from Israel back to the US, but the proposals on the agenda for the special session come off to some lawmakers as more symbolic, rather than substantive.

Florida lawmakers will head back to Tallahassee on November 6th to gavel in for the special session.

One item on the agenda would increase security funding for entities at high risk of violent attacks and hate crimes like Jewish day schools and synagogues.

“Hamas is here in Florida and the fact of the matter is you shouldn’t have to pay to pray. You shouldn’t have to pay law enforcement to have someone protect your religious institution,” said State Representative Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay).

Fine, who is Jewish, said he is happy to see the security funding.

But Fine doubts the other Israel-related proposals will have any meaningful impact, including a resolution voicing Florida’s support for the Jewish State and a tightening of sanctions on Iran, a backer of terrorist groups in the Middle East like Hamas.

“I think a lot of the other issues are more theatrics than they are policy,” said Fine.

READ: Florida leaders advocate for strict enforcement of Antisemitism laws amidst pro-Palestinian protests

House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) took a similar stance.

“This looks like yet another case of Ron DeSantis using the Legislature to try to help his failing presidential campaign. We will be watching closely to make sure Floridians’ tax dollars aren’t wasted trying to impress out-of-state GOP primary voters,” said Driskell in an official statement released after the special session was announced.

Fine argued Florida already has laws on the books aimed at cracking down on antisemitism and it’d be his preference to see those laws leveraged.

“There’s a lot of talk about revoking the visas and sending people back who hate America and hate Jews. Well, we could start by implementing that on our college campuses,” said Fine.

During the special session, lawmakers will also look to provide tax relief for victims of Hurricane Idalia, clear a backlog for the state’s storm hardening reimbursement program, and clear a backlog of students with disabilities trying to get private school scholarships.

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