After the Museum of Jewish Heritage banned Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis from its ground, a New York City politician has announced she is withholding discretionary funds from the Jewish museum.
In a statement on Sunday, one of five GOP city lawmakers, Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, announced that she would be withholding a $5,000 donation she previously planned to give the museum after she claimed it banned the Sunshine State governor from a speaking event.
“The Museum of Jewish Heritage, an institution that pledges to promote tolerance and inclusion, excludes Gov. Ron DeSantis from attending an event on their premises,” Vernikov said in a letter explaining her decision.
“This move should send a strong message to the leadership of the museum: DO NOT politicize the Holocaust!” the councilwoman added in the letter. “Just teach it.”
In an initial statement, former New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind also similarly condemned the museum saying he won’t visit again until the ban is rescinded.
“Shame on the Museum of Jewish Heritage for politicizing their institution by banning Gov. Ron DeSantis, a stellar gov & friend of Jews/Israel!” Hikind wrote with a Wall Street Journal op-ed initially claiming the museum banned DeSantis. “It’s divisive and only harms the museum!”
The money Vernikov, a Ukrainian-born American Jew, has planned to give the museum is part of $700,000 in city funds she is allotted to give out to New York City organizations in the 2023 fiscal year, according to the New York Post.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage released a statement saying no one was banned or canceled.
The statement went on to say it was never a “free speech or censorship issue,” and that it was “simply a contractual and logistical decision.” The museum welcomed Governor DeSantis and other elected officials from across the political spectrum to visit.
