Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has reportedly been banned by the NY Museum of Jewish Heritage ahead of June’s Jewish Leadership Conference, where the Sunshine State governor will be a speaker. Two of the event’s organizers first announced the ban in an editorial written for the Wall Street Journal.
DeSantis was invited by Tikvah Fund, a Jewish non-profit organization, to speak at their conference on June 12 to “discuss how the ‘Florida model’ has contributed to the growth and vitality of Jewish life” in Florida, according to their editorial.
WSJ editors were told by staff from the museum that while the Tikvah Fund was still planning out the event details, DeSantis was banned because he didn’t ‘align with the museum’s values and its message of inclusivity.’
Conference leaders were told that either DeSantis be banned, or the event would take place at the museum, according to the editorial.
When reached for comment, the organization’s CEO told WSJ that the museum doesn’t “do politics…whether left or right,” claiming “this was false” and that the museum had featured Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a speaker in 2018. The museum has also “hosted other politicians, including then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and then-Mayor Bill de Blasio,” the CEO said.
DeSantis’s office responded to WFLA’s request for comment concerning the ban, saying “ the governor has always been a steadfast friend of the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” praising the “remarkable Jewish renaissance” happening in Florida under DeSantis’s leadership, and saying “We hope that this is all a misunderstanding, and the museum leadership will rectify the situation because a Holocaust memorial should never be politicized.”
