DeSantis Rips Reporter For Trying To Compare Rise In Anti-Semitism With Islamophobia

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ripped a reporter on Tuesday who suggested that Muslims are facing a similar threat level as Jews are right now in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack against Israel.

The reporter asked DeSantis at a press conference about the alleged “increase in violence to Muslims and Muslim schools,” which comes as there has been a dramatic increase in anti-Semitic incidents worldwide over the last two months.

“Yeah, that is not true,” DeSantis said. “They are not experiencing the similar threats. … Are those students being chased for their lives in some of these universities around the country? They had the pro-Israel rally in Washington, D.C., I didn’t see any hate there. I saw American flags. I saw Israel flags. I saw that.”

“I think that’s a totally false equivalence, and that’s what Biden has done,” he continued. “Biden has responded to the unprecedented spike in anti-Semitic fervor around the world, and even in this country, he’s responded by saying that the real problem is Islamophobia. They are not the same thing. That’s just not what’s happening, like it’s happening here in the United States — and in Florida, obviously, we have areas that are targeted.”

“I don’t think those are the same, and I think that there’s one vein of hate that is predominating over all others right now, and that is anti-Semitism,” he added.

DeSantis said that the explosion in anti-Semitic incidents in the wake of the October 7 attacks has been so drastic, it has surprised a lot of people who already “were very concerned about this issue.”

“The number of — the percentage of crimes against people based on identity — Jews always lead that overwhelmingly in America and around the world,” he concluded. “But in America, not even close. There’s not even a close second. That’s just the fact on it.”

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WATCH:

Apparently pro-Hamas journo: "You've talked a lot about protecting Jewish schools… what about the increase in violence to Muslims and Muslim schools?"@GovRonDeSantis: "Are those students being chased for their lives on… universities?"

Watch his full response: pic.twitter.com/U0EFe84e8c

— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) December 5, 2023