Addressing Jewish Republicans on Saturday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the West Bank was “not occupied territory” but rather a disputed area that is a historical homeland to Jews, as he talked up his Israel bona fides amid mounting challenges to Donald Trump’s control of the party.
DeSantis was a star attraction at this weekend’s Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas, where he delivered a 25-minute speech on Saturday night while Trump was relegated to a less desirable timeslot and only appeared via video.
The popular Florida governor told the crowd about a trade mission he’d led to Israel, “the biggest trade mission Florida’s ever done.”
“We were the first statewide elected officials to do public events in Judea and Samaria,” DeSantis said, using the biblical names for the West Bank as favored by right-wing Israelis. “We understand history. We know those are thousands of years of connection to the Jewish people.”
“I don’t care what the State Department says. They are not occupied territory, it is disputed territory. You gotta know the history,” DeSantis said to applause.
