We ran the Express Lane column too early today it appears. Governor Crist has released this statement about Governor DeSantis:

“I am disgusted and horrified at the hateful, antisemitic rhetoric that was displayed in Jacksonville this weekend. Hate should have no home in Florida, period.

“But while antisemitism is spreading in our state, Governor DeSantis refuses to condemn it – even when it’s broadcast on the side of a stadium he is in. 

“It’s a disgusting and absolute failure of leadership. Today and always, I stand with our Jewish neighbors in Florida and across the nation.”

Charlie Crist October 30, 2022

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Here is this morning’s Express Lane on antisemitism again:

Florida has been stung by a string of antisemitic actions and Governor Ron DeSantis has sat silently. It continues a pattern for DeSantis of ignoring the flames of ethnic and religious hatred that have increased exponentially in this state during his tenure as Governor. In fact, it can be argued at times that DeSantis fans the flames of antisemitism by using whether consciously or unconsciously antisemitic tropes including his attacks on the media, entertainment industry and the likes of George Soros.

This week. we’ve seen greater efforts by antisemitic groups to get their message across, from an overpass on I-10 in Jacksonville, to the Florida-Georgia football game where Governor DeSantis reportedly was in attendance to the “The Sunshine State Nationalists (SSN) are a new Florida-based neo-Nazi organization established in early 2022 by ‘Pale Heretic,’ an associate of GDL and NSM. The group, which refers to itself as ‘Ron’s Holocaust Task Force,’ a reference to Governor DeSantis, engages in activism ‘to free the state from Jewish rule from Miami, Palm Beach County and Boca Raton.”

“Floridians of all stripes have condemned the vicious anti-Semitism that has recently polluted our airwaves,” said former Governor Charlie Crist, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2022. “But Ron DeSantis still refuses to denounce Nazis that carry his flags. Under Ron’s watch, violent, white supremacist groups are openly operating in Florida and even using his name. Florida deserves a governor that will forcefully and unequivocally condemn anti-Semitism and other hate. I will always stand with Florida’s Jewish community, even condemning anti-Semitism from within my own party, and I welcome this effort to shine a light on how DeSantis’ refusal to condemn Nazis fuels rising anti-Semitism.” 

The majority of Jewish elected legislators have signed an open letter regarding Governor DeSantis’ inaction on antisemitism and have endorsed Charlie Crist.