Florida Capitol lit up in support of Israel
TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Capitol is being lit nightly in blue and white, while flags have been lowered to half-staff, as a sign of solidarity with Israel after the surprise attack Saturday by Hamas.
Gov. Ron DeSantis directed the lighting and the lowering of flags at state and local facilities through Friday.
Separately, Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boca Raton, and Rep. Katherine Waldron, D-Wellington, filed resolutions supporting Israel's existence as a sovereign nation and supporting its right to defend itself.
On Tuesday, DeSantis held a news conference at the Shul of Bal Harbour to express support for Israel.
"What we witnessed this weekend was one of the worst terrorist attacks, in not just Israel, but in the history of the world. You have barbarians from Hamas funded by the Iranian regime murdering the elderly, children, raping women, doing things that are really indescribable," DeSantis told the gathering.
He then announced that a proposal for increased sanctions against Iran would be introduced in the next legislative session.
"We are going to roll out in the next legislative session a proposal to increase Florida's sanctions on Iran and to block Iranian business in our state," he said.
The governor said the proposed legislation will reinforce Florida's commitment to not do business with state sponsors of terrorism. He said it would expand the prohibition on state and local government investment in Iranian businesses to include the financial, construction, manufacturing, textile, technology, shipping, and port sectors.