Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has once again stepped in to assist Americans caught in global conflict—this time organizing the safe return of roughly 1,500 Jewish-Americans from Israel amid ongoing unrest.
The evacuees were participating in a 10-day Birthright Israel trip when hostilities broke out. With the help of the Israeli Navy, they were ferried by cruise ship to Larnaca, Cyprus. From there, DeSantis chartered four wide-body jets to fly them back to Tampa, Florida.
“Thank God for the Iron Dome and thank God for Israel having a very developed text alert system,” said Joy Prevor, a senior official with the Broward Jewish Federation, adding that the process has been carefully staged for safety. “I just saw a video of the boat to Cyprus. It’s difficult because they were in such a stressful situation.”
According to reports, most of the 2,800 international participants in Israel at the time have either left by other means or opted to remain in the country with family.
This isn’t the first time DeSantis has led an evacuation effort from Israel. In October 2023, just two weeks after Hamas terrorists massacred over 1,200 people—including at least 30 Americans—the Florida governor ordered an emergency airlift that brought home 200 Americans. He also deployed two cargo planes carrying 85 pallets of urgently needed humanitarian supplies.
Among the donations were over 30,000 needles and syringes, 735 Ace bandages, nearly 60 ventilators, and more than 10,000 boxes of surgical gloves. Florida also sent children’s toys, sleeping bags, hygiene kits, and clothing for displaced families.
DeSantis, who has sharply criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the crisis, made it clear his state would not wait on Washington to act.
“With the lack of leadership in Washington, we are stepping up to help our allies in Israel who are in need of supplies and our support,” he said at the time. “As we continue to bring back Americans who were stranded in Israel when the war began, we will also keep sending the necessary health care supplies for Israel to care for those who have been injured.”