To:
GOVERNOR’S CABINET
GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR JEANETTE NUNEZ, ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHLEY MOODY, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER JIMMY PATRONIS, COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE WILTON SIMPSON,

STATE SENATORS
SENATOR MARCO RUBIO, SENATOR RICK SCOTT,

CONGRESSMAN AARON BEAN, CONGRESSMAN JOHN RUTHERFORD, CONGRESSMAN BRIAN MAST, CONGRESSMAN LOIS FRANKEL, CONGRESSMAN JARED MOSKOWITZ, CONGRESSMAN VERN BUCHANAN, CONGRESSMAN NEAL DUNN,

CONGRESSWOMAN KAT CAMMACK, CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA CHERFILUS MCCORMICK, CONGRESSWOMAN KATHY CASTOR, CONGRESSWOMAN LAUREL LEE,

REP. ROBERT CHARLES BRANNAN III, REP. YVONNE HAYES HINSON, REP. CHARLES WESLEY CLEMONS SR., REP. WYMAN DUGGAN, REP. ANGIE NIXON, REP. KIMBERLY DANIELS, REP. DEAN BLACK, REP. KIYAN MICHAEL, REP. JESSICA BAKER, REP. FREDERICA S. WILSON, REP. MARIO DIAZ-BALART, REP. MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ, REP. FELICIA SIMONE ROBINSON, REP. FABIAN BASABE, REP. CHRISTOPHER BENJAMIN, REP. DOTIE JOSEPH, REP. ASHLEY V. GANTT, REP. TOM FABRICIO, REP. DAVID BORRERO, REP. ALEX RIZO, REP. VICKI LOPEZ, REP. DEMI BUSATTA CABRERA, REP. ALINA GARCIA, REP. DANIEL ANTHONY PEREZ, REP. KEVIN CHAMBLISS, REP. JUAN CARLOS PORRAS, REP. JAMES VERNON MOONEY JR., REP. JOHN SNYDER, REP. MIKE CARUSO, REP. JERVONTE EDMONDS, REP. DAVID SILVERS, REP. JOE CASELLO, REP. PEGGY GOSSETT-SEIDMAN, REP. KELLY SKIDMORE, REP. KATHERINE WALDRON, REP. RICK ROTH, REP. LINDA CHANEY, REP. MICHELE K. RAYNER, REP. DIANNE HART, REP. SUSAN VALDES, REP. KAREN GONZALEZ PITTMAN, REP. TRACI KOSTER, REP. FENTRICE DRISKELL, REP. LAWRENCE MCCLURE, REP. DANIEL ANTONIO ALVAREZ, REP. MIKE BELTRAN, REP. JASON SHOAF, REP. GALLOP FRANKLIN, REP. ALLISON TANT,

SEN. KEITH PERRY, SEN. JENNIFER BRADLEY, SEN. CLAY YARBORUGH, SEN. TRACEE DAVIS, SEN. SHERVIN JONES, SEN. ILEANA GARCIA, SEN. JASON PIZZO, SEN. ALEXIS CATALAYUD, SEN. BRYAN AVILA, SEN. ANA MARIA RODRIGUEZ, SEN. BOBBY POWELL, SEN. LORI BERMAN, SEN. TINA POLSKY, SEN. GAYLE HARRELL, SEN. JAY COLLINS, SEN. DARRYL ERVIN ROUSON, SEN. JIM BOYD, SEN. DANNY BURGESS, SEN. COREY SIMON,

TAMPA CITY COUNCIL
COUNCILMAN ALAN CLENDENIN, COUNCILMAN GUIDO MANISCALCO, COUNCILWOMAN LYNN HURTAK, COUNCILMAN BILL CARLSON, COUNCILWOMAN GWENDOLYN HENDERSON, COUNCILMAN CHARLIE MIRANDA, COUNCILMAN LUIS VIERA,

SAINT PETERSBURG CITY COUNCIL
COUNCILMAN COPELY GERDES, COUNCILWOMAN BRANDI GABBARD, COUNCILMAN ED MONTANARI, COUNCILWOMAN LISSET HANEWICZ, COUNCILWOMAN DEBORAH FIGGS-SANDERS, COUNCILWOMAN GINA DRISCOLL, COUNCILMAN JOHN MUHAMMAD, COUNCILMAN RICHIE FLOYD,

TALLAHASSEE CITY COMMISSIONERS
MAYOR JOHN E. DAILEY, MAYOR PRO-TEMPORE DIANE WILLIAMS-COX, COMMISSIONER CURTIS RICHARDSON, COMMISSIONER JAQUELINE PORTER, COMMISSIONER JEREMY MATLOW,

Despite Israel's best efforts to stifle Palestinian resistance, no cage goes unchallenged.

As we witness Palestinians in Gaza break through the wall that has been holding them captive for the past 16 years, in parallel to Israel’s subsequent indiscriminate bombing of the coastal enclave, it is necessary to acknowledge the true root cause of this week’s violence. Israel’s occupation, apartheid policies, and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people for over 75 years is the source of this violence. Rather than defend Palestinians’ human rights, the United States inhumanely and blindly supports and enables Israel’s genocidal regime. While Israel currently attacks Gaza with impunity, killing hundreds of children and wiping out entire generations of families, it does so not for the first, second or third time and it does so with the financial, military, and political backing of U.S. taxpayer dollars. Israel holds a still active 16-year blockade on Gaza, denying economic mobility, basic needs, regular employment, and ultimately full dignity-lives to be lived. Gaza has forcibly become home to numerous refugee camps with over 1.2 million inhabitants and not by choice. Any analysis of current events that omits these historical facts is irresponsible, immoral, and dehumanizing.

Complicity in Israel’s violent apartheid regime is not confined to politics in DC. Florida politicians’ unwavering support of Israel’s apartheid regime and labeling of legitimate Palestinian resistance as "unprovoked" is violence in action. Politicians who continue to demand "ironclad" U.S. backing for Israel's military are enabling further violence. So-called progressive elected officials’ failure to stand in solidarity with Palestinians rightfully seeking liberation enables pro-apartheid politicians’ barbaric incitement of violence against Palestinian and pro-Palestinian demonstrators to go unchallenged.

To these wayward politicians, we say: Your language ignores the violence of Israel’s occupation of Palestine, erases Palestinians’ suffering and right to freedom, and enables the continued violence that Israel imposes on Palestinian lives. Your support of a settler colonial nation’s “right” to carry out war crimes against millions of people forcibly living under its control puts you on the wrong side of history.

Palestinians deserve freedom, safety, and dignity. To achieve liberation, the occupation and complicity of the United States must be addressed as the root cause.

We call on the United States government to immediately cease military aid to Israel and hold the Israeli government accountable for flagrant abuses of human rights and war crimes against Palestinians. We also call on the U.S. to put pressure on the Israeli government to end its brutal 16-year collective punishment, economic blockade, and siege on Gaza.

In Florida, we call on our elected officials to see the lopsided asymmetrical history targeting Palestinians for what it is and to protect the constitutional rights of all Floridians by repealing legislation criminalizing Floridians’ rights to speak out against Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians.

Oppressed people everywhere will inevitably seek and win their liberation. There is no peace without liberation. Palestine will be free. Palestinians and allied communities in Florida, have every right to engage in our boycott, divestment, and sanctions efforts in order to stop billions of taxpayer dollars from pouring into Israel's war machine. We call on all Floridians to join us in these efforts and stand by Palestinians as they assert their right to self-determination.

This is black and white. Florida leaders have a moral decision to make; complicity in the disappearance of a people and the bombing of a nation of children or an obvious moral high ground that includes justice, freedom, and human rights.

Governments and people across the world have denounced Israel for their actions. People across this nation clearly see Israel's violence, the apartheid state, and the settler colonial regime that Palestinians are experiencing. Florida Leaders need to condemn the violence that Israeli forces are inflicting on Palestinians. Florida Leaders should not stand by as Palestinians are forcibly expelled from their homes under threat of death and subjected to war crimes, assault, and violation. We must stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people against Israel’s persecution and occupation.

We, the co-signatories, call on our U.S. Representatives from Florida: Darren Soto, Maxwell Frost, Kathy Castor, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, and Lois Frankel to:

1. Oppose any increases in military aid to Israel by the United States government that will only exacerbate violence on the ground and fuel genocide against millions of civilians under siege in the Gaza Strip.

2. Call on the Biden administration to put pressure on the Israeli government to end its brutal 16-year siege on Gaza, permit the passage of critical humanitarian aid into the enclave, and resume electricity, water, and internet supplies.

3. Call for: the equal application of international law in holding Israel accountable for its war crimes against the Palestinian people, an immediate ceasefire of Israeli aggression, an end to the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homes, the establishment of safe zones in the Gaza Strip, and safe entry of humanitarian aid.

4. Support a cessation of all U.S. military aid to Israel used to sustain the illegal occupation, and settlements and further carry out human rights violations against the Palestinian people.

5. Protect U.S. citizens and residents’ constitutional rights to freedom of speech and boycott.

We, the co-signatories, call on our Florida State Legislators: Anna Eskamani, Geraldine Thompson, Kamia Brown, Randolph Bracy, Victor Torres, and Linda Stewart to:

1. Address the harm of (HB 741) by endorsing Palestine Legal’s Title VI Complaint in support of Ahmad Daraldik.

2. Protect the constitutional rights of Floridians by repealing legislation criminalizing Floridians’ rights to speak out against and protest Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians.

3. Publicly condemn Israel’s state-sanctioned violence against the Palestinian people funded by Floridan taxpayers, including forced expulsions, home demolitions, and the siege and attacks on civilians and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Call for an immediate ceasefire of Israeli aggression.

A growing number of members of Congress outside of Florida are speaking out against Israel's use of U.S. funds to oppress and carry out grave human rights violations against Palestinians. We demand that Florida leadership do the same, and stand for justice, freedom, and liberation for all people. Israel must be held accountable for its decades-long occupation fueling violence against and subjugation of the Palestinian people. Without consequences, Israel will continue to kill Palestinian families and children, steal Palestinian land and displace thousands of indigenous peoples, and irreparably harm the environment and physical infrastructure in Palestine, in violation of international law.