Saturday, March 30, 2024

Florida Senator Rick Scott's Week in Review

I took my third trip to visit Israel as your U.S. senator and sixth since I was elected as your governor in 2011. I met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and delivered an important message: my commitment to supporting Israel and protecting the valuable relationship Florida and America have with the Jewish State will never falter. We will see this through until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages, which includes Americans, that have now spent over 170 days in Hamas captivity are home.

Israel changed on October 7, 2023, when Iran-backed Hamas terrorists attacked and killed thousands of innocent people – but I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu and members of his administration that I stand firmly with them in making sure this day will not mark the end of the Jewish State. I reiterated this commitment when I spoke to family members of individuals taken hostage and IDF Soldiers who have seen and fought terrorism firsthand. They're scarred by the unimaginable horrors of Iran-backed Hamas terrorists beheading babies, raping young women, murdering their loved ones and capturing their children to be held hostage. 

I saw the devastation Israel faces with my own eyes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. The joyous community I visited years ago is now destroyed and reeling from the aftermath of October 7, with so many of its residents missing or dead. I also visited the site of the massacre at the Supernova Music Festival. It was difficult to walk through that place and see the hundreds of memorials to innocent young people that were ambushed and brutally murdered by Hamas. My visit to Israel has only reinforced the undeniable fact that the United States and Israel have a common security interest in destroying Hamas and getting hostages back home TODAY. President Biden and Democrats in Washington have abandoned Israel at the United Nations and on the world stage. I urge them to reverse course and I will not be silent until I see Biden's administration stand strongly with our ally.

As we mark Holy Week, I visited the Western Wall and I left a prayer for every hostage taken on October 7 to be freed today and returned home. As you and your family gather for Easter, I ask that you join me in also praying for every hostage and their loved ones. War is terrible, but Israel cannot rest until Hamas is destroyed and the hostages, including Americans, are home. I know that God is with the Israeli people and will deliver victory to his people and the Jewish State.