In Miami, Israeli envoy praises Florida: ‘No better state’ for support after attack
The head of Israel’s Miami consulate said no state has shown more support for Israel than Florida in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants.
“The state of Florida — on a state level, on a community level, on an elected officials level — has stood up and is showing its support in all of the ways and means possible,” Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, Israel’s consul general in Miami, told Miami-Dade commissioners on Tuesday.
“There is no better, more supportive community or state,” he said, “than the state of Florida.”
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After his remarks, commissioners unanimously approved a resolution declaring Miami-Dade “supports Israel and her right to defend herself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas.”
Commissioner René Garcia, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said the resolution was written to put Miami-Dade “on the side of good.”
“Miami-Dade County stands with our brothers and sisters in Israel, ensuring that we weed out and eliminate terrorism wherever it exists,” he said. “We’ve got to be clear. This is not against the Palestinian people. Innocent Palestinian people are in the middle of this war. “
Commissioner Micky Steinberg, the other co-sponsor, said the resolution targets terrorism.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization,” said Steinberg, who is Jewish. “I’m glad we can sit here proudly today standing with Israel.”
A 2014 study by the Miami Jewish Federation estimated more than 100,000 Jewish people lived in Miami-Dade, making it one of the 12 largest Jewish communities in the United States.
The Miami-Dade resolution does not mention Palestinians, who live in the Gaza Strip under Hamas control.
In his remarks, Elbaz-Starinsky mentioned Gov. Ron DeSantis in praising Florida’s response after the Hamas attack. The DeSantis administration chartered a plane to fly Florida residents home from Israel at a time of strained travel logistics after commercial carriers canceled flights. The U.S. State Department is also managing charter flights taking Americans home from Israel.
Elbaz-Starinsky said he was back from Tampa, where the state and nonprofits sent a planeload of relief supplies to Israel.
He also praised the federal effort to assist Israel.
On Tuesday evening, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade’s first Jewish mayor, announced she was expanding the county’s small share of Israeli bonds. With the announcement, Levine Cava said Miami-Dade’s holdings of Israeli bonds would increase $25 million, totaling $76 million. Miami-Dade holds about $2.3 billion in investments in its overall portfolio, according to the most recent financial statement.
As a consulate, Elbaz-Starinksy’s office in Miami assists Israeli citizens in the area. He said a top request for his staff at the moment comes from Israeli citizens eager to return home for relief work or to enlist with the Israeli Defense Forces.
“We do get an overwhelming number of calls and requests to go to Israel, to support the communities and to enlist in the IDF,” Elbaz-Starinksy said. “Hundreds of people have gone from Florida alone, reservists, to join the IDF in these dire times.”
This story was originally published October 17, 2023 at 5:22 PM.