First state-coordinated flight from Israel – CREDIT: WINK News
Posted on 10/16/2023 7:08:58 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Within two days of announcing Florida would arrange transportation for Americans stranded in Israel and bring them to Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis welcomed home nearly 300 Sunday night.
We’re happy to be able to deliver and ready to welcome them back to the United States of America.”
Florida partnered with Project Dynamo to bring nearly 300 Americans home from Israel, including more than 270 to Tampa and seven to Orlando on Sunday.
“I am proud of how quickly we have been able to activate resources and do what the federal government could not – get Floridians and other Americans back home, reunited with their families, free of charge,” DeSantis said.
The support we are receiving from Governor DeSantis, the First Lady, FDEM Executive Director Kevin Guthrie, Florida Commerce Secretary Alex Kelly, FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass and his entire administration and the state is overwhelming. We are very grateful for the special flights and supplies.”
[Snip]
There are roughly 20,000 Americans, including many Floridians, who are stranded in Israel, according to some reports.
The U.S. State Department encouraged stranded Americans to book commercial flights while also recognizing that these flights were being canceled "due to mortar and rocket fire that may take place without warning."
It also encouraged Americans to arrange and pay for their own lodging. Any transportation out of Israel the federal government might be able to provide requires Americans to sign a promissory note prior to departure, according to a partial State Department emails posted on social media.
By contrast, the Florida government is providing free transportation to stranded Americans wanting to come home.
[Snip]
First state-coordinated flight from Israel – CREDIT: WINK News
(Excerpt) Read more at thecentersquare.com ...
“Your thoughtful comment is appreciated.”
You’re welcome, and I only wish Governor Abbott and other Red State governors would do the same. The cost is next to nothing and the political benefit to the governor and of course the recipients cannot be measured...and it the same time, it’s a very cheap and effective way to get a dig in at this Administration (unfairly, but I don’t care).
Without free rides from governors, people who want out are forced to sign open-ended Promissory Notes from the US Government to get out. The last I heard, they wound up getting charged $3k each to get out of Central America when the virus hit in 2020. God only knows what they’d charge to get out of Israel. This is a sick feature of our government and it’s not only Biden, but goes back to Trump (i.e., 2020) and prior.
Again, the cost to the government - either US or state-level, is PEANUTS, compared to other spending. For example, two days in the hospital for a fat moma on Medicaid probably cost more than the 300 rescued Floridians.
New York, governed by Hochul, doesn’t have the budget or the intestinal fortitude to bring home their residents from the war zone in Israel.
This was a good thing that DeSantis did.
I think we should view this action based on its own merits, and not view it through the lens of the presidential primary race.
Very astute comment. Thanks.
Biden can’t even get in a plane much less send one
“This thread is about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis bringing home Florida citizens from the war zone in Israel.”
And my post was about the Governor of Florida who did it. I don’t consider it breaking the thread.
You know it!
Your thoughtful comment is appreciated.
Florida-based nonprofit evacuates Americans from Israel, asks ‘where is’ State Dept
Published October 11, 2023 8:01am EDT
Americans in the hundreds have turned to Project DYNAMO to find a way out of Israel as airlines pause services and avenues out of the country continue to disappear.
“My team of case managers, who are based in America, they’ve been awake for three days just fielding hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of requests from Americans who are stuck,”
Stern mentioned on several occasions that he received requests from Americans in Gaza but stressed the limits of his resources. He said that the group has access to around a dozen planes, with the smallest able to hold 150 passengers, and the group heavily relies on donations to operate.
So having said all of that, funding drives everything,” he added. “As a veteran-led, donor-funded nonprofit … these boats don’t pay for themselves. Flights don’t pay for themselves,” acknowledging he has seen small increase in donations but “not enough.”
“A plane out of here is going to cost $300,000 to $400,000, and we’re not making anything close to that,” he stressed. “So we’re going have to change our calculus a little bit.”
This group was already in israel, trying to get people out. Money just helped.
That’s right, getting Americans home right now is a great thing regardless of who does it, we can fight over politics at a later time
We don’t need to imagine anything. He has been a “working governor” for years now and has changed the landscape here and elsewhere in the States with his leadership and getting it done attitude. Your negativity says alot more about you than about him.
And I am voting for Trump so the usual genuflect of that line of BS doesn’t work.
“The problem with you is that you are a political gimp. You love betrayal and you love it hard. FOAD”
Didn’t expect to see and hear such pathetic, crude lib BS here of all places.
Yep and the local Miami media hates him so much they barely mention the effort.
What a terrible thing to say about the best governor in America. He took a purple state and made it blood red. No other state has transformed so quickly. He’s the best. Yes still voting for trump, but the DeSantis bashing is grotesque.
Governor DeSantis partnered with a well established org. with available assets. No need to reinvent the wheel. Smart move to quickly begin evacuating Florida residents from the Israel war zone, as Gov. DeSantis pledged.
Good move for Ron. I still wouldn't vote for him.
Thanks for your local SE FL report. When the liberal news sources in Broward and Miami-Dade are quashing a story, you know DeSantis did the right thing for Florida citizens.
Good move by DeSantis. Any political points he gets are a side bonus, although I do believe this was genuine on his part. It’s sick that the regime holds the threat of “promissory notes” over the heads of Americans trying to leave a war zone. Maybe it’s “always” been that way but if so it should change, esp since they seem to have endless supplies of our tax money to throw at the criminal invaders that keep pouring in.
Your thoughtful comments are appreciated.
270 people were on the charter flight, traveling from Tel Aviv to Portugal to Tampa.
75% Floridians
91 children
4 dogs
https://winknews.com/2023/10/15/floridian-return-home-israel-ron-desantis/
So 7 people landed at orlando, but I can’t find details anywhere on why only 7 people.
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