President Joe Biden condemns the rise in antisemitism Tuesday, and Gov. Ron DeSantis announced additional tax breaks for Floridians

Biden condemns 'ferocious' rise in antisemitism, says people are 'already forgetting' Hamas' Oct. 7 attack

Speaking at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Days of Remembrance ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, President Joe Biden denounced a "ferocious" rise in antisemitism around the nation, issuing a stark warning that the world is at risk of forgetting the truth about the Holocaust and Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7. 

“This ancient hatred of Jews didn’t begin with the Holocaust — it didn’t end with the Holocaust either, or even after our victory in World War II,” Biden said. “This hatred continues to lie deep in the hearts of too many people in the world and requires our continued vigilance and outspokenness.” 

Every president dating back to the museum's opening in 1993 has delivered a keynote at a Days of Remembrance ceremony. But this year’s event took on new meaning as it came just seven months after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and marked the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. 

“That hatred was brought to life on Oct. 7 of 2023,” Biden said on Tuesday. “On the sacred Jewish holiday of (Simchat Torah), the terrorist group Hamas unleashed the deadliest day of the Jewish people since the Holocaust — driven by ancient desire to wipe out the Jewish people off the face of the earth.” 

The president went on to describe how people were “slaughtered,” “massacred at a music festival,” and “brutally raped, mutilated, sexually assaulted” by Hamas that day — invoking language he used to describe Hamas’ actions often in the wake of the attack that has not been used as frequently since.  

Biden then warned that the world appears to “already” be forgetting what sparked the war in Gaza seven months ago. 

“Now, here we are, not 75 years later, but just seven-and-a-half months later, and people are already forgetting, are already forgetting that Hamas unleashed this terror," Biden said. "It was Hamas that brutalized Israelis, it was Hamas who took and continues to hold hostages."

“I have not forgotten, nor have you, and we will not forget,” the president said. 

On Tuesday morning, the Biden administration announced new steps to build on the first National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, released one year ago. The new actions include a letter sent to school districts and colleges outlining antisemitic discrimination that could lead to investigations and the creation by the Department of Homeland Security of an online campus safety resources guide for schools. 

Biden has faced pressure internationally and from some at home over his continued support of Israel as the Palestinian death toll has risen and the humanitarian crisis worsened amid Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza.

In the wake of the killing of seven aid workers for World Central Kitchen by an Israeli strike in Gaza, last month Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that U.S. policy toward the war could change if Israel does not take actions to better address the humanitarian situation and protect civilians, according to the White House. 

This week, Israel appeared to take initial steps to start a long-promised ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million civilians are sheltering – a move the Biden administration opposes without a plan to protect civilians. 

Nonetheless, Biden has been steadfast in vocalizing his commitment to Israel’s security — a point he reiterated on Tuesday

“My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad, even when we disagree,” Biden said. 

The speech comes amid a rise of antisemitism nationwide in the wake of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. A recent report from the Anti-Defamation League showed that incidents of antisemitism reached an all-time high in 2023, with a spike coming in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. 

Protests over Israel and Biden’s approach to the war in Gaza have engulfed college campuses in recent weeks, resulting in more than 2,300 arrests and leaving some Jewish students to say they feel unsafe on campus. 

“On college campuses, Jewish students, blocked, attacked, harassed while walking to class,” Biden said on Tuesday. 

“Too many people denying, downplaying, rationalizing, ignoring the horrors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7, including Hamas’ appalling use of sexual violence to torture and terrorize Jews — its absolutely despicable and it must stop,” he continued. 

After facing questions about whether he would address the demonstrations on campuses for days — particularly after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., visited Columbia University to condemn the protests and call on Biden to visit himself — the president delivered brief remarks from the White House on Thursday of last week in which he noted Americans have the right to protest peacefully, but emphasized there is no place for hate in America. 

“Whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans, it’s simply wrong,” Biden said last week. “There’s no place for racism in America. It’s all wrong, it’s un-American.”

Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., also spoke at Tuesday’s event at the Capitol.  

The remarks came one day after Yom HaShoah — the Hebrew phrase for Holocaust Remembrance Day — which commemorates the 6 million Jews murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust. 

Biden marked Yom HaShoah in a call with Netanyahu on Monday in which the leaders jointly pledged to “remember the 6 million Jews who were systematically targeted and murdered in the Holocaust” and “forcefully act against antisemitism and all forms of hate-fueled violence,” according to a readout from the White House.

DeSantis signs bill providing $1.07 billion in tax relief for Floridians

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 7073 Tuesday, providing $1.07 billion in tax relief for Floridians.

According to the governor’s office, that number does not include the $450 million in toll relief DeSantis signed last month — which brings the total of tax savings to $1.5 billion for Fiscal Year 2024-25.

This year’s tax cut package, officials said, is a continuation of Florida’s annual tax holidays, which include:

• Two Disaster Preparedness Holidays;

  • June 1-14 and Aug. 24 through Sept. 6, families can prepare for hurricane season with items like tarps, batteries, and flashlights, sales tax free.

• The Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday;

  • July 29 through Aug. 11, families can save on pens, pencils, computers, clothing, and other school supplies.

• The Tool Time Sales Tax Holiday;

  • Sept. 1-7, Floridians can save on power tools, hand tools, toolboxes, and other items.

• The Freedom Month Sales Tax Holiday;

  • July 1-31, Florida families can purchase summer items like pool floats, fishing supplies, and outdoor equipment, in addition to admissions to museums and state parks, sales tax free.

Other tax package savings include:

• A one-year exemption for homeowners on taxes on residential property and flood insurance premiums.

• A sales tax credit for businesses that employ persons with disabilities.

• Increases the cap for the Strong Families Tax Credit Program from $20 million to $40 million (which supports organizations focused on child welfare).

For more info on the sales tax holidays, visit the Florida Department of Revenue's Sales Tax Holidays website. 

DEA proposes reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III controlled substance

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has proposed reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule III — which would recognize medical uses of cannabis — saying it has less potential for abuse than some other drugs.

The move would not outright legalize marijuana for recreational use.

In Florida, recreational marijuana is on the ballot in November and advocates are hopeful it could pass.

Kelly Parrott is an advocate for Suncoast NORML — an organization that pushes for the legalization of marijuana — and says the reclassification is a step in the right direction.

“Cannabis should have never been a Schedule I," Parrott said. "It’s not on the same level as heroin or fentanyl."

Florida Gof. Ron DeSantis has said he is against legalizing marijuana for recreational use because it could lead to reducing the quality of life in the state.

“I don’t want this state to be reeking of marijuana," he said. "We’re doing fine — we don’t need to do that."

Some of those who oppose reclassification say marijuana remains a gateway drug that could lead to the use of other drugs.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has argued that the amendment did not change the fact federal law still outlaws recreational marijuana use.