Members of the Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus vocalized opposition to the newly appointed University of West Florida Board of Trustees chair, citing what they consider his antisemitic social media posts as a disqualifying factor.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Scott Yenor to the UWF Board of Trustees in January and then his fellow trustees elected him as their chair.
The bipartisan caucus is asking DeSantis to reconsider Yenor as a trustee, in part because of a recent thread of social media posts in which he commented on politicians’ sexual orientation, race, and “non-Jewish” status.
Watching @PeteHegseth‘s hearings yesterday I looked at the Dem Bench for national leadership or for reforming the party. Pretty slim pickin’s. 🧵🧵
Rep. Mike Gottlieb, chair of the caucus, told the Phoenix, “I mean, this is not the kind of guy that we need running an institution of higher learning and education here. He’s completely racist.”
In the thread, Yenor breaks down “the Dem Bench for national leadership or for reforming the party” by mentioning how many are heterosexual, lesbian, which states have two senators who are women, how many are “non-Jewish males over 65,” how many are Jewish, and concludes by writing that “only three of the 23 Democrat governors are straight white men under sixty-five.”
“Why are they non-Jews as opposed to being Christian?” Gottlieb said. “People are people, there is no need to label anybody.”
Mike Gottlieb via Florida House.
Yenor, a political science professor at Boise State University who has served as a fellow at conservative think tanks, has faced scrutiny for remarks advocating women stay out of higher education and against the LGBTQ community.
“There’s more to it than just what appears to be the anti-Jewish bias,” Gottlieb said. “… How does that make us any less qualified to be elected based on our religion, and that’s essentially what he said, and to me, that is marginalizing individuals based on their race, ethnicity, or religion, and I think that’s the definition of antisemitism.”
‘I’m not familiar with that’
DeSantis defended the appointment in January, saying he was not familiar with Yenor’s belief that women should put motherhood first, the Phoenix reported.
“I’m not familiar with that. I mean, obviously, I think if you look at the state of Florida, we probably have a higher percentage of women enrolled in our state universities than we do men, and that’s probably grown under my tenure,” DeSantis said during the Jacksonville press conference in which he talked about the results of his education policy. “But what I don’t do, what I don’t like, is cherry-picking somebody saying this and then trying to smear them.”
Although Yenor is on the board, the appointment is yet to be approved by the Florida Senate.
Gottlieb said the caucus “felt like the governor should know more about this person.”
The bipartisan bunch of lawmakers, in addition to Gottlieb, includes Reps. Hillary Cassel and Yvette Benarroch as vice chairs, and Sens. Lori Berman, Randy Fine, and Tina Polsky, and Reps. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, Rita Harris, Chip LaMarca, Mitch Rosenwald, Michelle Salzman, David Silvers, Kelly Skidmore, Allison Tant, and Debra Tendrich.
Former Sen. Lauren Book and former Rep. David Silvers were included in the call to the governor.
Rep. Mike Caruso, who was the lone House vote against the special session immigration package DeSantis also disapproved of, is a member of the caucus but did not sign the letter.
Fine noted the impending confirmation vote Monday in an X post in which he declared he was “very troubled” by the appointment.
“He must still be confirmed by the Florida Senate and I will be sharing my concerns with my colleagues. There is no place for antisemitism in our Universities, let alone in their leadership,” Fine wrote.
‘Divisive and prejudiced remarks’
WUWF reported that some members of the UWF community and trustees expressed a desire for leadership with deeper ties to the community. The Pensacola News Journal reported that one of 13 trusteeships at UWF has direct ties to the Pensacola area.
Gottlieb said Yenor reached out to members of the caucus Monday.
“He’s contacted members of our caucus and tried to sort of explain his rationale for that and it didn’t fly with them,” Gottlieb said.
“Look, is he saying anything in that tweet explicitly negative to Jews? Not necessarily explicitly. But, by implication … I think when you call somebody out for being Jewish or not Jewish, that is antisemitic in and of itself.”
A news release from the caucus said that “allowing individuals with a track record of divisive and prejudiced remarks to hold positions of influence within our institutions … erodes public trust” and undermines the mission of Florida’s universities.
“From where I sit, we have a responsibility as legislators and certainly, as chair of the caucus, when I see something to say something, and this was brought to my attention by members of my caucus who felt that this was yet again another troubling appointment by Gov. DeSantis that doesn’t appear to be properly vetted,” Gottlieb said.
During the January news conference, DeSantis alluded to the idea that changes would be coming to UWF. His attention to its board of trustees mirrors his overhaul of New College of Florida two years ago.
Gottlieb said that, aside from the Jewish caucus concerns, Yenor is another “minion” for DeSantis.
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SUMMARY: O Cinema in Miami Beach faces eviction threats for screening the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” which depicts the demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank. The city owns the building where the theater operates, prompting Mayor Steve Miner to label the film as one-sided propaganda and seek to terminate O Cinema’s lease. Supporters argue that the First Amendment protects the right to share controversial ideas. Community leaders and artists are rallying behind O Cinema, emphasizing the importance of viewing the film to understand the Palestinian perspective. A critical city meeting is scheduled to decide the theater’s fate.
The documentary “No Other Land,” made by a Palestinian-Israeli team, shows a group of Palestinian villages’ interaction with the Israeli military in the West Bank.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Steve Wilson | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-18 13:39:00
(The Center Square) – According to federal data, Florida’s labor force swelled to more than 11.1 million with 113,600 new jobs in January.
The state’s formerly red-hot economy showed signs of slight cooling after its unemployment rate inched up to 3.5%. A year ago it was 3.2%.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revised its data for January and Florida’s labor force expanded by 162,000 compared to the previous estimate. According to this data, the Sunshine State’s labor force has either grown or remained constant in 10 of the previous 12 months.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate was 58.2% in January, a slight improvement from December when it was at 57.8%.
The rate was 58.5% in January 2024, down from a 10-year high in October 2019 when it was at 59.9%.
The seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate is defined as the percentage of those either working or seeking work.
The largest growth sectors statewide were education and health services, adding 7,200 jobs, followed by leisure and hospitality with 6,100 jobs.
As for the state’s metropolitan areas, Orlando’s workforce took top honors as it increased by 28,600 positions. The city’s unemployment rate was 3.6%, up 0.4 percentage points compared to January 2024.
Miami added 24,300 workers and the area’s unemployment rate was 2.4% in January, up from the same time last year when it was 1.9%.
Tampa was third with a job gain of 19,246 employees. Compared to January 2024, when the unemployment rate was 3.4%, the jobless measure increased to 3.8%.
Fort Lauderdale’s unemployment rate grew by 0.3 percentage points to 3.4% in January compared with the same time last year. The area had a job gain of 6,000, with 3,600 of those positions coming from the education and health services sector.
Jacksonville’s labor market gained 9,700 private sector jobs, but its January unemployment rate declined compared to January 2024 by 0.4 percentage points to 3.8%.
Pensacola had a job gain of 3,369 and had an unemployment rate of 4%, up from January 2024 when it was 3.5%.
Southwest Florida, which includes Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Naples, added 3,000 jobs and its unemployment rate increased to 4%, up from 3.4% the same time last year.
The West Palm Beach area added 4,331 jobs, but the unemployment rate in January was 3.7%, up from January 2024 when it was 3.6%.
Pensacola’s metro area gained 2,000 jobs and its jobless rate was 4% in January, up 0.5 percentage points from the same time last year.
SUMMARY: Florida Democrats are advocating for Medicaid expansion, aiming to provide health coverage for nearly 800,000 uninsured residents. They argue it could save the state millions by drawing down federal funds, with potential savings of nearly $2 billion. Despite this, Republicans oppose the expansion, viewing it as a temporary fix and prioritizing economic improvements like affordable housing. While some, including Senate President Ben Al Brittain, have shown openness, progress has stalled. A renewed effort aims to place Medicaid expansion on the 2026 ballot, requiring 900,000 valid signatures, though only 5,000 have been collected so far.
“Every American deserves to be healthy,” Florida Democrats said on Monday, once again urging the GOP-controlled legislature to expand Medicaid this session.
