From Fortune:

Summary 1:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directed the state’s universities to make it easier for out-of-state students facing harassment in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war to transfer to Florida campuses. He stated he made this move because of the increase in religious harassment following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Summary 2:
Gov. DeSantis’ order referred to all students facing religious harassment and specifically stated that the directive was aimed at students fearful of religious persecution following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, providing worry about worsening discrimination. However, the exact number of student inquiries about transferring was not provided.

Summary 3:
Democratic state Sen. Lori Berman criticized the decision, stating that the move seems more politically aimed at voters than solving the issue at hand. She stressed that the problem of antisemitism will not be mitigated by Florida schools and DeSantis fails to recognize other forms of religious discrimination on campuses.

Summary 4:
College students across the U.S. have been protesting in response to the Israel-Hamas war. University presidents have faced backlash over their handling of antisemitism and anti-Muslim acts. Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania presidents resigned because they were unable to say definitively if calls for the genocide of Jews would violate conduct policies.

Summary 5:
In response to the increasing incidents of harassment, the chancellor of the Florida university system signed an emergency order to waive certain requirements, application deadlines and out-of-state tuition for non-Florida residents who face religious persecution. In Florida, there is the third-highest Jewish population in the U.S.

Summary 6:
So far, DeSantis’ recent actions come in the wake of many political moves likening to his early decision to help organize flights that brought dozens of U.S. citizens in Israel back into Florida at the beginning of the conflict’s initial conflict. Additionally, the emergency order signed by the Florida university system appears to target religious discrimination against Jewish students, so it could potentially have a negative effect on non-Jewish students.



Read more: Ron DeSantis orders Florida universities to ease admissions for victims of religious harassment