Will Supreme Court Verdict NRA v. Vullo be applied to Florida's pro-Israel Harassment Policy?

In a unanimous US Supreme Court ruling, May 30, 2024, the Court held that government harassment programs based on an individual’s beliefs or positions are unconstitutional. This decision was based on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s harassment of the National Rifle Association in New York. Florida has a similar program in place against any business that refuses to do business with Israel. Should it be applied to Florida? I think so.

ACLU: Supreme Court Unanimously Rules in Favor of NRA in Free Speech Case, Upholds First Amendment Rights of All Advocacy Groups, May 30, 2024.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that the National Rifle Association’s allegations that New York state officials coerced private companies to blacklist the group because of its political views stated a claim under the First Amendment, reversing a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The American Civil Liberties Union represented the NRA before the court in NRA v. Vullo, arguing that any government attempt to blacklist an advocacy group because of its viewpoint violates the First Amendment.

David Cole, the ACLU’s national legal director, who argued the case for the NRA, said: “Today’s decision confirms that government officials have no business using their regulatory authority to blacklist disfavored political groups. The New York state officials involved here, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his chief financial regulator, Maria Vullo, were clear that they sought to punish the NRA because they disagreed with its gun rights advocacy. The Supreme Court has now made crystal clear that this action is unconstitutional.”

As Justice Sotomayer’s opinion noted, “At the heart of the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause is the recognition that viewpoint discrimination is uniquely harmful to a free and democratic society. … The takeaway is that the First Amendment prohibits government officials from wielding their power selectively to punish or suppress speech.

Israel/Rothschilds suckups Ron DeSantis and Ashley Moody have engaged in a similar program in Florida against businesses that refuse to do business with Israel.

Ron DeSantis began his first term as Governor of Florida on January 8, 2019. DeSantis immediately attacked companies that were opposed to Israel’s settlement program on the West Bank.

January 15, 2019.

Times of Israel: Florida governor goes after Airbnb for delisting West Bank settlement homes, January 16, 2019.

BOCA RATON, Florida (AP) — Saying he would “make them feel the heat,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday called for sanctions against Airbnb unless it reverses its decision barring lodging listings in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The Republican governor, who repeatedly touted his views on Israel while on the campaign trail last year, criticized the online lodging marketplace for a policy he said unfairly targets Jewish people.

“We have a moral obligation to oppose the Airbnb policy; it does target Jews specifically,” said DeSantis.

Airbnb announced in November that it would delist 200 properties and cease its operations in Israeli settlements “that are at the core of the dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians.”

March 2019. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu message posted a message on Instagram in March 2019 which stated in very clear terms that Israel was an Apartheid state. This apparently does not bother DeSantis or Moody in the least.

Amnesty International: ISRAEL’S APARTHEID AGAINST PALESTINIANS, February 1, 2022.

Netanyahu: Israel is not a state of all its citizens. According to the nation-state law we passed, Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people — and not anyone else.

April 27, 2019. Ron DeSantis chose Israel as the location for his first cabinet meeting as Governor of Florida.

Hareetz: DeSantis and Netanyahu: Shameless, Dangerous Anti-democratic Brothers-in-arms, April 2023

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is doing acrobatics to outflank Trump as the most uncritically ‘pro-Israel’ GOP candidate. His brutal, repressive vision for America is a perfect partner for Netanyahu’s vision for Israel and the Palestinians.

He chose Israel as the setting of his very first cabinet meeting in April 2019. DeSantis proclaimed with pride during his gubernatorial campaign that he would be the “most pro-Israel governor in America.”

In the Spring of 2019, Hamas and Isreal coordinated fire around the visit of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody to Israel for a US Israeli “Business Summit.” This provides further evidence that Hamas and Israel coordinated the October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel where Israel refused to defend its border. Reference is mine, as below.

This Florida government meeting in Israel was in violation of Florida’s Sunshine Law governing public meetings. Clearly there is a conflict of interest with Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to prosecute the misdemeanor in which she participated. To remedy this criminal conflict of interest at the highest level in Florida’s government, the House of Representatives of Florida should Impeach DeSantis and Moody.

Conduct which occurs outside the state which would constitute a knowing violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

In May 2019, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody met with former Israeli Supreme Court President Miram Naor, apparently her idol.

Twitter, Ashley Moody: “So honored to talk about the rule of law with former Israeli Supreme Court President Miriam Naor, who rose from the youngest judge in Israel at 32 to lead the highest court in her country.”

You would think that somewhere in all these Federal law books, she could find a way to do her job she swore an Oath to do and prosecute medical professionals and healthcare managers who committed homicide, but apparently she’s on Israel’s payroll and Israel doesn’t want her to do that.

Ashley Moody refused to investigate the homicide of Dayna Rae’s mother in a Florida hospital, telling her that it was not her job. Seeing how Moody has sold her soul to Israel, and has demonstrated her willingness to turn a blind eye to the mass murder program in American hospitals, I’m sure she thinks that she is on the short list to receive a Supreme Court nomination from a Republican President one day.

Here she is below with Lior Haiat, Deputy Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs- Head of the North America Division.

August 2, 2019.

Twitter, Ashley Moody: “Congratulations to my friend, @LiorHaiat, for his appointment to serve as the new spokesperson for the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Lior cares deeply for Florida, and I value his service and love of his country. The @IsraelMFA is lucky to have him!”

After the Israel/Florida Business Summit in Israel, DeSantis and Moody began harassing businesses in Florida that refused to do business with Israel using the State of Florida’s goverment powers.

July 21, 2021.

The text of the link in Moody’s tweet to a letter by Ron DeSantis is below:

Florida Government: Governor Ron DeSantis Calls on State Board of Administration to Place Ben & Jerry’s on the Continued Examination Companies that Boycott Israel List, July 22, 2021:

Dear Mr. Williams, 

As you know, Florida has long had a strong relationship with the State of Israel. As a matter of law and principle, the State of Florida does not tolerate discrimination against the State of Israel or the Israeli people, including boycotts and divestments targeting Israel. 

It has come to my attention that Ben & Jerry’s has announced plans to remove its products and prohibit the sale of its ice cream in Judea and Samaria. These actions taken by Ben & Jerry’s fall squarely within the prohibited activities defined by Section 215.4725(1)(a), Florida Statutes. Ben & Jerry’s is a wholly owned subsidiary of Unilever, a publicly traded company in which Florida holds multiple investments. 

Therefore, I am requesting the State Board of Administration (SBA) immediately place Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever on the Continued Examination Companies that Boycott Israel List, and initiate the process to place Ben & Jerry’s, and by extension Unilever, on the Scrutinized Companies that Boycott Israel List. Please provide an update on the status of this process to me and the other Trustees as soon as possible. 

Should the State Board of Administration affirmatively place Unilever and its corporate entities on the Scrutinized Companies List and these companies do not cease the boycott of Israel as required by Florida law, the Board must refrain from acquiring any and all Unilever assets consistent with the law. 

These actions affirm the State of Florida’s relationship with the State of Israel and our commitment to a swift response to those who discriminate against the Israeli people.

Sincerely,

Ron DeSantis
Governor

November 23, 2021. Ashley Moody continues to harass Ben & Jerry’s. Text to link is below the tweet.

My Florida Legal: AG MOODY CALLS ON UNILEVER AND BEN & JERRY'S TO DROP BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL November 23, 2021

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is calling on Unilever to end a boycott against a close ally of the United States. Attorney General Moody and 11 other state attorneys general sent a letter to Unilever and its subsidiary, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., urging the companies to reverse their decision to boycott the State of Israel.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “It is incredibly disturbing that these companies are boycotting our long-standing ally Israel. I, along with my fellow attorneys general, strongly urge Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s to end this ill-advised, ridiculous boycott now.”

According to the letter, Ben & Jerry’s announced in July that it is “inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” and subsequently informed a licensee in the region that it would not renew its license agreement, set to expire in 2022.

March 28, 2024. Florida AG Ashley Moody, who previously refused to use her legal authority to prosecute those who have committed homicides in Florida hospitals, instead uses her legal powers to harass companies that refuse to do business with Israel.

Florida Voice: Ashley Moody leads investigation into finance firm’s alleged ties to anti-Isreal BDS movement, March 28, 2024.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, along with multiple state attorneys generals, announced Thursday a probe into MSCI, Inc., a large investment company, over its alleged ties to the boycott, divestment and sanctions, or BDS, movement against Israel.

In a letter addressed to MSCI Chairman and CEO Henry A. Fernandez, Moody and other attorneys general stated, “As evidenced by our efforts against Morningstar, we oppose the BDS movement in all forms, especially given the recent rise in antisemitism across the United States.”

Launching investigations against BDS, Moody first pinned a letter along with 16 other state attorneys general to Morningstar, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Sustainalytics in August 2022.

At the time, the company was was accused of “furthering the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel.” Morningstar, after the investigation, changed its business practices.

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