Evacuates 1,500 Jewish Americans.
Florida has the third-highest Jewish population, behind New York and California, according to reports – with an estimated 650,000, particularly in Miami Beach, Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale.
As violence escalates in Israel during its conflict with Iran, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is dispatching four planes to evacuate 1,500 stranded Americans.
Mano Maritime cruise ship Crown Iris picked up the evacuees in Ashdod, Israel, and took them on a 13-hour steam trip to Lanarca, Cyprus. Most passengers were from a program called Birthright Israel, which provides educational trips to the Holy Land for young Americans of Jewish descent or creed.
Israeli airspace has been closed since the bombings from Iran began.
After the ship arrived in Lanarca under the protection of the Israeli navy, according to the Times of Israel, Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark said it was a "complex and emotional operation, carried out under immense pressure, and we are proud to have brought 1,500 young adults safely to Cyprus."
From Cyprus, DeSantis and the Florida Department of Emergency Management volunteered four wide-body planes to take the Jewish Americans home.
In 2023, DeSantis also dispatched planes to Israel to evacuate Americans after Hamas massacred Jews on Oct. 7 of that year.
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