DeSantis Calls Out Karla Hernandez-Mats for Stance on Moving Embassy of Israel to Jerusalem

Published Sep. 21, 2022, 10:36 a.m. ET | Updated Sep. 23, 2022

Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Jewish Leadership Conference.
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Jewish Leadership Conference.

BOCA RATON (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis called out Democrat candidate for governor Charlie Crist’s running mate Karla Hernandez-Mats at an Education Freedom Event for her reported stance on moving the U.S. embassy from Israel to Jerusalem.

“There’s this Lieutenant Governor nominee who’s a teachers union boss, she was sympathetic when Castro died, she wanted to lock the kids out of school, she had this one guy that was in her inner circle that was sexually abusing these students – and people knew this was going on, come on,” he said.

“She also opposed moving the embassy to Jerusalem. How do you oppose moving the embassy to Jerusalem and [run] for the Lieutenant Governor in the state of Florida?”

Hernandez-Mats is the president of the United Teachers of Dade, which is the largest teachers union in the southeastern United States. Hernandez-Mats was also a special needs teacher at Hialeah Middle School for 10 years.

Hernandez-Mats reportedly promoted a tweet criticizing the relocation of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 2018 that said, “All these folks saying that moving the Embassy is biblical. I’m pretty familiar with the Bible. Can’t say i recall any mention of the US, an embassy, or moving of said Embassy.”

“Karla Hernandez’s out-of-touch views once again prove she is a radical liberal and this retweet shows she does not deserve to govern the third largest Jewish population in America,” said Republican State Leadership Committee National Press Secretary Stephanie Rivera.

Hernandez-Mats did not want students to return to school in the fall of 2020 and supported mask mandates in 2021.

DeSantis previously criticized Hernandez-Mats for a 2016 Tweet that said “many in Cuba mourn” after communist dictator Fidel Castro died.

“A political figure dies at 90. Most in Miami rejoice, many in Cuba mourn #FidelCastro,” she said on Nov. 26, 2016.

“When you’re putting out tweets saying about Castro’s death, he’s just a political leader that people in Cuba are mourning, that’s a disgrace,” DeSantis said. “That’s an insult to the people in this community.”

She deleted the tweet on Sep. 5 earlier in the day, more than a week after initial reports. Just hours later, Crist’s running mate compared DeSantis to Castro in a tweet that afternoon: “Like Castro, Ron is moving our state closer to authoritarian rule. Charlie and I will stop this wannabe dictator.”

The day after – Sep. 6 – Hernandez-Mats doubled down on the now-deleted tweet, arguing she was referring to Cubans being “forced to mourn the death of a tyrant.” Her original remarks did not say Cubans were “forced” to mourn Castro.

“I proudly celebrated Fidel’s death, banging on pots and pans in the streets of Hialeah with my neighbors,” she said.

Hernandez-Mats and the teachers union she led have a history with a now-convicted child abuser who became part of the inner circle of the union amid misconduct allegations.

Middle School teacher Wendell Nibbs pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a child in familial or custodial custody. The Miami-Dade School Board reached a $9 million settlement with five former students who said they were sexually assaulted by Nibbs. Nine female students accused Nibbs of sexual assault and sexual misconduct in his career of 15 years.

Before the 2017 arrest, several female students made sexual harassment and sexual misconduct claims against Nibbs that were deemed “unsubstantiated.” These claims would pop over the years as Nibbs became part of the United Teachers of Dade’s (UTD) inner circle while Hernandez-Mats served in office.

The Miami Herald reported extensively on the timeline of the allegations in 2019. The Herald reported that the United Teachers of Dade “knew Nibbs was frequently in trouble.” In fact, a UTD representative was with Nibbs throughout investigations where Nibbs faced five allegations that were sexual in nature.

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