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https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/06/15/ron-desantis-signs-bill-mandating-moment-of-silence-in-schools/

BAL HARBOUR — Nearly 300 people gathered at the Shul of Bal Harbour, a sprawling Orthodox synagogue, to greet Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as he signed into law two bills of particular importance to the South Florida Jewish community — one authorizing a local emergency medical service and another mandating a “moment of silence” in schools.

The governor also took the opportunity to make it clear how strongly he supports Israel. He promised shortly after taking office to become the most “pro-Israel governor in America.”

One of the bills will grant privileges to Hatzalah of South Florida, a Jewish-led emergency medical services volunteer network that is part of a larger EMT organization with branches across the nation and in Israel. In Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Hatzalah has 70 volunteers, including paramedics and first responders, who work to answer 30 to 150 emergency calls each week including for tourists and non-Jews in the neighborhood, Zalman Cohen, its operations manager, said in an interview.

The new law, HB 805, authorizes the use of sirens and red lights on privately owned vehicles of volunteer staff in groups like Hatzalah, allowing for faster response time and transportation of patients to hospitals, according to the bill’s proponents. The bill prohibits the use of sirens and lights when not responding to an emergency.

“What started as a dream 13 years ago has given birth to today’s reality,” said Baruch Sandhaus, the executive director of Hatzalah of South Florida. “Today marks the day that Hatzalah can become a full-fledged volunteer agency in the great state of Florida.”

Hatzalah, meaning “rescue” in Hebrew and founded by a Brooklyn rabbi in 1965 as a volunteer service for the city’s Orthodox neighborhoods, on Monday became the first private and faith-based EMT response group in Florida.