(JTA) - Even though he hasn't officially declared his Republican presidential campaign (yet), Ron DeSantis has been pitching his governance of Florida as a model for running the United States - telling Fox News last week, for example, that "we can get America back on track and back on our foundations" by following Florida's example.

This week, he repeated the pitch with a twist: His close relations with Israel are a template for the U.S.-Israel relationship, he said - and he's ready to make that case next month in Jerusalem.

"At a time of unnecessarily strained relations between Jerusalem and...