Florida Governor Acts In Response To Airbnb Israel West Bank Boycott

As previously reported, last November Airbnb under pressure from Palestinian officials, anti-settlement advocates and human rights groups announced that it is removing listings for rentals in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Now, in a Jan. 15, 2019 letter (full text), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has responded to the Airbnb action by ordering the state Department of Management Services to cease reimbursements to state employees for their stays arranged through Airbnb while on official state business. Also all state contracts must now bar such reimbursements to contractors. A January 15 press release by the Governor, calling the "Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions" movement "nothing more than a cloak for anti-Semitism," announced, several initiatives, including $2 million in funding for security for Jewish day schools, that he said makes Florida the "most Israel-friendly state in the country."