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DeSantis may support Israel with a state ban on using Airbnb for official travel
The Florida governor-elect cited Airbnb's decision to stop operating in the West Bank and laws that prohibit the state from doing business with companies that boycott or sanction Israel
Florida Governor-elect Ron DeSantis may push for a ban on state employees using Airbnb while traveling on official business because the home-sharing network has stopped operating in the West Bank region of Israel.
Florida Governor-elect Ron DeSantis
Airbnb last week announced that it delisted short-term rental properties in the West Bank because it is a that Israelis and Palestinians have claimed, a move that Palestinians praised and Israelis protested.
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan said the Israeli government planned to “approach the U.S. government because 25 U.S. states have sanctions against American companies that boycott Israel.”
DeSantis said Florida law prohibits the state government from doing business with companies that boycott or sanction Israel, so the state may prohibit its employees from renting Airbnb properties for official travel.
“We are reviewing that now,” DeSantis said Monday at a press conference. “I know that state workers can use Airbnb for official travel. That is not going to be acceptable with me as governor.”
In a statement delivered to WFTV-Channel 9 in Orlando, Airbnb said it still lists thousands of short-term rental properties in parts of Israel outside the West Bank. [WFTV] – Mike Seemuth