Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Goes After Airbnb Over West Bank Decision
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BOCA RATON (CBSMiami/AP) — Florida's new governor has been keeping himself extremely busy since being inaugurated earlier this month.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing for sanctions against Airbnb unless it reverses its decision barring lodging listings in the disputed West Bank in the Middle East.
The Republican governor on Tuesday criticized the online lodging marketplace for a policy he said unfairly targets Jewish people.
DeSantis is suspending the use of Airbnb for any state-paid travel. DeSantis also said the state was looking into whether to bar the state's pension fund from investing in Airbnb even though right now the company is not publicly traded.
Airbnb announced in November that it would cease its operations in Israeli settlements "that are at the core of the dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians."
In a response to DeSantis' announcement, company spokesman Ben Breit underscored all of the other business Airbnb does in Israel.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)