Tallahassee, FL - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' first international excursion on behalf of the state will begin May 25 as he makes a previously announced trip to Israel after the legislative session.
“I think it’s a really unprecedented effort to strengthen the ties between Florida and Israel,” DeSantis said while at Temple Kol Ami Emanu-El in Plantation.
The week-long trip is being organized by the state’s business-recruitment arm, Enterprise Florida, and will include an entourage of about 75 to 80 people from business, academic and emergency-management fields, DeSantis said.
I am pleased to formally announce my business development mission to Israel. We will be leading a delegation of diverse and accomplished business, academic and political leaders to strengthen the bond between Florida and Israel. More details here – https://t.co/8KcUo7pFZV pic.twitter.com/s0oszT6tCw
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 9, 2019
DeSantis will also be the keynote speaker at the 2019 Israel-American Business Summit, which is being held that week by the Federations of Israeli Chambers of Commerce and the U.S. Embassy, he said.
DeSantis said the two countries have “shared values” in addition to economic ties and military relationships.
“You have a tiny little country in a troubled part of the world standing for freedom, for democratic principles, for entrepreneurship, for innovation,” DeSantis said. “And really, the foundation of our civilization here in the United States, and really the entire West can be traced back to that plot of land.”
He and the Florida Cabinet - Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, Attorney General Ashley Moody and state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis - will also meet in Israel as part of his first international excursion on behalf of the state.
DeSantis also has made other efforts to support Israel.
In January, DeSantis led the state Cabinet in taking a first step toward imposing economic sanctions against the home-sharing platform Airbnb because of a company decision against listing properties in the West Bank, an area that is a major flashpoint in Israeli-Palestinian relations.
Airbnb announced on Tuesday it would not remove listings in the West Bank due in part to settlement terms had been reached involving lawsuits brought by hosts and potential hosts and guests who objected to the delisting policy for disputed areas.
“We understand the complexity of the issue that was addressed in our previous policy announcement, and we will continue to allow listings throughout all of the West Bank, but Airbnb will take no profits from this activity in the region,” the company said in a statement.
