Tallahassee, FL - Airbnb has been removed from the state’s list of “scrutinized” companies.
The change was announced Thursday, days after Gov. Ron DeSantis, while traveling in Israel, said Florida should lift economic sanctions on the home-sharing platform.
DeSantis made the comments after Airbnb reversed course on a move to delist about 200 West Bank properties. Florida’s scrutinized-companies list, in part, prohibits state investment in firms that boycott Israel.
John Kuczwanski, manager of external affairs for the State Board of Administration, told Cabinet aides Thursday that Airbnb has been removed from the list.
Early this year, DeSantis attacked the company’s policy to eliminate listings in the West Bank, an area that is a major flashpoint in Israeli-Palestinian relations.
DeSantis called the move “dumb” and “discriminatory.” The company changed its policy in April. “I welcome that,” the governor told reporters on Monday after a news conference in Israel.
“I don’t know what we have to do procedurally --- if we take another vote or if we can do it unilaterally --- but they shouldn’t be penalized for doing the right thing.”
