Erdan asks U.S. governors to take action against Airbnb
“Such a policy has not been applied by the company to any other country or region involved in a national dispute or conflict.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUpdated: NOVEMBER 28, 2018 11:35Israeli Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan asked four states in the US to take action against Airbnb for its decision to remove West Bank settlement listings from its global website advertising vacation rental properties.In a letter to outgoing Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, he wrote, “Airbnb’s announced policy is especially disturbing when one understands that it is a policy directed only toward Israel.“Such a policy has not been applied by the company to any other country or region involved in a national dispute or conflict.“This constitutes (one hopes unintentionally) the modern form of an antisemitism price which applies a double standard to Israel in a way that is not expected or demanded of any other country.“Following our meeting and your leadership in denouncing the boycott movement, I ask that you consider speaking out against the company’s decision, and taking any other relevant steps, including in relation to commercial dealings between Airbnb, the State of Illinois and its employees,” Erdan wrote.He wrote a similar letter to three other states with large Jewish populations, including New York, California and Florida.Florida’s governor elect Ron DeSantis has already spoken against Airbnb.According to a press release on his office’s website, DeSantis “criticized Airbnb for taking “steps against Israel” with recent business decisions that have been hailed as a victory for the anti-Semitic “Boycott, Divest, Sanctions” movement. The Governor-elect warned the company that if it continues, Florida will look to take steps against them.”According to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation KANN, Rauner has called on the Illinois Investment Policy Board to use the state’s anti-BDS legislation against the company.Last week the Municipality of Beverly Hills passed a resolution condemning the Airbnb decision.
