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Florida Congressman Threatens UK Firms Over Israel Boycott Plan
(MENAFN) A U.S. lawmaker warned Britain on Monday that British businesses could face retaliation under Florida's anti-boycott laws — state statutes penalizing companies that refuse to work with Israel — should London move forward with a ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Florida Republican Congressman Randy Fine blasted the UK's planned trade restrictions,
calling them a "vanity project in support of Muslim terror" that "could cost them billions of dollars" given Florida's trade ties with Britain. He warned that any British firm forced to comply with a boycott would face steep penalties at the state level. "Any company — or nation — that boycotts Israel is boycotted by Florida," he added.
To illustrate the financial stakes, Fine pointed to a 2019 case involving lodging platform Airbnb, claiming the company reversed course on restricting listings in occupied territories once it recognized that Florida's anti-boycott rules "would have bankrupted their company." The example, he suggested, shows how vulnerable multinational corporations are to state-level U.S. penalties.
The threat comes as British media report that the UK is preparing to formally ban trade with illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham condemned the "unacceptable" expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and reaffirmed that London would respond with "comprehensive measures" in the near future.
The prospect of new UK measures has already drawn sharp pushback in Israel. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded by urging Israel to recognize the British-administered Falkland Islands as occupied Argentine territory, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded the immediate expulsion of the British ambassador.
Florida Republican Congressman Randy Fine blasted the UK's planned trade restrictions,
calling them a "vanity project in support of Muslim terror" that "could cost them billions of dollars" given Florida's trade ties with Britain. He warned that any British firm forced to comply with a boycott would face steep penalties at the state level. "Any company — or nation — that boycotts Israel is boycotted by Florida," he added.
To illustrate the financial stakes, Fine pointed to a 2019 case involving lodging platform Airbnb, claiming the company reversed course on restricting listings in occupied territories once it recognized that Florida's anti-boycott rules "would have bankrupted their company." The example, he suggested, shows how vulnerable multinational corporations are to state-level U.S. penalties.
The threat comes as British media report that the UK is preparing to formally ban trade with illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham condemned the "unacceptable" expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and reaffirmed that London would respond with "comprehensive measures" in the near future.
The prospect of new UK measures has already drawn sharp pushback in Israel. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded by urging Israel to recognize the British-administered Falkland Islands as occupied Argentine territory, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded the immediate expulsion of the British ambassador.
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