Jewish Florida Congressman Randy Fine has warned that British companies complying with Britain's new restrictions on settlement trade could be barred from doing business with Florida's state and local governments.
Fine posted the warning Monday night, hours before Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband set out the measures in the House of Commons. He pointed to Florida's law barring contracts with companies that boycott Israel, which he says he passed while serving in the state Legislature. It would also block affected British firms from any Florida business requiring permits, tax collection or other official interaction with state or local government.
"Florida is one of Britain's largest trading partners," he wrote. "They should understand that their vanity project in support of Muslim terror could cost them billions of dollars."
As proof the policy works, Fine cited Airbnb, which announced in 2018 it would remove roughly 200 listings in Judea and Samaria and was placed on Florida's Scrutinized Companies list. Airbnb reversed the decision in April 2019, following lawsuits. "Any company, or nation, that boycotts Israel is boycotted by Florida," Fine said.
He is not the only American official threatening consequences. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told the BBC on Tuesday that the British ban would amount to discrimination against the Jewish people, and suggested Washington could retaliate. Thirty-eight states have anti-BDS laws on the books, according to a 2026 survey by Indiana University law professor Joseph Tomain, and Texas has provisions that would allow it to follow Florida's lead.
