Ron DeSantis Blacklists Morningstar for Allegedly Boycotting Israel

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis put financial services firm Morningstar on the state's list of “scrutinized companies” Wednesday, claiming the company has been boycotting Israel.

In a meeting of the Florida State Board of Administration, which oversees and allocates state and local government investments, DeSantis, alongside the state's Attorney General Ashley Moody and Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, voted to formally place the Chicago-based company on a blacklist for violating the state's anti-"Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions" law.

“In May, I signed legislation to strengthen Florida’s prohibition on investing with companies that boycott Israel,” DeSantis said. “In reviewing today’s report, and in consultation with staff, it’s clear Morningstar, a company currently under continued examination, may be in violation of these new provisions of law.”

Florida’s anti-BDS regulations were signed into law in March 2016, before DeSantis was governor, and require the state to create an online blacklist of companies that boycott Israel, prohibiting public entities in Florida from making contracts worth $1 million or more with blacklisted firms, and preventing state pension funds from investing in companies engaged in boycotts of Israel.

A Morningstar spokesperson told The Messenger that “Morningstar does not support the anti-Israel BDS campaign; it never has, and it never will.”

The company said it conducted an independent review of its research on human rights at its subsidiary Sustainalytics, and last October unveiled additional measures to address anti-Israel bias concerns raised by several Jewish advocacy groups, including Jewish Federations of North America, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee. Morningstar also repudiated the BDS movement at that time.

Critics said Morningstar’s ratings unfairly sought to paint Israeli-connected companies as at risk of violating international human rights standards because they operate in Israel.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement is a Palestinian-led initiative that aims to end international support of Israel by promoting economic sanctions on Israel and Israeli companies.

Siemens AG, a German multinational technology firm with a branch in Orlando, is also on Florida's “continued examinations” list. 

Morningstar will have 90 days to “cease its boycott of Israel,” the state said, before being placed under an investment prohibition. Florida would also no longer contract with the company or its subsidiaries.

DeSantis launched a formal investigation into Morningstar for violating the state's anti-BDS laws in July.

Morningstar joins other firms, including Ben & Jerry’s parent company Unilever, on the state's blacklist. DeSantis placed economic sanctions on Airbnb in 2019, but the company was later removed after it reversed a company policy that eliminated roughly 200 listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Currently, 37 U.S. states have with laws, executive orders, or resolutions aimed at discouraging boycotts against Israel.

Gov. DeSantis' office and Siemens did not immediately respond to The Messenger's requests for comment.