pressure airbnb to remove listings from occupied Palestine

[Ruby244]

i urge all hosts and guests to contact air bnb about their continued involvement in occupied Palestine.

Airbnb was one of more than 100 companies around the world listed in a UN database of firms whose business operations linked them to Israeli settlements in the OPT. These settlements are illegal under international law.

These settlements are a war crime under international law. Airbnb needs to do right by future investors and stop benefiting from illegal settlements built on stolen Palestinian land in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

- Saleh Higazi 

with pressure we can get airbnb to do the right thing and end it's business relationship with Israeli settlements

[Kara595]

 i urge all hosts and guests to contact air bnb about their continued involvement in occupied Palestine. Airbnb was one of more than 100 ...The previous year, Air bnb had announced it would remove listings for 200 rental properties in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, “at the core of the dispute  between Israelis and Palestinians High demand. According to AirDNA, Airbnb listings in the United States reached an all-time high of 1.4 million in September 2022, up 23% from the previous year. Airbnb 2023 quarterly results also reveal that the overall nights and experiences booked at Airbnb grew by 19% in 2023, and their supply shot up by 18%.

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**[Link removed due to safety reasons - Community Center Guidelines]

[Rachel140]

I've just written to Airbnb to ask what their policy is on illegal settlements' rental listings. 

[Rachel140]

Hi Ruby,

Did you ever get an answer from Airbnb? They wrote back to me saying their system automatically removes illegal rentals but when I pointed out this wasn't true, as a quick search reveals rentals listed in illegal Israeli settlements, they fobbed me off with a feedback form and closed the inquiry.

Rachel

[Ruby244]

they fobbed you off because they do still have active illegal listings! i no longer use them and i urge others to boycott too 

[Kia272]

@Ruby244 Apparently you don't realize that just because YOU think this is the right thing, not everybody agrees. It's very self righteous and self involved to think that based on your opinion, you have grounds to ask/force/pressure a company to bow to your demands. 

It's fine to take a stand, share your opinion, and make  your voice heard, but that doesn't mean you are right. And certainly, there are better places to do that than on the AirBnB platform. 

[Ruby244]

Like i said in my original post, Airbnb was one of more than 100 companies around the world listed in a UN database of firms whose business operations linked them to Israeli settlements in the OPT. 

These settlements are illegal under international law. 

[Ruby244]

Not sure where my "opinion" is coming from by stating factual information but you disagree with the United Nations and international law? Interesting...

[Till-and-Jutta0]

Not sure if the CC is the right place for political debates. However we should accepts other's opinions with respect without personal offending them.

[Mohammad364]

You sound like the AirBnB police! Don't tell customers how to engage in a community space because they are concerned about how a company is invested in gross human rights violations. That's not how things work!

[Kia272]

@Ruby244 You know what else is interesting? If the surrounding countries hadn't attacked Israel after it was granted statehood in 1948, there wouldn't be any "occupied" territories, because that land belonged to those surrounding countries. Take a look at the original boundaries of the State of Israel. 

Then, I suggest you educate yourself on the history of Palestine, and perhaps learn something about how complex the issues are, and how far they go back, rather than having a knee-jerk reaction to an article you read online about 100 companies, blah blah blah. 

You can pick one "fact" to take a stand on, or you can bother to learn a little something about the history of the place, and then perhaps you might be better informed. 

[Mohammad364]

Written with privilege. Did you even read into why there's a boycott? Have you read the Amnesty International report? Probably not. Everyone has a right to share their thoughts. If you don't like it, move on. 

[Stephen1316]

So you agree with airbnb profiting from illegal settlements. You don't agree with international law?

[Till-and-Jutta0]

Apart from the fact that it is not clear who your leading question is directed at personally, @Stephen1316 : we should always settle differences of opinion politely and with mutual respect. Because history shows that every armed conflict begins with verbal aggression. So please remain friendly in this discussion and respect the person behind the words.

[Stephen1316]

Exactly where was I not being polite?