Thursday, April 11, 2019
Elder of Ziyon
Airbnb’s decision to continue to allow accommodation listings in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is a reprehensible and cowardly move that will be another devastating blow for the human rights of Palestinians.I want to see an interview of a shopkeeper in Nablus or an artisan in Bethlehem saying how "devastated" they are that a website advertises homes to rent to Jews a few kilometers away.
This decision is a deeply shameful abdication of Airbnb’s responsibility as a company to respect international humanitarian and human rights law wherever they operate in the world. This includes Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It also exposes the hollowness of their claims to be a company that values human rights.
Airbnb had a clear opportunity to make the right decision to uphold human rights and use their influence to set a precedent in the tourism industry. Instead, they have chosen to bury their heads in the sand - ignoring blatant evidence that they are helping to fuel violations that cause immense suffering to Palestinians.
Looking through Arabic media, this is a non-story, with a couple of sites publishing a Reuters article about it. No one cares. it doesn't affect Palestinians at all.
The only Palestinian I can find complaining about this is perennial kvetcher Saeb Erakat, whose denunciation is reported in Haaretz, not in Arabic, as of this writing.
One would think that if this decision is "devastating," the purported victims would be a little more interested in it.
Palestinians don't care. But Amnesty does.
Amnesty spent considerable time and money creating logos and videos, case studies and maps in its campaign to pressure Airbnb along with Tripadvisor and others companies to stop advertising Jewish-owned tourism destinations in the historic Jewish homeland.
It issued a 96 page report on the issue in January. Most of its campaigns include reports of only two pages.
Palestinians aren't devastated. Amnesty is. (As are the Israel haters who started the campaign in 2016 that Amnesty copied.)
Amnesty spent a great deal of its political capital and its prestige to pressure US companies to discriminate against Jews, and its loss is not only a loss for its campaign but also for its influence as a human rights NGO. It isn't fighting for human rights - it is upset that it wasted so much money and time for nothing.
Needless to say, Amnesty's decision to spend hundreds of man hours attacking Airbnb and Tripadvisor came at the expense of its ability to actually do critical human rights work that can save lives and free political prisoners. Its hate for Israel has perverted its very reason for existence from helping people who are unjustly persecuted into attacking not only Israel but even businesses that work in Israel. It may do great work elsewhere, but its Middle East section is pretty much parroting BDS talking points.
Amnesty's obsession with Israel has nothing to do with human rights - and this episode proves it.
