Should Airbnb be Boycotted?

West Bank borderline city of Maale Adumim

Airbnb  is a pretty cool app. Here is how Wikipedia describes it:

Members can use the service to arrange or offer lodging, primarily homestays, or tourism experiences. The company does not own any of the real estate listings, nor does it host events; as a broker, it receives commissions from every booking. 

But they have recently decided to boycott the West Bank  and are in the process of eliminating all lodging listed there. Here is what they said in explaining their decision : 

“We concluded that we should remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians,” Airbnb said on its website.

“Our hope is that someday sooner rather than later, a framework is put in place where the entire global community is aligned so there will be a resolution to this historic conflict and a clear path forward for everybody to follow.” 

A lot of people believe this action is antisemitic. I am not one of them. Although I have to wonder whether they have truly thought this decision through, I believe that they sincerely mean what they say. They believe they are furthering the peace process by this action. Just as the US did under the Obama administration when near the end of their term, the US refused to veto a UN resolution condemning Israel about this very issue. Thereby allowing it to pass!

And just like the US refusal under Obama to veto that resolution was not right, so too is the Airbnb decision not right. Nor does it make what they are doing constructive in any way.

While I too believe that certain settlers do more harm than good, I do not believe they are all like that. Most of them (especially those on borderline areas) are not political. I would not even call them settlers - even though they technically live in settlements. Those settlements have been chosen by their residents for financial or other reasons. Not ideological ones. 

Furthermore those settlements have more or less already been conceded to Israel during previous negotiations in exchange for land swaps. While that the agreements made at the time have long ago been abandoned by both sides, there is little doubt in my mind that if there is an agreement, those settlements will stay in Israel.

It is the ‘trailer park’ settlements deep into the West Bank – settled by people for the sole purposes of staking their claim to all of Eretz Yisroel - that are the problem. They are a selfish and dangerous bunch that in my view should be jailed for inciting Arab passions. Had Airbnb boycotted those, I would be far more understanding. But to boycott all of them including the mainstream ones hurts everyone. It hurts their bottom line, hurts the residents who might need the extra income, and hurts those seeking lodging in those areas.

It also hurts Palestinians who are often gainfully employed by companies situated there. One may recall how upset BDS and their supporters were when the worlds highest paid actress, Scarlett Johansson, refused to cave in to pressure form them and agreed to do a Sodastream commercial during a Superbowl telecast a few years ago. Sodastream was located o the West Bank and had many Palestinian employees. All earning a relatively decent wage. 

Good for her. Sadly, (if I recall correctly) BDS nevertheless continued to put pressure on Sodastream until they ended up relocating on the 'right side' of the tracks. That ended many of those jobs.

I’m sorry that Airbnb has decided to choose the Palestinian narrative on this issue rather than remain objective. They benefit no one. While it is true that settlements are an issue, they are at best secondary to the real issue. Which is Israeli security. Until that problem is solved, nothing will happen. If and when it is ever solved, I think there is a decent chance for peace and prosperity for both sides.

The question is, should Airbnb be boycotted by supporters of Israel? 

I have no problem with that. Boycott away… to your heart’s content. Nothing wrong with that. Free country. Two can play at that game. 

But at the same time I would urge those boycotting Arbnb to refrain from using rhetoric about their being antisemites. It is probably untrue and can only backfire on them. Yes they are wrong. And even foolish in making this decision. They deserve to be boycotted in an attempt to get them to see the error of their ways and end their boycott. But to say they are antisemitic is both wrong and itself foolish.