Wednesday, April 10, 2019

BDS loses again in Airbnb Litigation!

AIRBNB rescinded its decision & settles lawsuit: It will return the listings of Jewish homeowners in Judea and Samaria to the site
 
This dramatic announcement comes in the wake of negotiations between the Shurat HaDin Law Center and AIRBNB in recent weeks to rescind the company's decision to delist the properties of Jewish homeowners in Judea and Samaria and as result of a federal lawsuit filed by the Shurat HaDin organization against the AIRBNB  on behalf of Israeli-American homeowners
 
Shurat HaDin Law Center: “This is a powerful defeat for the anti-Israel boycott movement. Other international companies need to learn lessons."


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Dear Friends, (from Shurat Hadin)

We just scored a tremendous victory in the lawsuit we launched against Airbnb!  The online hosting platform has agreed to completely retract its policy of delisting Jewish homes in Judea & Samaria.  This is an important and precedential decision in the battle against the racist BDS movement.

Over the past few weeks we have been negotiating a
settlement agreement with the hospitality giant Airbnb to rescind its discriminatory policy redlining Jewish-owned properties in the Judea and Samaria region. That policy, announced in November 2018, had banned Jewish property owners in Judea and Samaria from listing properties on Airbnb, while allowing Muslim and Christian property owners to list properties in the same area. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Airbnb has agreed to repeal the discriminatory policy, thereby resolving the discrimination lawsuit.
 
When Airbnb publicly announced its redlining policy barring rentals of Jewish-owned properties in November, it stated it would no longer agree to list these homes due to claims that such properties are located in Palestinian-owned territories illegally occupied by Israeli settlers. The plaintiff homeowners, however, dispute that contention and contend that all the properties are legal. Further, the plaintiffs asserted that Airbnb had succumbed to pressure from the extremist Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (“BDS”) propaganda movement which seeks to delegitimize Israel and challenges its right to exist.

Under the
settlement agreement, Airbnb has agreed to adopt a neutral policy towards all properties in the region, allowing all homeowners to list their houses for rental on its web platform regardless of their religion, race or national origin.

May we go from strength to strength,

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