Airbnb cances its ban on Israeli settlement listings

In a reversal of a 2018 policy announcement, Airbnb will not remove listings in Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria from its website.

The policy change came in a court settlement Monday between the vacation rental company and a dozen American Jewish plaintiffs who had sued the company, organized by Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center, a pro-Israel law organization. 

A copy of the settlement obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency says that Airbnb will now allow rentals in both Palestinian Arab areas and Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria.

“Airbnb takes no position on the Host-Plaintiffs’ claims, or others’ claims, to legal title to the properties on which the accommodations are located,” the court settlement reads. “All listings for accommodations located in the Affected Region will at all times be permitted on its platform, subject to applicable laws, rules, and regulations.”

Airbnb announced in November that it would remove some 200 rental listings in Israeli settlements because it contended that the settlements “are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.” The movement to boycott Israel saw the decision as a victory.

But Airbnb never actually removed the listings. And about a week after the decision, Shurat Hadin organized the suit on behalf of a dozen American Jewish families, most of whom own properties in Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria. The suit was filed under the Fair Housing Act, which was meant to prevent discrimination against minorities in the United States. Because Airbnb is based in the United States, it must adhere to the act in all its listings worldwide.

The plaintiffs claimed that Airbnb was discriminating against them for being Jewish, given that it still allowed listings by Muslims and Christians in Judea and Samaria.

“The policy Airbnb announced last November was abject discrimination against Jewish users of the website,”Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the president of Shurat Hadin, said in a statement. “Whatever one’s political view, discrimination based on religious affiliation should never be the solution.”

According to the court settlement, Airbnb does not support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

“Airbnb recognizes that its decision to apply its Policy to Subject Listings in the Affected Region has been met with strong objections by some members of the Airbnb community as well as other individuals and groups supportive of Israel,” the document reads. “Some have even sought to associate Airbnb with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (“BDS”) movement. Airbnb is clear that it does not intend, and has never intended, to align itself with the BDS movement or to otherwise position the company as adverse to any segment of its community.”