Holiday homes rental platform Airbnb has come under scrutiny yet again, after two of its hotel listings in Tel Aviv in Israel said were labeled “only for soldiers,” even as there’s widespread documentation of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers’ violence in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The host of the soldiers-only rentals, Social Space, says it is a non-profit venture that turns abandoned buildings into “bustling centres of social activity.” The properties are described as “private rooms, most with a balcony, and is a few dozen meters from the beach.”
Both rooms are located on 62 Yarkon Street in Israel’s capital and offer “in-service Israeli soldiers and reservists an affordable accommodation by the beach,” the listings showed. “In order to confirm the reservation, we will ask you to send us a valid soldier’s certificate, which you will also need to present during your stay,” it said.
“Our soldiers deserve the best!” it said.
The properties were listed even as Airbnb’s non-discrimination policy prohibits hosts from discriminating against others based on protected characteristics, including race, religion and nationality.
The listings immediately triggered the Boycott, Disinvestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement activists to renew their call for the boycott of Airbnb. The platform had earlier come under the scanner of Palestinian rights groups due to its continued listing of over 300 rental properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
What is the BDS movement?
The BDS movement is a Palestinian-led, global campaign launched in 2005 to pressure Israel into complying with international law. It advocates for economic and political measures, all non-violent, to end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, ensure equal rights for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel and support the right of return for refugees.
The BDS movement is inspired by the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. Those who support the movement describe it as a human rights movement, comparing Palestinians’ situation under Israeli rule to that of black South Africans under apartheid.
Some of the major brands the BDS movement targets are HP, Puma, Hyundai, McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Spotify for their alleged complicity in supporting Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip.
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