Israeli settlement in the West Bank looms over two Palestinian villages; Airbnb; Gilad Erdan.
The challenge comes in response to a case filed by Israeli settlers against Airbnb.
Randa Wahbe is a United States citizen with West Bank residency who is studying for a PhD in anthropology at Harvard University. Over the years, the 31-year-old Palestinian-American has used Airbnb, the online vacation rental platform, to travel in Miami, Denver, Istanbul, and Tunisia. Despite the site's promise of "healthy travel that is local, authentic, diverse, inclusive and sustainable," however,
Wahbe says she cannot utilize its services in large swaths of her family's own back yard: the West Bank occupied by Israeli settlers.
That's because Palestinian residents of the West Bank, even those with an American passport, are barred from living in or even visiting Israeli settlements unless they acquire a permit from Israeli authorities. Under Israel's system of military control and segregation, Wahbe does not have the ability to "live like a local" in parts of the very region she is from, or in the city of Jerusalem, where her father's family is from.
Comment: That such sentiments appear even in Russia - a relatively successful multiethnic state, if there ever was one - should perhaps be taken as an indication that sound immigration policies are a must and multiculturalism isn't the panacea that progressives tout it to be. To ignore those who have problems with illegal immigration and dismiss them as simply 'racist' will only cause more division and discontent. At the very least, it's impractical.