Opinion
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Editorial Airbnb’s West Bank Delisting Smacks of Anti-Semitism The YULA Boys Editorial Board According to its website, “Airbnb’s mission is to create a world where people can belong through healthy travel that is local, authentic, diverse, inclusive and sustainable.” Well, “inclusive” minus Jewish-owned homes in the West Bank. The short-term home-rental platform’s decision last month to cancel all listings in the region under Israeli control, which is alternatively referred to as Judea and Samaria, reveals a discriminatory bias that the company is attempting to claim is a neutral position. Airbnb explains that it “recognize[s] that each situation is unique and requires a case-by-
case approach.” So why did it feel it appropriate to remove all listings from an entire region, and only those listings by Jews? Any listings removed in other disputed territories––Crimea, occupied by Russia; Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco; northern Cyprus, occupied by Turkey––have been on a case-by-case basis. But not the West Bank. One must assume that this is because that territory is occupied by Jews. Airbnb claims that it has remained neutral by delisting Jewish West Bank offerings, but an agenda that deems Palestinian presence in the West Bank legal and Jewish presence illegitimate is not neutral. Airbnb’s policy
implies that Israeli settlements have met its criteria for removal because the settlements are “contributing to existing human suffering.” Any truly neutral observer can see that the issue of the West Bank and of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a whole are more complex than Airbnb’s position indicates. The claim that Israeli settlements are responsible for “contributing to existing human suffering” and are the sole obstacle to peace is disingenuous. Anyone who lambastes Israel for failing to make peace, while ignoring
the many offers the Palestinians haven’t missed the opportunity to miss, to paraphrase Israeli diplomat Abba Eban, demonstrates an anti-Israel and anti-Semitic bias. But Airbnb goes further. It has the audacity to call its position––that Jews have less of a right to the land than Palestinians––neutral. It supposes that Israel, and Israel alone, is to blame for the decades of bloodshed in the Middle East and ignores the Palestinian leadership’s patent indifference toward Israel’s offers of compromise. Any view of the conflict
that blames only Israel while ignoring Palestinian terrorism, the Palestinians’ stubborn refusal to recognize the Jewish people’s historical link to the land, and the Palestinians’ continuing refusal to even consider peace is either misinformed or anti-Semitic. Since Airbnb claims that it has consulted experts, it has forfeited the convienient excuse of ignorance, leaving anti-Semitism as the only possible explanation for its decision. Airbnb should immediately revisit its policy in the West Bank and address its bias.
Dear Panther Advice Column: What the Girls Would Do The
Panther Post
Dear Students and Members of the YULA Community, A vital part of The Panther Post is our extensive opinion section, which includes the Editorial Boards’ opinions as well as op-eds written by the student body. But these pieces should not be the end of the conversation; instead, they should catalyze a meaningful conversation within our community on important issues. So we want to hear your opinions. Any article you read––whether you agree, disagree, or have a relevant comment––we want to hear how you feel. Letters to the Editor are an essential part of all newspapers, and ours should be no different. We ask that you send your brief reactions (an edited 150 words) to letters@yula.org, so we and all our readers can hear our community’s diverse opinions. - The Panther Post Editorial Boards
The YULA Girls Editorial Board Dear Panther, My friend never texts me back, but whenever I see her in person she acts completely normal! Why does she act like this? - Confused Texter Let’s face it, we all have that one friend who doesn’t text back (I’ll admit, I may or may not be this friend on occasion), which leads to the awkward moment when you see her in person; do you greet her normally, or do you mention the lack of communication? Or worse, what do you do when she greets you normally? We’ve all been in this situation, but never know what to do with it. Do we act normal and greet her back, while wondering the reason they didn’t text back? Or should we be confrontational? Do we kindly assume that she’s lost or broken her phone despite the steady feed of Instagram pictures you’ve been receiving in
your message notifications? In my experience, when people don’t text back, it’s rarely an intentional diss. Most likely, they saw the text and made a mental note to answer it later, and we all know how that ends. Unless there’s a physical copy of what you need to do, it can be difficult to remember until it’s too late and awkward to text back. Now, unless that person lives out of town and the only method of communication you have is texting, it might be easier to talk to the person in person (especially if you see her daily) and explain what happened. However, if that person does live out of town, texting her back, even if it’s months later, is always a better option than running into her years later at a supermarket with her new friends. If what you texted her is a big deal and you feel like she’s ignoring you, tell her (in person) that you felt hurt that she didn’t respond and talk out your feelings.
It’s not a good idea to let these small incidents ruin a friendship, or cause you to resent someone. It’s your decision whether to talk to her or not; you know yourself and how it will affect you if you stew in anger for too long, but talk it out for your sake, if not to save a friendship. I would like to conclude by saying that my advice is not gold; it is exactly that: my advice, which means it’s relative to everyone. But if you, once again, come across this situation, I hope that my input is of some help. If you have any questions for the Panther, let us know by emailing the editors!