‘This is an Anti-Advertisement for Booking.com:’ Los Angeles Journalist Calls for the Boycott of Property Booking App

Americans have been pushing back against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Reportedly, one way they have been protesting the genocide is by boycotting businesses that are complicit in the funding of Israel’s onslaught. It seems that activists may have to add another company to their list, based on the report of a local journalist.

Charles McBryde, a journalist based in Los Angeles, said that he went to Palestine a year ago. There, he visited the West Bank and watched Israeli settlements encroach on Palestinian communities.

“Imagine my surprise, then, when I loaded up my Booking.com app to look for a hostel for my team and saw that I could book accommodation inside one of these illegal settlements!” McBryde alleged. If true, it surely would give a new meaning to ‘boots on the ground’ journalism.

“Me, an American foreigner, could book a stay inside an illegal Israeli settlement built on Palestinian land that Palestinians themselves cannot access, and all of it made possible by Booking.com,” he continued.

Israel land grabbing in Palestine

There have been multiple reports made about Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land and homes. No Other Land, a documentary film that won an Oscar. The documentary explained the ways in which Palestinians are systematically driven out of their land by the Israeli government. People lose rights to their homes—at worst, they lose a home to return to.

Outside of the Oscar-winning documentary, several international organizations have also submitted reports against Israel’s encroachment on Palestinian land. Amnesty International called the forced displacement of Palestinians apartheid in its report. Even the United Nations deems Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land illegal under international law. Despite these reports, McBryde alleged that Booking.com is conducting businesses in these illegally occupied lands.

“Thousands of Palestinians are not allowed to access their own privately held land, let alone have the right to build their house on it and profit from its use,” McBryde claimed. Moreover, the reporter explained that Palestinian ID holders are not allowed to enter Israeli settlements, except as laborers with special permits. This is a claim backed by B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization.

A call to boycott Booking.com

“The Palestinian landowners did not consent to having their land taken away and used for rental properties. As you imagine, they do not share in the rental profits,” he said, highlighting the injustice of the situation. McBryde intended to be clear about his stance on the issue.

He said, “Yes, this is an anti-advertisement for Booking.com.” McBryde decided to boycott the company until they stop “supporting and abetting Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.” He has been a customer for over twelve years. But the moral contention in the situation has made it impossible for him to continue patronizing the business.

Ekō, a corporate advocacy group, said that Booking.com has 41 listed properties available for rent in illegal Israeli settlements across the West Bank.

McBryde accused Booking.com of prioritizing profit over the wishes of customers and humane business practices. But this could all change, as McBryde pointed out.

On June 2, there will be a vote made among Booking.com’s investors for a resolution that asks the company to identify human rights risks and act on them. However, Ekō alleged that the board of Booking.com recommended voting no against the resolution. Regardless of the outcome, McBryde is urging users to cancel their Booking.com subscriptions until the company delists the controversial rentals.

(featured images: Charles McBryde, Mohamed Osama AlNagdy)

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