Summary
Introduction
Booking.com, a Dutch-based travel fare aggregator website and travel metasearch engine, has been a topic of controversy and criticism due to its support for the Israeli government and its involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The company was founded in 1996 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and it has grown to become one of the largest travel fare aggregators in the world, with over 28 million listings.
Booking.com’s Support for Israel
Booking.com has been listed as one of the 112 business entities that the United Nations (UN) has reasonable grounds to conclude have been involved in activities related to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The UN report states that Booking.com has been involved in activities related to settlements, which are widely considered illegal under international law. The report has led to calls for boycotts of Booking.com and other companies that support Israel.
In September 2022, Booking.com announced that it would label Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as “occupied territory” and warn of “an increased risk to safety and human rights”. However, the company reversed course in October of the same year. The retreat was in response to pressure from the Israeli government. The reversal has been criticized as evidence of how foreign companies implicate themselves in the violations of Palestinian rights.
Calls for Boycotts
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which aims to pressure Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories, has called for a boycott of Booking.com. Booking.com is complicit in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and in obeying the Israeli government despite their infringements on the rights of Palestinians.
Conclusion
Booking.com’s involvement with Israel and its support for the Israeli government have been a source of controversy and criticism. The company has been listed as one of the business entities involved in activities related to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Booking.com need to know that human rights are more important than adhering to the demands of governments or succumbing to the pressure. Boycotting Booking.com should force them to delist all venues in occupied territories and take the right stand in favour of humanity.
Source
(1) UN lists 112 businesses linked to Israeli settlements – BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51477231.
(2) UN publishes list of companies with ties to Israeli settlements. https://www.theguardian.com/weather/2020/feb/12/un-publishes-list-of-companies-with-ties-to-israeli-settlements.
(3) Is the Booking.com reversal on Palestine corporate hypocrisy? | Business and Economy News | Al Jazeera https://aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/5/is-booking-com-reversal-palestine-corporate-hypocrisy