Tell Airbnb in SF to stop listing Israeli settlements; Rasmea Defense Cmte joining Chicago panel on repression

Dear Friends and Supporters,

In coalition with the US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation, American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, CODEPINK, and SumOfUs, the USPCN has helped collect more than 140,000 signatures on petitions calling on Airbnb, the online accommodation service, to stop listing homes in illegal Israeli settlements for people to rent.

We are now gearing up to help deliver these signatures to Airbnb headquarters in San Francisco TOMORROW, Thursday, March 10, and hope you will join us!

Meet at 12 Noon at UN Plaza next to the exit for Civic Center BART Station (1150 Market St., in San Francisco) to march with others to Airbnb’s offices. You can RSVP and invite others on Facebook here.   You can also reach USPCN Bay Area at [email protected].

Not only does Airbnb profit off of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land, it is a major driver of gentrification and displacement in San Francisco and across the country. Nearly 50% of Airbnb’s San Francisco profits comes from listings that are illegal under current laws.

Our coalition has also launched a new microsite parodying Airbnb rental listings and calling attention to the fact that the vacation rental company continues to list Israeli settlements in the West Bank.  Since the launch of the site on Monday, already 2,300 people have left unique reviews telling Airbnb what they think of the listing.

“We are getting closer and closer to our Palestinian people’s liberation, so it is essential for Airbnb to know that it will be on the wrong side of history if it continues to support apartheid policies and violations of Palestinian rights,” said Rama Kased, founding USPCN member organizing in the Bay Area.SF action endorsed by: US Palestinian Community Network; Jewish Voice for Peace; Code Pink; American Muslims for Palestine; US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation; San Francisco Tenants Union; Anti-Eviction Mapping Project; Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism; Students for Justice in Palestine UC Berkeley.

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Over the past fifteen years, people in the United States–and dissidents in particular–have witnessed a steady escalation of the National Security State, including invasive surveillance and infiltration, indiscriminate police violence, and unlawful arrests. These concerted efforts to criminalize dissidents and undermine meaningful social change are made more repressive by the coordination of numerous local, state, and federal agencies often operating at the behest of private corporations.

Join activist and PM Press author Kris Hermes on Sunday, March 13th at 1pm at In These Times for an event sponsored by the Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild to discuss his new book Crashing the Party: Legacies and Lessons from the RNC 2000.

Hermes will speak alongside Sarah Gelsomino, an NLG attorney with the People’s Law Office who has worked on high-profile political cases including the Free the NATO 3; Leila Taha from the Rasmea Defense Committee, talking about the campaign supporting Rasmea Odeh; and Alex Goldenberg of Southside Together Organizing for Power – STOP, who, with others, used an innovative legal defense after arrests linked to the demand for a level 1 adult trauma center at the University of Chicago.

Copies of Crashing the Party: Legacies and Lessons from the RNC 2000 will be available after the talk for purchase and signing.

Unfortunately, the venue is not wheelchair accessible.