VOA慢速英语--Airbnb逆转将允许在以色列定居点上市

Airbnb to Permit Listings in Israeli Settlements in West Bank

Airbnb is canceling an earlier plan to bar listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The home-sharing company announced in November that it would remove about 200 listings in the West Bank, which is territory claimed by Palestinians.

Airbnb announced this week it will now permit properties in Israeli settlements to be listed. The company also said it will donate all of the company’s profits from West Bank properties to humanitarian¹ aid organizations.

Airbnb said it will use the same approach in other disputed territories around the world, such as South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

“We have always sought to bring people together and will continue to work with our community to achieve this goal,” Airbnb said.

Supporters of Airbnb’s initial plan expressed dissatisfaction.

Human Rights Watch said, “Donating profits from unlawful settlement listings … does nothing to remedy the human suffering.” The rights group added that, “By continuing to do business in settlements,” Airbnb remains² active in the abuses settlements trigger.”

Others, however, celebrated³ the news.

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner directs the Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center, a Tel Aviv-based Israeli rights group. She said, “I believe other companies considering boycotts⁴ are going to take real note of the mistake Airbnb made and refuse to act against Israel and the Jewish community.”

Twelve home owners in the Jewish settlements brought legal action in U.S. federal court against Airbnb. All 12 are citizens of both Israel and the United States. The company’s change in plans settles that case.

Lawyer Robert Tolchin represents the 12 American-Israeli citizens. He said, “As a provider of a service to the public, Airbnb is not permitted to refuse to provide services to selected religious groups to engineer who it thinks should be allowed to live where.”

The initial plan did not affect about 20,000 other Airbnb listings throughout Israel, including listings in other disputed areas, such as east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

Airbnb announced the change in plans late Tuesday Israeli time -- the same day as the country’s legislative⁵ elections.

During the election campaign, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that if returned to power, Israel would annex⁶ West Bank settlements. That would likely end the remaining hopes of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Today, over 400,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank. About 200,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim both areas as parts of a future state.

I'm Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

approach – n. a way for dealing⁷ with something

achieve – v. to carry out or successfully bring about

remedy – n. a solution; a treatment of medicine

trigger – v. to cause something to happen

annex – v. to add as an extra

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

5 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

6 annex   

vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物

参考例句：

• It plans to annex an England company in order to enlarge the market.它计划兼并一家英国公司以扩大市场。
• The annex has been built on to the main building.主楼配建有附属的建筑物。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。