It has come to my attention that anti-Israel activists are demanding that TripAdvisor remove Israeli listings in Jerusalem's Old City and the West Bank. I strongly urge you to oppose this bigoted campaign.
You are being targeted because of a grossly biased report which baselessly implies that tourists who visit holy sites in Jerusalem are somehow complicit in human rights violations. The report also falsely claims that Israel promotes tourism to Jewish archaeological and holy sites for nefarious reasons, rather than to educate about the history of the Jewish people. Efforts to discourage people from visiting these sites are part of a malicious campaign to erase the Jewish people's identity, history, and rights in their ancestral home. Amnesty's campaign not only harms Jews, but also Christians wishing to access their holy sites.
While Amnesty International, the group that authored the report, does important human rights work around the world, it also has a long and disturbing record of prejudice against Israel. The Founder and former Chairman of Human Rights Watch has criticized Amnesty for its bias on this issue, and one of Amnesty's top researchers who worked in Gaza has admitted that its reports rely on testimonies that are frequently inaccurate. More disturbingly, Amnesty hosted a talk about Israel by a journalist who has said that he
will “dance with delight if the Iranian missiles strike Israel,” and stated that a 2008 terrorist attack which
killed 8 Israeli high school students was “justified”.
Finally, while Israeli settlements are controversial in the region and beyond, they are not the cause of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Punishing these communities, which are subject to negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians under international agreements, will only fuel divisions and hate. Blaming Israel while doing nothing to hold Palestinian leaders accountable is a tired approach which has been proven to fail time and time again.
I urge you to reject all anti-Israel demands and instead find ways for your company to bring Israeli and Palestinian communities together for peaceful coexistence. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
admin
