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For Immediate Release
November, 18 2019, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
Sonya E Meyerson-Knox, sonya@jvp.org, 929.290.0317
140+ Palestinian Groups Urge Boycott of Airbnb Funds, Launch Twitter Storm
What do Trump and Airbnb have in common? They don’t think Israeli settlements are illegal.
WASHINGTON
November 19, 2019: On the anniversary of Airbnb's decision to stop listing vacation rentals in Israeli settlements, 140+ groups have called on humanitarian groups and non-profits receiving Airbnb funds to "Say no to dirty money."
In their open letter, they write: "We recall when Airbnb stood up for Palestinian rights - almost. One year ago today, on 19 November 2018, Airbnb announced that it would no longer list accommodations in unlawful Israeli settlements in the West Bank, in a move to end Airbnb's complicity in Israel's unlawful colonization of the West Bank. And we remember when Airbnb backed down, and agreed to continue listing vacation rentals on land stolen from Palestinians. Adding insult to injury, Airbnb then announced that the profits from the listings on occupied Palestinian land would be given to humanitarian groups. Donating profits generated from the proceeds of crime does not make the appropriation of Palestinian lands any more legal or ethical."
A Twitterstorm is launching today [1-3pm ET, 6pm UK, 8-10pm Palestine] calling on people to #deactivateAirbnb over Airbnb's #stolenhomes.
Jewish Voice for Peace is a national, grassroots organization inspired by Jewish tradition to work for a just and lasting peace according to principles of human rights, equality, and international law for all the people of Israel and Palestine. JVP has over 200,000 online supporters, over 70 chapters, a youth wing, a Rabbinic Council, an Artist Council, an Academic Advisory Council, and an Advisory Board made up of leading U.S. intellectuals and artists.
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EU Advances Deregulation Package Eroding 'Vital Climate and Human Rights Safeguards'
"This outcome reflects a troubling trend in the European Parliament, where the conservative bloc has increasingly aligned with far-right agendas, legitimizing polarizing demands and pushing aside science-based evidence."
Dec 16, 2025
Climate and human rights advocates on Tuesday blasted European Union legislators for approving a deregulation package that Amnesty International's Eve Geddie said "undermines vital climate and human rights safeguards, betraying people and the planet at a time when protections are needed most."
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted 428-218 in favor of Omnibus I, which will weaken the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, with 17 abstentions. The package still needs final approval from the Council of the EU, after which governments will have until mid-2028 to transpose it into national law.
Under the new text, only EU companies that employ more than 1,000 people on average and have a net annual turnover above €450 million, or $529 million, will have to conduct social and environmental reporting, and only firms with over 5,000 employees and a net annual turnover exceeding €1.5 billion, or $1.76 billion, have to carry out due diligence.
The changes, finalized in negotiations between the European Parliament and member states last week, "are expected to exempt around 80% of companies originally expected to disclose against the rules," reported Responsible Investor.
Anticipating the vote, Sebastien Godinot, senior economist at WWF European Policy Office, said Monday that "under the guise of easing regulatory burdens, the EU engaged in a race to the bottom, rushing to undo necessary safeguards that were set in place to protect our nature and climate, as well as to secure future economic prosperity."
"Instead of focusing on the successful implementation of the laws, decision-makers shifted their focus to short-term political gains, ignoring the strong evidence showing that corporate climate targets are not only feasible, but make a lot of sense for companies," he continued. "After years of positioning itself as a sustainability leader, it is disappointing to see the EU stepping back and ignoring the science meant to guide decision-making."
Mariana Ferreira, who focuses on sustainable finance at the WWF office, noted that "this outcome reflects a troubling trend in the European Parliament, where the conservative bloc has increasingly aligned with far-right agendas, legitimizing polarizing demands and pushing aside science-based evidence and warnings."
After Tuesday's vote, Human Rights Watch senior corporate accountability advocate Hélène de Rengervé lamented: "All that is left of the EU's trailblazing corporate accountability law is a skeleton... The final text means corporate interests are being prioritized over the rights of workers, communities, and environmental protection."
Gaëlle Dusepulchre of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights also argued that the vote "sets a serious precedent for EU policymaking by signaling a clear prioritization of corporate interests over the protection of people and the planet."
Geddie, director of Amnesty's European Institutions Office, pointed out that "this rollback is part of a bonfire of regulations and is the result of intense lobbying efforts by powerful industry actors and external pressure, including from the United States. Ignoring widespread criticism from civil society, economists, the [United Nations], and even the European Ombudsman, this rushed and opaque process also flies in the face of public opinion, which clearly shows the majority of Europeans favour human rights and environmental protection."
"Now, EU governments must strengthen key provisions when they incorporate these regulations in national law and use every available avenue to improve protections, ensure access to justice for victims, and urgently prevent further erosion of corporate accountability—especially since other deregulation packages are already in the pipeline," she stressed. "European states must not squander the opportunity to use these regulations to ensure businesses contribute to thriving communities—our future and the future of our planet rely on it."
European Coalition for Corporate Justice director Nele Meyer called the vote "a betrayal of people and communities suffering from corporate abuse around the world," and warned that it "puts member states at risk of breaching their obligation to protect human rights and prevent environmental and climate damage."
"It is deeply alarming to witness how foreign pressure shaped a file that should have been driven by evidence and by the needs of those facing the impacts on the ground," Meyer added. "While the protections have been weakened, the core due diligence duty remains. Now the law must be implemented in a way that delivers real protection for people and the planet."
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Flag Linked to Christian Nationalism, Jan. 6 Hung at Education Dept
The Education Department has been at the center of Trump's push to "bring back religion in America" and promote “Judeo‑Christian principles.”
Dec 16, 2025
The union for US Department of Education workers has raised alarm about a top department official's display of a flag with Christian nationalist associations that was flown during the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol building.
The flag was spotted outside the Washington, DC, office of Murray Bessette, the principal deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, according to a report on Monday from USA Today. However, it's not clear how long it's been displayed there.
The stark white banner, emblazoned with a pine tree and the phrase "An Appeal to Heaven"—a reference to John Locke's “Second Treatise on Government”—was first used during the American Revolution and flown by six schooner privateers known as "Washington's Cruisers" for naval operations and supply capture missions.
The flag was flown sporadically throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, most prominently in New England. But it remained relatively obscure until recently.
As the Southern Poverty Law Center explained in November, it has undergone a revival among proponents of Christian nationalism over the past decade:
Its affiliation with Christian supremacist politicians largely began in 2013 after being reintroduced as a symbol of supremacy by Dutch Sheets, a highly influential leader in the New Apostolic Reformation, today’s most powerful Christian supremacist movement.
The NAR is an anti-democratic Christian supremacist movement that seeks to control all areas of national life, from the halls of Congress to one’s living room, compelling all Americans to align their lives with NAR’s worldview. According to NAR leaders, those who oppose them are not just wrong but under the control of the demonic, and are even possibly demonic entities themselves.
Sheets, a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump, helped to mobilize thousands of Christian followers to the Capitol leading up to the January 6 riot, where supporters of the president sought to violently overturn the electoral victory of his opponent, former President Joe Biden. The pastor referred to the recognition of Biden's election as "an evil attempt to overthrow the government of the United States of America."
The "Appeal to Heaven" flag was spotted on multiple occasions at the Capitol on that day and at other "Stop the Steal" events protesting Trump's 2020 election loss. It has continued to cause controversy in the years since.
In 2023, the right-wing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was seen flying the flag outside his New Jersey beach house. Alito blamed his wife for the flag flying outside their property just weeks before a documentarian published a secret recording of him expressing his desire to return the country to “a place of godliness,” and agreeing with radical right-wing groups who he said refuse to “negotiate with the left.”
The flag has also been displayed by several Republicans in Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has expressed many Christian nationalist viewpoints, including a distaste for the idea that the Constitution requires the separation of church and state.
Its appearance outside Bessette's office is not the first time a government agency has displayed the flag during the second Trump presidency. In June, the Small Business Administration also displayed it during a ceremony, though only for about a day, according to Wired.
Rachel Gittleman, the president of the union for Education Department workers nationwide, said in a statement that the agency "has no place for symbols that were carried by insurrectionists."
“Since January, hardworking public servants at the US Department of Education have been subjected to threats, harassment, and sustained demoralization," she added. "Now, they are being asked to work in an environment where a senior leader is prominently displaying an offensive flag—one that, regardless of its origins in the American Revolution, has come to represent intolerance, hatred, and extremism."
The use of a flag with Christian nationalist affiliations is especially noteworthy at the Education Department, which has been at the center of Trump's push to "bring back religion in America" and promote “Judeo‑Christian principles.”
Trump has endorsed state-level policies requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in classrooms, which he called a "major step in the revival of religion." In September, he also said that he would soon roll out a policy to provide "total protection" for prayer in public schools, which has long been considered unconstitutional when sponsored by school or state officials.
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Analysis Shows Electric Bills Have Spiked 13% in Trump’s First Year—And His Own Policies Are to Blame
"Donald Trump and Republicans are accelerating their self-inflicted energy crisis with continued project cancellations."
Dec 16, 2025
Americans across the country are struggling to pay higher utility bills, and one clean energy advocacy group is pointing the finger squarely at President Donald Trump.
Climate Power last week released a new report that cited data from the US Energy Information Administration showing that Americans' electricity bills have risen by 13% since Trump took office in January, even though he pledged during the 2024 presidential campaign that he would "cut the price of energy and electricity in half" in his first year.
In reality, Climate Power says, the Trump administration's war on renewable energy projects has helped drive the cost of electricity up by blocking new sources of energy for the US electric grid.
"Trump and Republicans are accelerating their self-inflicted energy crisis with continued project cancellations," argues the report, blaming the administration's policies for hurting "projects that would have produced enough electricity to power the equivalent of 13 million homes."
In total, Climate Power estimates that "companies have canceled, delayed, lost grant funding, or laid off staff" at more than 320 clean energy projects during Trump's second term, resulting in the loss or delay of more than 165,000 new US jobs.
Texas, which has seen 26 clean energy projects negatively impacted this year, has been the biggest loser from Trump's war against renewables, according to the report.
The report also finds that "54% of canceled projects, 40% of delayed projects, and 44.9% of grant cancellations are located in congressional districts represented by Republicans," which means that the GOP is hurting its own constituents with its energy policies.
The cancellation of clean energy products also comes at a time when artificial intelligence data centers are devouring energy, thus putting more upward pressure on electricity prices.
David Spence, a professor of energy law and regulation at the University of Texas, told ABC News on Monday that demand for power is now exceeding supply "by a lot," and he cited factors including data centers, cryptocurrency mining, and electric cars as key factors.
"We're just not able to bring new supply on as quickly as demand is growing, and that's driving prices up," Spence explained.
The Climate Power report builds on findings released by Democratic US senators in October estimating that US electric bills had gone up by 11% since Trump's return to office.
Like Climate Power, the Democratic senators cited Trump's attacks on clean energy as a key factor driving up costs.
"Your administration has no explanations for its failures and no answers for American families that are hit hard by high energy costs, and it continues to actively pursue policies to make this cost crisis worse," wrote Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) at the time.
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