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On Airbnb, the host warns: supporters of Israel will not be welcome

Following the report, the advert was immediately removed from the platform. Other previous instances of discrimination

by Patrizia Maciocchi

25 June 2026

Paris, France - November 30, 2023 : Female hand holding smartphone with Airbnb application. Airbnb is an online marketplace and hospitality service, enabling people to lease or rent short-term lodging Pixavril - stock.adobe.com

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Previous ‘go home’ remarks directed at gay people and southerners
The platform’s clear anti-discrimination policy
Cesare Mirabelli’s warning

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

‘We kindly ask you not to book if you support the ongoing genocide in Gaza. If you support Israel, we have no interest in welcoming you.’ This is the polite warning from a host offering their holiday home on the portal Airbnb, aimed at supporters of Israel, which was immediately removed from the platform after being reported. Such “screening” of guests is prohibited, even before it is prohibited by the community guidelines, the Constitution and national and supranational laws.

Protections that prevent landlords from selecting tenants, excluding them on the basis of their personal beliefs: from religious beliefs to political views, from ethnicity to sexual orientation. Both Article 3 of the Constitution and Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights serve to prevent this discrimination in relation to a fundamental right such as the right to housing.

Previous ‘go home’ remarks directed at gay people and southerners

That is, at least on paper, because in reality, many have been tempted to pick and choose their tenants. In 2017, a gay couple reported that their booking had been refused via a terse text message, which stated that they did not accept ‘neither gay people nor pets’.

In 2018, at the Bacoli beach resort, another same-sex couple were turned away; according to the owner, this was because they were intoxicated. There have been numerous reports of “anti-Southern bias”, made by students or workers from Southern Italia who, on the basis of their documents or simply their accent, have had the door slammed in their faces. In November 2024, the manager of an accommodation facility in Selva di Cadore made headlines when, as reported by the Jewish community in Milan, he told a group of Israeli tourists that, as perpetrators of genocide, they were not welcome. They were, however, offered the opportunity to cancel their booking free of charge.

In August last year, a sign in Rome offering a spacious room for 500 euros sparked controversy. For the capital, it was a bargain – a pity that to take advantage of it, you had to be, a man, straight and Italian .

Finally, in 2026, a job advert – this time for a chef – seeking a chef who explicitly stated “no gay people”, a requirement not provided for by law, came under scrutiny by the courts, leading to the restaurateur’s conviction by the court.

The platform’s clear anti-discrimination policy

As for the post that appeared on Airbnb’s global platform, in which supporters of Israel were asked to refrain from booking, it was promptly removed after it was reported to the administrators of the US community – which has over 5.5 million hosts and has hosted more than 2.5 billion people worldwide. The anti-discrimination policy, which is imposed on all members by the platform, founded in 2007 in San Francisco, which is committed to equal respect amongst users. There are no distinctions based on sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religious or political beliefs. The ban on ‘indicating a preference for or against a specific type of guest’ is set out in black and white .

Cesare Mirabelli’s warning

Even so, the ‘Mose’ of rules and vigilance raised against intolerance is not always enough to stop it. The President Emeritus of the Constitutional Court Cesare Mirabelli urges us to remain vigilant. ‘Excluding a person from hospitality in a public residence on the basis of their ideas – even if done in a polite manner – is an affront to freedom of thought and not only hurts the individual or group affected, but also undermines everyone’s freedom. It brings to mind Roberto Benigni’s wonderful film ‘Life Is Beautiful’. In one scene, a sign is seen at the door of a public establishment which bars Jews from entering. We have experienced this – warns Mirabelli – an intolerable expression of racism. It begins with a group of people or with ideas and beliefs – even those furthest removed from one’s own or the common sentiment, or even negative ones – which, however, do not translate into unlawful acts, and sets us on a dangerous slope, which, over time, may extend these exclusions or apply them to other categories of people or to those who hold certain ideas. Be careful, let us stand firm in defence of our rights to freedom’.