On the 3ed of June, as the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza reached 50 years, BDS activists managed to get inside the offices of Fidelity Investments on K st. Fidelity is a major investor in the notorious house-sharing firm AirBnB, known locally as a driver of gentrification. Globally they are known for being active in Israeli Settlements, renting out stolen homes to tourists.
The BDS or Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions advocates were demanding that Fidelity dump their investments in AirBnB until AirBnB stop doing business in the occupied territories. This “tertiary targetting” is the same strategy that drove Huntingdon Live Sciences to the brink of bankruptcy at least five times. Those who assist in an act of oppression are as responsible for it as those who build the Apartheid Wall with their own hands. Thus AirBnB is facing demands to get out of the occupied territories, just as Sodastream is closing their factory there. Until they do, investors like Fidelity will face escalating protests and pressure tactics themselves, demanding they either get control of or dump AirBnB. From settlements in Palestine to gentrification and obscene rents in DC, AirBnB is a partner in displacement.
Video from the protest inside Fidelity
DC Direct Action News 