Los Campesinos! Reveal They Turned Down $60K Airbnb Deal in Support of Palestine

Welsh indie rock outfit Los Campesinos! have detailed how they turned down a lucrative payday from Airbnb in order to maintain their support of pro-Palestinian causes.

The group – who have released seven albums across their 19-year history – took to social media on Tuesday to explain the reasoning behind their decision.

“In April we declined an offer of $60,000 to license a song of ours to an Airbnb commercial,” they wrote. “Airbnb continues to make money from stolen Palestinian land and contributes to the housing crisis worldwide. We do not wish to promote or profit from this.

“Free Palestine. Eat the Rich.”

The group’s accusations toward Airbnb follow on from reporting by The Guardian in February which claimed that both Airbnb and Booking.com had advertised more than 700 rooms in illegal Israeli settlements – with 350 of them available on Airbnb.

“We’re sharing this because we have found similar acts of solidarity and protest by our peers to be inspiring,” Los Campesinos! added in a follow-up post. “Every time an artist takes a principled stance it makes it easier for the next artist to do the same ✊🏻.”

The pro-Palestinian stance taken by Los Campesinos! echoes high-profile protests by artists such as Kneecap and Bob Vylan in recent months, which have both generated massive amounts of support and backlash.

In April, Kneecap made global headlines following their appearance at the Coachella festival where they projected strong anti-Israel sentiments during their set – sentiments which they had claimed were censored during their first weekend appearance.

“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” the projected messages read. “It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.”

In late June, Kneecap also performed at England’s Glastonbury Festival, sharing a bill with Bob Vylan – which comprises Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan.

Bobby sparked outrage during the show as he led the audience in a chant of “death, death to the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces).” He also called for a “free Palestine” and said that “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Kneecap, meanwhile, led a “F— Keir Starmer chant,” after the U.K. prime minister said it was “not appropriate” to be playing the festival amidst Mo Chara’s ongoing terror case.

Reports followed that Avon and Somerset Police had launched a criminal investigation into the sets of both artists following public backlash and political scrutiny over remarks made during their respective performances.

“[Bob Vylan’s] chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” a spokesperson for the festival later noted.

“Regardless of how it was said, calling for an end to the slaughter of innocents is never wrong,” Bobby Vylan said in his own video statement, “This anger is not directed at [Israeli] civilians.”