CAIR Urges Facebook Oversight Board to Reject Pressure to Censor Pro-Palestinian Speech – – Council on American-Islamic Relations

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nations largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling on Facebooks Oversight Board to reject pressure to recommend that the social media company censor posts or hashtags using the phrase from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free based on the false claim that it inherently violates Metas Community Standards, or rules onHate Speech,Violence and IncitementorDangerous Organizations and Individuals.

Yesterday, CAIR submitted a formal statement encouraging the external board to support Metas current position, which permits such free speech on the platform. The oversight board, which makes recommendations to Meta, has been accepting public comments about whether and how Meta should moderate the use of the phrase given its recent rise in popularity.

CAIRs letter to the oversight board said in part:

Countering real antisemitism is important, but it is also critically important for Facebook and other social media companies to reject pressure from the Israeli government and its supporters to suppress advocacy for Palestinian human rights based on false allegations of antisemitism.

Most Palestinian, Jewish, and other activists who use the phrase have explained that they are calling for Palestinians and Israelis to live together in a single state with equal rights for all. No reasonable person would call this antisemitic, even if they disagree with that proposed solution. In stark contrast, the Israeli governments interpretation of Israeli security control from the river to the sea signifies a permanent occupation where Palestinians are denied rights.

Even though the Israeli governments demand for apartheid from the river to the sea is racist and unjust, Facebook should not ban Israel or its supporters from expressing their view, much less ban supporters of Palestinian human rights from expressing their support for a single state with equal rights for all. Free speech principles should lead social media users to debate ideas with each other, not silence each other.

READ:CAIRs Letter on River to the Sea to Facebook Oversight Board

SEE:Posts That Include From the River to the Sea | Oversight Board

At present, the Facebook Oversight Board reports that it has advised Facebook not to act on social media users reports that the phrase constitutes hate speech, is antisemitic, or is a call to abolish the state of Israel because it has a long history and without additional context Facebook cannot conclude that From the river to the seaconstitutes a call to violence or a call for exclusion of any particular group, nor that it is linked exclusively to support for Hamas. CAIR is urging Facebook and Meta to maintain this position.

CAIRs Full Statement to the Facebook Oversight Board:

On behalf of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nations largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, we urge the Facebook Oversight Board to reject the notion that the phrase From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free violates Metas rules on Hate Speech, Violence and Incitement, or Dangerous Organizations and Individuals.

Countering real antisemitism is important, but it is also critically important for Facebook and other social media companies to reject pressure from the Israeli government and its supporters to suppress advocacy for Palestinian human rights based on false allegations of antisemitism.

Most Palestinian, Jewish, and other activists who use the phrase have explained that they are calling for Palestinians and Israelis to live together in a single state with equal rights for all. No reasonable person would call this antisemitic, even if they disagree with that proposed solution. In stark contrast, the Israeli governments interpretation of Israeli security control from the river to the sea signifies a permanent occupation where Palestinians are denied rights.

Even though the Israeli governments demand for apartheid from the river to the sea is racist and unjust, Facebook should not ban Israel or its supporters from expressing their view, much less ban supporters of Palestinian human rights from expressing their support for a single state with equal rights for all. Free speech principles should lead social media users to debate ideas with each other, not silence each other.

To further demonstrate this point CAIR highlights the Israeli governments 2022 declaration of guiding principles by the then-incoming far-right Netanyahu coalition government. Their guiding principles stated, The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop the settlement of all parts of the Land of Israelin the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan Heights, and Judea and Samaria, which includes the entire West Bank.

We also note the absence of any reports about Facebook censoring references to the Likud Party Platform, which asserts, Judea and Samaria will not be handed to any foreign administration; between the [Mediterranean] Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty. This includes Israels illegal occupation and control of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.

When the world opposed the discriminatory white supremacist colonial regime of apartheid in South Africa, it did not call for the destruction of that state; rather, it aimed for freedom and equality for all people, regardless of religion or ethnicity.

Social media companies like Facebook need to respect the voices of Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, Christians, Jews, and all those who advocate for the rights and freedoms of Palestinians, in addition to defending every persons right to peacefully protest and express their views.

CAIR notes in December, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued the reportMetas Broken Promises Systemic Censorship of Palestine Content on Instagram and Facebook, which found between October and November 2023, HRW over 1,050 takedowns and other suppression of content Instagram and Facebook that had been posted by Palestinians and their supporters, including about human rights abuses.

This week,The Guardian reportedthat Facebook and Instagram owner Meta approved a series of AI-manipulated political adverts during Indias election that spread disinformation and incited religious violence, including Facebook approving adverts containing known slurs towards Muslims in India, such as lets burn this verminand Hindu blood is spilling, these invaders must be burned, as well as Hindu supremacist language and disinformation about political leaders.

CAIRs mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misin de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensin del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com

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CAIR Urges Facebook Oversight Board to Reject Pressure to Censor Pro-Palestinian Speech - - Council on American-Islamic Relations