Anti-Semitism watchdog criticizes Meta's decision to allow 'genocidal' slogan

An anti-Semitism watchdog, the Combat Antisemitism Movement, is criticizing Meta's Oversight Board for deciding that "From the River to the Sea" does not necessarily violate the company's ban "on Hate Speech, Violence and Incitement or Dangerous Organizations and Individuals."

The American Jewish Committee describes the slogan as a "catch-all phrase symbolizing Palestinian control over the entire territory of Israel’s borders, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea."

"'From the River to the Sea' is a slogan created with the sole vision of destroying the national homeland of the Jewish people," CAM CEO Sacha Roytman said Wednesday in a press release. "It is genocidal in intent and meaning, and is not a legitimate political or ideological vision, because it targets the one Jewish state and its inhabitants for destruction."

The oversight board for Meta, the parent company for such major social media platforms as Facebook and Instagram, pointed to three examples of posts with "From the River to the Sea" that "do not glorify or even refer to Hamas, an organization designated as dangerous by Meta." The posts instead "contain contextual signs of solidarity with Palestinians – but no language calling for violence or exclusion."

Roytman accused the board Board of having "special rules for Jews and the Jewish State because they seem to always come down on the side of antisemites and give them a benefit of the doubt."

CAM highlighted a white paper the organization sent the board "about why the slogan 'From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free' is a violent call to genocide that should be banned from the social media platform."

"This white paper analyzes the slogan 'From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free,' its historical and contemporary contexts, and why it is perceived as a call to genocidal violence against the State of Israel," according to another CAM press release.

The white paper highlights the historical association of the slogan "with groups that oppose the existence of Israel as a Jewish State in any borders, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad."

"Since their inception, these terror organizations have advocated for the obliteration of the world’s only Jewish State as a precondition to the establishment of a Palestinian State," the white paper reads.