Fed up with Facebook founder Marc Zuckerberg’s intransigence and refusal to remove online posts that incite terror against Israelis and Jews, Israel’s Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan said that ‘part of the blood of the murdered is on Facebook’s hands,’ and demanded that the ‘monster’ social media network take action.

Israel’s Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan slammed Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg for what he said was their partial responsibility for the wave of Palestinian terror attacks which is fanned by incitement posted on Facebook and other social media outlets.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 on Saturday, Erdan said that “part of the blood of the murdered is on Facebook’s hands,” and demanded that the social media network take action to combat the phenomenon.

“Facebook has become a monster,” the Israeli minister charged. “The discourse of the younger [Palestinian] generation on the web, all the incitement and lies, it all occurs on this platform. I am in support of Mr. Zuckerberg conducting self monitoring.”

He continued by charging that if Israel television would have a demonstration on how to murder someone, it would be shut down. “Facebook has demonstrated helplessness,” he added.

He called on Israelis to flood Facebook with demands that it remove incitement and anti-Israel hate messages.

Erdan further charged that Facebook was hindering efforts by Israel’s police and refuses to cooperate with it, and that its policies regarding the removal of harmful materials are not effective.

Facebook’s ‘Community Standards’ are Fickle

Facebook, in a statement issued in Hebrew, rejected Erdan’s charges and asserted that it cooperated with Israeli authorities and worked to combat incitement.

“There is no room on our platform for content that encourages violence, direct threats, terror or verbal abuse. We have an array of clear community guidelines meant to help people understand what is permitted on Facebook, and we call on people to make use of our reporting tools if they come across content that they believe violates these guidelines, so that we can evaluate each incident and take swift action,” Facebook stated.

Several publicized attempts by organizations to have Facebook remove harmful Palestinian content have failed, while several demonstrations have showed that Facebook is biased when it comes to removing anti-Israel incitement.

Just hours after claiming it banned violent content, the social media site allowed the Palestinian Shahab news agency to broadcast a live military drill conducted by the Hamas terror organization.

The video, which received tens of thousands of views, shows Hamas terrorists practicing with weapons and rockets. When Channel 2 complained about the video and its content, Facebook responded by saying this video “doesn’t violate our Community Standards.”

Erdan, together with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, are drafting legislation that could force Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other social media platforms to remove online postings that incite terrorism.

The recent wave of Palestinian terror has erupted as a result of malicious lies and incitement by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the Hamas terror organization and the Islamic movement, Israel says, and a glimpse at Palestinian social media reveals the extent and virulence of this lethal phenomenon.

On Facebook, one can find posts calling on social media users to join the violence against Israel.

Israel has arrested several Arab for inciting violence against Israel on social media.

Some 20,000 Israelis have joined a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, charging that the social media platform is ignoring posts that include Palestinian incitement and calls to murder Jews.

“While everyone understands the need to keep the web free, Facebook’s decision to allow this flood of terrorist incitement and calls to murder Jews to continue has crossed all red lines,” the Shurat Hadin Law Center, an Israel-based legal rights group, which is spearheading this venture, announced.

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel

 

Source: United with Israel