Meta oversight board declares anti-Israel rallying call ‘from the river to the sea’ is not hate speech

The oversight board for Facebook’s parent company declared that the anti-Israel slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is not hate speech.

Meta’s board made the announcement on its official website on Wednesday, arguing that certain uses of the slogan can express “solidarity with Palestinians” without “calling for violence or exclusion.”

Meta’s board considered three separate uses of the phrase in posts on Facebook, and the board noted that none of the posts “glorify or even refer to Hamas.”

“In upholding Meta’s decisions to keep up the content, the majority of the Board notes the phrase has multiple meanings and is used by people in various ways and with different intentions,” the board’s announcement reads.

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“A minority, however, believes that because the phrase appears in the 2017 Hamas charter and given the October 7 attacks, its use in a post should be presumed to constitute glorification of a designated entity, unless there are clear signals to the contrary,” the statement continued.

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The decision conflicts with certain groups who argue the phrase is inherently antisemitic. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) notes on its website that the phrase inherently calls for the removal of the state of Israel.

“It is fundamentally a call for a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, which would mean the dismantling of the Jewish state. It is an antisemitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination, including through the removal of Jews from their ancestral homeland,” the ADL states.

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The ADL responded specifically to Meta’s announcement in its own statement Wednesday morning, saying the group “respectfully disagrees” with the decision.

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“Usage of this phrase has the effect of making members of the Jewish and pro-Israel community feel unsafe and ostracized. There are many ways to advocate for Palestinian justice and rights, including a Palestinian State, without resorting to using this hateful phrase, which denies the right of the State of Israel to exist,” the group wrote.