After months of discussions and reservations, Meta's independent oversight board, under which Facebook and Instagram operate, determined that the phrase "from the river to the sea" does not necessarily constitute hate speech, and will not be banned for use on the technology giant's social networks. The decision announced on Wednesday sparked outrage among Jewish organizations around the world, who say it is a "call for the destruction of Israel."
During the discussions, which began in May, the supervisory board dealt with three cases in which surfers used the expression in posts and comments on Facebook. The council, whose members are experts and academics from around the world, determined that no calls for violence or exclusion of Jews or Israelis were found in the posts, and therefore they did o not violate Meta's rules.
The board stated in its decision that the phrase "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" can indeed be interpreted as antisemitic and a call for the destruction of Israel, but at the same time it also serves as a "symbol of political solidarity with the Palestinians and the demand for equal rights and an end to the conflict in Gaza." Accordingly, Meta will not be able to automatically remove content that includes the phrase if there is no clear context indicating incitement to violence.
The director general of Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Sasha Roitman called it a "scandalous decision that legitimizes calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and gives it a place on social networks."
Since October 7, the call "from the river to the sea" has become a recurring motif in pro-Palestinian demonstrations around the world, and in April the U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution condemning the use of the expression as antisemitic by a majority vote of 377 to 44. The House reprimanded Palestinian American Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib in November for, among other things, her use of the phrase. Tlaib, the only member of the so-called Squad of liberal lawmakers who did not condemn Hamas after the October 7 massacre, claimed that the slogan only expresses an aspiration for a Palestinian state.
The expression is a political slogan of social activists who call for a return to the "borders of Palestine" from before the British mandate: from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, and some would say even beyond that. During the storm that erupted in November, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said that "this is a divisive statement, many find it offensive, and many find it antisemitic. We absolutely reject the application of this term to the conflict."
Since October 7, the Meta company has been under criticism for the way it handles content related to the war in Gaza. Pro-Palestinians accused it of censoring content related to documented violence by the Israeli security forces, while Jewish groups accused the technology giant of allowing antisemitism to spread on its social networks under the pretext of criticizing Israel. In July, the company announced that it would remove content directed against "Zionists" when the term is used as a substitute for Jews and Israelis and is accompanied by comparisons that are dehumanizing or call for harm.