Case Description
Due to a technical glitch, our public comments portal for cases related to the "From the River to the Sea" phrase closed earlier than planned. To ensure everyone has a chance to share their input, we've reopened it for 24 hours. The portal will now close at 12pm BST on May 23rd.
These three cases concern content decisions made by Meta, all on Facebook, which the Oversight Board intends to address together.
The three posts were shared by different users in November 2023, following the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7 and the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Each post contains the phrase “From the river to the sea.” All three were reported by users for violating Meta’s Community Standards. The company decided to leave all three posts on Facebook. For each case, the Board will decide whether the content should be removed under Meta’s policies and according to its human rights responsibilities. Numbers of views and reports are correct as of the end of February 2024.
The first case concerns a comment from a Facebook user on another user’s video. The video has a caption encouraging others to “speak up” with numerous hashtags including “#ceasefire” and “#freepalestine.” The comment on the post contains the phrase “FromTheRiverToTheSea” in hashtag form, as well as several additional hashtags including “#DefundIsrael.” The comment had about 3,000 views and was reported seven times by four users. The reports were closed after Meta’s automated systems did not send them for human review within 48 hours.
In the second case, a Facebook user posted what appears to be a generated image of fruit floating on the sea that form the words from the phrase, along with “Palestine will be free.” The post had about 8 million views and was reported 951 times by 937 users. The first report on the post was closed, again because Meta’s automated systems did not send it for human review within 48 hours. Subsequent reports by users were reviewed and assessed as non-violating by human moderators.
In the third case, a Facebook page reshared a post from the page of a community organization in Canada in which a statement from the “founding members” of the organization declared support for “the Palestinian people,” condemning their “senseless slaughter” by the “Zionist State of Israel” and “Zionist Israeli occupiers.” The post ends with the phrase “From The River To The Sea.” This post had less than 1,000 views and was reported by one user. The report was automatically closed.
The Facebook users who reported the content, and subsequently appealed Meta’s decisions to leave up the content to the Board, claimed the phrase was breaking Meta’s rules on Hate Speech, Violence and Incitement or Dangerous Organizations and Individuals. The user who reported the content in the first case stated that the phrase violates Meta’s policies prohibiting content that promotes violence or supports terrorism. The users who reported the content in the second and third cases stated that the phrase constitutes hate speech, is antisemitic and is a call to abolish the state of Israel.
After the Board selected these cases for review, Meta confirmed its original decisions were correct. Meta informed the Board that it analyzed the content under three policies – Violence and Incitement, Hate Speech and Dangerous Organizations and Individuals – and found the posts did not violate any of these policies. Meta explained the company is aware that “From the river to the sea” has a long history and that it had reviewed use of the phrase on its platform after October 7, 2023. After that review, Meta determined that, without additional context, it cannot conclude that “From the river to the sea” constitutes a call to violence or a call for exclusion of any particular group, nor that it is linked exclusively to support for Hamas.
The Board selected these cases to consider how Meta should moderate the use of the phrase given the resurgence in its use after October 7, 2023, and controversies around the phrase’s meaning. On the one hand, the phrase has been used to advocate for the dignity and human rights of Palestinians. On the other hand, it could have antisemitic implications, as claimed by the users who submitted the cases to the Board. This case falls within the Board’s strategic priority of Crisis and Conflict Situations.
The Board would appreciate public comments that address:
- The origin and current uses of the phrase: “From the river to the sea.”
- Research into online trends in content using the phrase.
- Research into any associated online and offline harms from the use of the phrase.
- Meta’s human rights responsibilities in relation to content using the phrase including freedom of expression, freedom of association, and equality and non-discrimination.
- State and institutional (e.g., university) responses to the use of the phrase (e.g., during protests) and the human rights impacts of those responses.
As part of its decisions, the Board can issue policy recommendations to Meta. While recommendations are not binding, Meta must respond to them within 60 days. As such, the Board welcomes public comments proposing recommendations that are relevant to these cases.
Comments
The expression from the river to the sea, means in other words the destruction of the only Jewish state in the world, which is the State of Israel.
“From the river to the sea” a chant that never existed before but it appears only in “Pro-Palestinian” marches, which can be peaceful but only too many times include chants of racism, calls for violence and hate speech.
It represents a genocide that it wants against the current Land of Israel and its people which doesn’t include Jews but anyone from any faith, any nationality (whether they are in Israel for work reasons or a love of the land).
The term from the river to the Palestine will be free is a call for the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Israelis (specifically Jews). I should not be tolareted on any platform, it incites hate and antisemitism and yo should stand on the right side of history and not tolerate this phrase.
The phrase "from the River to the Sea" is alarming as it suggests a call for genocide. With over 9 million people residing in the area between the river and the sea, it raises the question: where are these people supposed to go?
Those who chant this phrase often haven't any idea of the specific locations of the river and sea, nor have they thought about the fate of these millions of people.
It's concerning that such language is permitted on Meta social media platforms.
This is a sentence that calls for terror and erasing a nation and not calling for peace.
This is not really supporting anyone and only evoke more anger and hate.
Take it out from your app if you support peace and want to help all sides
הביטוי הנוראי בפירוש קורא למחיקה של מדינת ישראל כולה! זאת קריאה ברורה לרצח עם ומעודד שנאה ואלימות!
The saying "from the river to the sea" is a very general expression, however it carries a specific meaning in today's cultural context. The meaning is explicitly from the Jordan River to the mideterean sea there will be *only* a Palestinian state. Basically, it means to kill all Israeli people in their state, which is an explicit call to genocide of Israelis. This saying is a call to arms and genocide against Israelis, and usually jews in general due to their connection to Israel. Claiming this is a neutral statement is a falsehood, and there are ways to call for the creation of a Palestinian state without calling for genocide as well, however it is not the case here.
Because of these reasons I feel the saying must be banned as hate speech to prevent its spreading and incaurage more moral solutions then the genocide of one side.
The phrase practically calls for the death of all jews in Israel, siding with terrorists and murderers. It is unacceptable. More often than not the people using this phrase don't even know what it means. Blindly calling for a second holocaust.
The call of "From the River to the Sea" is a call for the eradication of Israel and all the Jews in it. Please determine whether calls for the eradication of a people is acceptable speech.
The frase " from the river.. " is ambition to destroy a country and its people. Even if we have a debate on a country boundries- we don't wish to eliminate it. Israel today is in her most horrific times. After October 7 Massacre - children, men, women, young and elderly were Slaughtered, Tortured and burned to death, Kidnapped and Raped. Today, after 7 months, there are 132 citizen who ate still Captive by terror Group Hamas. including a baby and a toddler!! HOW CAN ANYONE AGREE WITH THOSE ATROCITIES AND SUPPORT THE TERRORISTS ? Israel is faceing Anti Semitism- Bulling and violation against Jews around the Globe. No one, No matter Religion, State, Colore or Gender - Should go threw this Horrors. Banning the Frase "from the river" - is one step for changing the Paradigma of Supporting the terror and the Bulling.if we want peace- It doesn't start with Frases that Calles to destroy people. It starts with eliminate the evil and not encourage him.
Israel is the ancestral land of the Jewish people. It isn’t perfect. No country is.
Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and the only country in the Middle East where gay and lesbian Arabs are free from state persecution. Where Arab women can vote and be voted as judges, doctors, police officers, serve in the military, be architects or lawyers.
The Muslim denominated countries in the Middle East are overwhelmingly Muslim. Nothing wrong with that. Its their right. However, they did expel almost every Jew that ever lived there.
The state of Israel geographically spreads from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea.
When the phrase “From the River to the Sea” is invoked it means, at best, a single state where over time Palestinians population will overgrow. Palestinians historically never had a democratic non terrorist government. It’s a fact. Once they gained majority the Jews will be purged from Israel. Violently and otherwise.
Calling in those circumstances “From the River to the Sea” means eradicating Jews from Israel. It is genocidal and a war crime.
However, at worst, and for me that is a historical fact, the meaning behind the phrase is what the Palestinian Liberation Organisation had in mind and that was killing the jews, throwing them to the sea. In fact, it was such a bad and contentious phrase, that Yasser Arafat himself abandoned it when he signed the first phase of the Oslo Accords. He recognised how bad it was.
The last point I want to make is that on the streets of major and small cities and on universities all over the world, that phrase never stands alone.
In those events, there are always people who will shout or post vile Jihadist war statements, Intifada, Khayber Khayber, post paraglides photos or threat violence or sexual violence on Jews. Ofter Jews are called on to return to Europe.
You would have never accepted such statements calling for black people to return to Africa and if you do, you shouldn’t.
If Facebook wants to salvage its standing as a platform that respects free speech but also believes free speech isn’t cart blanche for hate speech that phrase needs to be band or at the very least be pushed to absolute obscurity by the algorithm.
המשפט מהים לנהר אומר שהשטח שכולל את כל ישראל ואת כל השטחים הפלסטינים (הגדה המערבית ורצועת עזה ) יעבור לידיים של הפלסטינים. כלומר למחוק מהמפה את מדינת ישראל ותושביה. זה אומר רצח עם.
If somebody says "from the river to the see"it is seems that Israel will not exist more
Far too many people have taken up the slogan, 'From the river to the sea', mistakenly believing it to be a statement of support for Palestine. However what many people do not realise is that it is an unequivocal call to remove all Jews, not just from Israel, but the world. It is profoundly offensive and I am terrified that it's hateful message is being both masked and perpetuated in support of the eradication of Jewish people. It's fundamentalist nature must be revealed and struck from popular use within the media.
"From the river to the sea", is an antisemitic call for genocide.
It is only fiting that we remove any mention of this menacing sentence.
On 7/10/24 the Hamas terror organizationcarried out a failed attempt to destroy the State of Israel. No person or organization should be encouraged to attack a sovereign state.
Please remove this hedios sentence.
Will be free means that it will be free of Jews and just like the Nazis
that is antisemitism!
Calling from the river to the sea is a call to kill all the Jewish people in Israel, as we have seen in October 7th they do intend to carry that threat violently. This is not a call for peace. Calling to kill my entire people is a call for genocide regardless of the context and the wording. It shouldn't be allowed.
The phrase "From the river to the sea", refers to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, an area internationally recognized as the State of Israel. It is usually followed by the phrase "Palestine will be free." In fact, the second phrase has become synonymous with the first phrase, therefore, making the use of the second phrase optional. On its own or paired with the second phrase, the first phrase unequivocally means the destruction of the State of Israel. Because if Palestine extends "from the river to the sea" then it must remove the State of Israel which currently inhabits the same area. This is an incendiary claim that sabotages any chance for conversation and resolution between Israel and Palestine.
The phrase "from the river to the sea" is a call for the genocide of Jews and the elimination of the state of Israel.
It refers to taking over the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, where Israel is.
This is a clear case of hate speech, and must be banned!
This sentence is very stupid and most people that use it don’t understand what they are saying, they don’t know the land, they don’t look at the map, they are just saying some slogan that they don’t understand.
If people want to say something about the situation, they better have some knowledge about it, and not speak empty slogans.