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
. זה ביטוי של שנאה. רצח, סילוק, נישול של העם היהודי מארצו ארץ ישראל. המדינה משתרעת בין הירדן במזרח לים תיכון במערב, והביטוי הזה משמש לציין שהמדינה תהפוך ממדינת ישראל למדינת פלסטין ושהיהודים שגרים בה היום יושמדו, יוגלו, ירצחו וכו.
.אסור לאפשר לביטוי שנאה כזה להישמע בעולם מתקדם ונאור
The sentence "from the river to the sea" mean from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean sea. Which call for the destruction and elimination of all the Jewish people in Israel. We saw what happened when they conquered but a small part.
עצם השימוש במשפט זה מהנהר עד הים משמעו גירוש העם היהודי מארץ ישראל. אין פה בקשה לפשרה , הסכם שלום או רצון לחיים משותפים אלא גירוש העם היהודי מארצו ולמעשה מהייותו עם עם ארץ. זוהי אמירה אנטישמית מיסודה אשר מעודדת מחיקת העם היהודי
"from the river to the Sea" means wiping out every Jewish person out of the Middle East.
It supports genocide against Jews as a way of Palestinian search for identity.
It clearly calls for violence and murder against Jewish Israeli citizens and Jews worldwide.
To use such a dangerous language aiming to eliminate a whole country/Nation
Should be illegal!!!
The ease in which today’s radicals are supported blindly without any due diligence is scary and dangerous and MUST BE STOPPED!!!
Calling to eliminate the Jewish or any other nation in any form must be considered illegal!!!
What that expression means is that people want to eliminate the country of Israel, the only refuge of a people who have been expelled from and murdered in countries all over the world. Even the US has made it impossible for Jewish people to feel safe. There needs to be a refuge and where better than the land that they have inhabited for centuries where both historical and archaeological evidence exist and where they have built a democratic, multicultural society- taking in refugees from all over the world. Please do eliminate all posts that call for the destruction of Israel and/or the Jewish people.
I support the removal of the statement from the river to the sea . This statement is a direct implication that Israel has no right to exist as a free country and indirectly implies for either killing of jews or forced migration.
This statement doesn't support the true right of Palestinian to have their own country in Co existence, peacefulness to thier nighboors. And offers a 0 or 1 options.
It's the same as I wouldn't want to see any hate speech statement such as make America all white again or anything that implied direct damage to others.
From the river to the sea became a common phrase
which is being used by an increasing group of people of whom an absolute majority doesn’t understand its meaning. It became a phrase that is synonymous with the elimination of the state of Israel. This expression became a call for anti-Semitism and the extermination of Jews, specially because most of those who use it don’t really understand that Israel is a legitimate state and that there’s no reason for any other people to take away the territory on which it exists. most of the people who use this phrase don’t even know which river and which see they are talking about and just use it as an expression of hate. Hate should be deleted from social media.
Nice but stupid slogan, which caused the protests using without understand its actual meaning: Destroy Israel. When one of the Israeli reporters asked the yelling people where are the river and the sea, most of them didn't know the answer.
What that expression means is that people want to eliminate the country of Israel, the only refuge of a people who have been expelled from and murdered in countries all over the world. Even the US has made it impossible for Jewish people to feel safe. There needs to be a refuge and where better than the land that they have inhabited for centuries where both historical and archaeological evidence exist and where they have built a democratic, multicultural society- taking in refugees from all over the world. Please do eliminate all posts that call for the destruction of Israel and/or the Jewish people.
This phrase is unacceptable! The very meaning of it is destroying Israel. It is based on pure hate and most of the people using it are not even aware of it's meaning
The phrase "from the river to the sea etc." is in fact calling for genoside of the Israeli people. Therefore this statement should be banned.
In short, this is a call for genocide against the Israeli people.
It shouldn't have been that way. This call could have been a legitimate call for peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people and the establishment of the two states solution, but the users of this phrase does not know what nations lie between the river and the sea, does not know the history of Israel's attempts for peace and mostly think that the state of Israel should be dismantled and taken over by the Palestinian population.
Therefore, this has become a call to use any means to destroy the state of Israel, which of course include the means popularly used already - suicide bombing, attacks durected at civilians and all other terrorist methods.
The Palestinian terrorists has shown both in their words and on their actions that their goal is to commit genocide against the people of Israel, and this call means supporting them in doing so.
משמעות הביטוי היא סלקציה של יהודים באזור של ארץ ישראל. סלקציה של אנשים מאזור מסויים זוהי גזענות. ובמקרה הזה הביטוי לא רק גזעני אלא מבטא רצון להשמיד מדינה דמוקרטית שחברה באו"ם. רק בגלל שהמדינה מנהולת על ידי יהודים.
הקריאות האלה מתכתבות עם האיסור של יהודים להיכנס לבתי מסחר בשנות ה30 של המאה הקודמת. איסור זה קדם לסלקציה וההריגה של 6 מיליון יהודים. וגם במקרה שלנו עכשיו האנשים שייצרו את הביטוי הזה לא צסתירים שרצונם להרוג יהודים רק בגלל שהם יהודים.
הקהילה של פייסבוק באה לקדם סובלנו ומרחב בטוח. ומתרת הביטוי הזה היא הפוכה לרצון של פייסבוק לקידום המין האנושי. יש אנשים שחושבים שהיהודים פוגעים בעולם. אך זאת אמירה גזענית ואנטישמית
This phrase means erasing the only Jewish state in the world.
From The river to the sea is the whole territory of the state of Israel and the Palestinian Territories together. If this territory is given to the Arabs ( aka Palestinians ) it means wiping Israel of the map- a genocide. This is exactly what the radical Islamic / jihadi organizations ( hamas, the jihadi Islam, etc) want to do.
השימוש בביטוי שלהלן הוא פוגעני מאןד, אלים ומפחיד. ישראל וכל
היהודים והערבים החיים בה, מתקיימת בין נהר הירדן לים התיכון. כאשר אומרים שכל השטח הזה יהפוך לפלסטין, ברור שהכוונה היא לא לאפשר לתושבים היהודים לחיות. ראינו כבר את זה קורה ב 7.10.24, ברגע שהיה לטרוריסטים הזדמנות הם רצחו. ליהודים יש זכות לחיות. ליהודים יש זכות למדינה משלהם. ליהודים מוצר לחיות במדינת ישראל, וכאשר צועקים לקיום מדינה פלסטינית על כל שטח המדינה, ולא רק על חלק ממנה, זה בדיוק כמו לקרוא לרצח יהודים. באופן אישי זה מאוד מפחיד אותי.
כמובן שאין בעיה עם קריאות להקמת מדינה פלסטינית לצד מדינת ישראל. אבל קריאות כאלה הן הסתה ישירה לרצח יהודים.
This is a call for the destruction of Israel, the only place that Jews can call home.
It's not just from the river to the sea. Without the rest the calling is not complete. From the river from the sea Palestine will be free means the calling for the genocide of all people tho live in Israel. Besides the jews, it's Duruz, Christian, Bedouin, Bahai. If you need a glimpse of what a "free Palestine", a place under hamas rule will look like, take a glimpse at Syria that the world doesn't care about, take a look at Yemen that the world doesn't care about, look at how Palestinians are being treated under Lebanese rule.
Come one, you're not for free Palestine, you're for killing thr jews.
From the River to the sea is antisemitism and against the right of Jewish State to exist