The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a decision by Meta’s (Facebook’s parent company) oversight board that the use of the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which some activists say they use to call for Israelis and Palestinians to live together in one state with equal rights, does not inherently constitute hate speech.
Meta’s Oversight Board has found that the phrase “From the River to the Sea,” used to express Palestinian support, did not break the company’s hate speech policies.
SEE: ‘From the River to the Sea’ is not hate speech, Meta’s Oversight Board rules
In a statement, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said:
“We appreciate Meta recognizing that the Jewish, Palestinian and other activists who sometimes use this phrase as their way of advocating for Israelis and Palestinians to live together in one state with equal rights are not engaging in hate speech. This stands in stark contrast the official position of the Likud Party and the Israeli government, which calls for a permanent state of occupation and subjugation ‘from the river to the sea’ in its official platform. It is essential that Meta also take action to ensure that voices opposing the genocide in Gaza are not being unjustly censored or banned.”
He noted that CAIR previously called on Facebook’s Oversight Board to reject pressure to recommend that the social media company censor posts or hashtags using the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” based on the false claim that it inherently violates Meta’s Community Standards.
SEE: CAIR Urges Facebook Oversight Board to Reject Pressure to Censor Pro-Palestinian Speech –
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com