Israel Pushes Tech to Stop Palestinian Incitement

On Sunday, Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan proposed new legislation urging social media platforms, like Facebook, to remove posts that directly provoke and incite violence and murder against Jews.

“My aim is to systematically expose the Palestinian culture of incitement among relevant audiences around the world,” Erdan said, according to daily Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom.

Erdan reportedly said an Israeli law should be enacted in conjunction with legislation in other Western countries. Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) recently introduced two pieces of legislation to counter the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against the State of Israel.

Israeli legal advocacy group Shurat Hadin has taken aim at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg directly to urge him to stop incitement against Israel and Jews on Facebook.

Israel Hayom notes that “some Facebook pages explain how to kill Jews most effectively and include detailed instructions and encouragement for killers. Tips are provided, such as spraying a knife with insect spray prior to stabbing Jews, or detailing which part of the body to stab to incur the most damage. The pages also include encouragement for murderers and promises of becoming cultural heroes.”

Shurat Hadin Director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner reportedly said that “the incitement on Facebook is becoming a weapon in the hands of terror, and we cannot accept this. Even after the murder of close to 30 Israelis since October, driven by wild incitement on social networks, Facebook continues to turn a blind eye.” The group has reportedly begun raising funds using crowdfunding site Headstart in the hope of hanging billboards across from Zuckerberg’s California mansion to get his attention.

On Monday, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) will host a conference in Los Angeles, coinciding with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to “challenge Palestinian lies” and address efforts to

Erdan published an op-ed in the Guardian this past October arguing that the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, promulgates lies and vitriol on social media:

Some speak of “lone wolf” attacks when describing this wave of terror. But these attacks are being fueled by violent incitement on social media, on official Palestinian radio and in sermons delivered in Gaza’s mosques. When Hamas posts an “instructional clip” on YouTube teaching viewers how to murder Israeli civilians, when Palestinian radio plays songs of praise to the “martyrs”, and when preachers in Gaza stand at the pulpit with a raised knife to demonstrate how to stab an Israeli, then we shouldn’t be surprised that young people decide to take a knife and commit murder….

Tragically, the Palestinian leadership has nurtured a culture of hatred, for decades teaching their children to become murderers. Incitement and murder can lead to tragic suffering on both sides, but Israel is here to stay. The sooner the Palestinians realize this and return to the negotiating table, the sooner we can begin to build a different future – for the sake of all our children.

Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz.

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