Palestinian Identity Revolves Around Liberation

The technological giant Meta has ruled against a blanket ban on a pro-Palestinian slogan, “From the river to the sea”, after months of frankly contrived controversy. The conglomerate’s moderation board ruled against accusations that the slogan, common as a reference to the Palestinian right of return to their homeland, was a form of hate speech – accusations that have long been circulated, in particular, by Zionists as part of a general attempt to erase Palestinian solidarity.

The phrase, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” refers to the Jordan River in the east, whose West Bank forms central Palestine, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Much of the region’s Palestinian populace has been systematically displaced by ethno-nationalists since Israel’s foundation in the late 1940s, and much of Palestinian identity and politics has revolved around the liberation of this land. The phrase also appears in the literature of Hamas, the de facto rulers of Gaza since 2007 and the purported target of Israel’s genocidal slaughter since their breakout from a long siege in October 2023.

Campaign to Paint Palestinian Slogan as Antisemitic

Since autumn 2023, at which point it was common among the highest channels of government to downplay Palestinian issues and sideline Palestinian issues, mostly Zionist critics have claimed that the phrase expresses a desire to exterminate Jewish people, which has been conflated with the removal of the Israeli state. Figures as senior as British Labour politician, and former shadow minister, Andy McDonald were punished for references to what had long been an uncontroversial slogan but was painted overnight as a form of antisemitism.

The campaign also included pressure on social media outlets, such as Meta’s Facebook, to ban the phrase as both support for Hamas – which is banned as a “terrorist organization” in much of North America and Europe – and a call for genocide against the Jews: this while much of the same campaign supports at worst or covers up at best an actual genocide committed, supposedly in defence of Jews, against Palestinians.

Depends on Context

The oversight board of Meta found that the phrase can have multiple meanings depending on context. “The standalone phrase cannot be understood as a call to violence against a group based on their protected characteristics, as advocating for the exclusion of a particular group, or of supporting a designated entity – Hamas.”

Because of this multiplicity of meanings and contexts, the board’s majority found, “a blanket ban on content that includes the phrase, a default rule towards removal of such content, or even using it as a signal to trigger enforcement or review, would hinder protected political speech in unacceptable ways.”

Related:

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Then The Sea Split: Reflections On The Story Of Prophet Musa, Gaza, And Hope