FEATURED JOBS
Freedom of speech does not guarantee freedom of platform. Case in point is the hate-mongering page that executives of the wildly popular social networking site Facebook – after a slew of complaints—finally shut down early Tuesday, March 29.
The “cause” page, “Third Palestinian Intifada,” sought a violent uprising against Israel on May 15, Israel’s Independence Day. As of Monday, March 28 the page had 344,828 “friends”. YouTube and Twitter links called for killing Jews and Israelis and violently “liberating” Jerusalem. In a region seething with revolution, and at a time of heightened tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, such calls really could encourage those who believe harming “the enemy” is acceptable political behavior.
Until early this week, Facebook officials said they would only “monitor” the page. That was absurd.
Would Facebook allow a page calling for a forced return to slavery for African-Americans? How about one detailing murder of policemen and their snitches? What about advice steps on how to abduct small children? If such pages went ahead, a torrent of complaints, media onslaught and pushes for Capitol Hill legislation would result. And the company, in the name of “good corporate citizenship,” would take down the offensive material, rightly noting that as a private entity it is not obligated to nurture vitriol.
Alas, when the topic is Jews and the Jewish state, rules governing civilized behavior seem to fall into philosophical ones about the rights to express noxious views.
By the way, this week’s move by Facebook is but a momentary respite in a new front on the assault against Israel and democracy. I recognize the fine line between censorship and freedom of speech should always be debated and one should err on the side of open expression. But I also ascribe to what I call The Common Sense Doctrine.
So be prepared; such challenges will occur again (and likely are as you read). That will mean that Jews as individuals and through their organizations are going to need partnerships with other organizations to have an ongoing dialogue with the media – new and old – when it comes to handling such matters.
By the way, if you’re still not convinced as to why one Web page amongst the billions on the Internet matters, and why social network monitoring is important, I have two words for you: Tahrir Square.
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