Meta's independent oversight board ruled on Wednesday that the controversial, anti-Israel slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is not hate speech.
In a majority decision, the board said users of Meta’s Facebook and Instagram apps could continue to use the slogan in their posts, provided the posts did not include any other references glorifying Hamas or calling for violence.
The slogan, which has been criticised by Jewish groups as being inherently anti-Semitic, calls for a Palestinian state spanning the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea — land currently occupied by Israel.
Some board members disagreed with Wednesday's decision and argued that the phrase should be understood as an implicit glorification of Hamas because the phrase appears in the 2017 Hamas charter.
The board looked at three cases in which users had reported posts using the phrase and ruled that the posts did not violate Meta's hate speech rules because they did not explicitly call for violence against Jews or Israelis.
“Instead, all three materials contained relevant signs of solidarity with the Palestinians,” the board said.
“We welcome the Board’s review of our guidance on this matter,” Meta said in a statement to the Post. “While all of our policies are designed with security in mind, we know they come with global challenges and we regularly seek input from experts outside of Meta, including the Oversight Board.”
“From the river to the sea” is not a new saying, but it has become a popular slogan in pro-Palestinian protests since the terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas on October 7, which resulted in Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli and Jewish advocates have condemned the use of the phrase, which was adopted by Hamas to call for the violent destruction of Israel.
“Palestine is ours, from the river to the sea and from the south to the north,” former Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said in a speech in Gaza in 2012. “There will be no concessions on an inch of land.”
The Anti-Defamation League said it “respectfully disagrees” with the decision of Meta's board.
The League said the phrase is an anti-Semitic call for a Palestinian state from the river to the sea — which would mean “the elimination of the Jewish state.”
The ADL said, “It is important to note that demanding justice for Palestinians, or demanding a Palestinian state, should not mean, as this hateful phrase implies, denying the right of the State of Israel to exist.”
Some Palestinian activists have said the phrase is not a call for Israel's destruction, but rather a call for Palestinian freedom and equality after years of Israeli military rule.
Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — who Condemned by the House Last November – argued in favour of the phrase.
“From the River to the Sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not for death, destruction, or hatred,” Tlaib tweeted in November.
One of the posts reviewed by Meta's board featured the phrase made up of floating watermelon symbols. Social media users have adopted the watermelon emoji as a pro-Palestinian symbol.
The board said the post was viewed 8 million times and reported 951 times.
The other two cases were seen by fewer people.
The board said one of the comments encouraged people to “speak out” about the conflict, and another shared a post by a pro-Palestinian organisation.
The board ruled, “Because this phrase has no single meaning, a blanket ban on content containing this phrase, a default rule for removing such content, or even using it as a signal to trigger enforcement or review, would stifle protected political speech in unacceptable ways.”
More than 2,300 people and organizations submitted comments after the Meta board announced it would review all three cases in May.
This is the second largest number of comments the board has received on a review of a case since the board discussed suspending former President Donald Trump from its platforms in 2021.
The board includes journalists, lawyers and freedom of expression advocates From all over the world.
The board also includes former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg joined the board in 2019.
