Facebook Representatives Discuss with Israeli Ministers

Israeli media reported the presence of a delegation from high-ranking Facebook officials in Israel to discuss with Israeli ministers about combating "incitement and sedition" in cyberspace. The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday, September 22, that the Facebook delegation, led by the company's Vice President for Public Policy, is in Israel to discuss cooperation with Israel in fighting "incitement" on social media. Joel Kaplan, the deputy to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Monica Bickert, head of policy and counter-terrorism at Facebook, participated in these discussions with Israeli ministers and officials. Facebook did not provide details about the delegation's visit to Israel, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned the negotiations with the Facebook delegation during a government meeting on Sunday, September 21. Netanyahu himself will not meet with the Facebook delegation but added that the Israeli government is taking the fight against terrorism more seriously in social media, stating that "cooperation against incitement and encouragement of murder and terrorism in cyberspace is the main goal." According to Netanyahu, "Although the internet has provided immense benefits to humanity, unfortunately, terrorism and brainwashing of individuals encouraging murder and violence are also outputs of the internet, and we are determined to combat it." Recently, Israeli officials have openly complained about Facebook, stating that Facebook and other social media networks must remove anti-Israeli content and "incitement" to violence against Israelis. Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, two months ago, when a 14-year-old Palestinian stabbed a 13-year-old girl in her bed in the Jewish settlement of "Kiryat Arba" in the West Bank, said that "without any doubt," Facebook is also complicit in this murder. Erdan even stated that Mark Zuckerberg's hands are stained with the blood of Israelis killed in street violence. According to the Jerusalem Post, the Minister of Public Security believes that Facebook "neutralizes the efforts of police and security forces" in combating terrorism. This minister stated that Facebook must respond to requests for cooperation with the Israeli police regarding "West Bank terrorists." Two months ago, Facebook stated that it would engage in dialogue with the Israeli government to address the reasons for this government's dissatisfaction, but the company denied any involvement in the violence perpetrated by Palestinian youths. On the other hand, Gilad Erdan and Ayelet Shaked, Israel's Minister of Justice, have drafted a bill to combat terrorism titled the "Facebook Law." According to the Jerusalem Post, if this bill is passed in the Israeli parliament, the courts in this country could order the removal of specific content on Facebook. Shaked stated, "Action must be taken quickly to implement this law." These two Israeli ministers have insisted on their request for Facebook to remove "incitement" against Israel during their meeting on Monday, September 22, with Facebook executives visiting Israel. They have specifically requested the removal of terms such as "martyr," "intifada," "stabbing," "knife attack," "run over" (with a car), the Arabic phrase "اذبح الیهود" ("kill the Jews"), "death to Jews," "death to Arabs," and other specific phrases and terms from Facebook. According to Israeli officials, Palestinian teenagers and youths were more incited to commit street violence, such as stabbing Israeli pedestrians, through social media last year. There is a possibility that if Facebook responds to these requests, Israel will pressure other major social media companies like Twitter to adopt similar practices.