UPDATE: Facebook removed the Third Intifada page, and it has been replaced by a new identical page.
Additionally, here is the link to the Facebook terror content complaint page. Not joking.

The Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions were aided by Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites which helped activists organize the protests which eventually brought the tyranical dictators to the ground. Apparently, some activists are now using those same social networks to urge their fellow Muslims to start an international uprising against Israel and start a new “Third Intifadah.”

Much of the text on the page is embedded in a photo and unavailable for translation. However, the pages “info” section is in Arabic reads something like this (or so says Google Translator)

After the intifada uprising of Egyptian and Tunisian and Libyan uprising, it is the role of the Palestinian Intifada
The first Palestinian uprising in 1987 and was the second Palestinian intifada was the year 2000. The Palestinian uprising, the third time we will decide soon on this page. We communicate with the directors of the Arabic pages that have large numbers of participants and said they will help us in the dissemination of this page …
This page has been created at 03/06/2011 .. God willing we will reach million this week .. it was time for the Liberation of Palestine. http://www.Facebook.com/Palestinian.Intifada

The sites authors have two other likes, one for a volunteer army to liberate Palestine and one a generic free Palestine page. Both of these pages seem to also advocate for war against Israel and general support for Hamas. The Third Intifada page also has three videos, one which is an ominous promotion for the 15th of May.

This kind of activity on Facebook has not gone by unnoticed. There are al least three Facebook events organized against the pro-Intifada website too. One encourages people to boycott Facebook for a day, and another over 11k people attending, asks you to report the page to Facebook.

From a basic perusal of Facebook’s Terms, it seems that 3rd Intifada page is not so kosher, “You will not post content that…. incites violence”.

Will Facebook do the right thing and bring this page down?
Will a massive Intifada be waged on May 15th organized in whole or part by this page?
How many people would it take to flag this page for hate to force Facebook’s hand (or mouse click)?
Would all the Muslims in the world stop using Facebook if the page is taken down?

The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.

About the author

Rabbi Yonah

21 Comments

  • What makes you think they are advocating violence? They are specifically referring to Egypt as a model, which was a non-violent protest.

    • Well, the first two intifadahs were violent, so maybe if their intention was to indicate peaceful intentions they could have named it something else. Regardless, their intentions are made explicitly clear. They wish to eliminate Jewish self-determination in order to permit for Palestinian self-determination on exactly the same parcel of land where Jews currently enjoy self-determination. That seems like a fairly hostile act, don’t you think?

      • Based on the description you posted, it doesn’t seem clear whether they are looking to take over the West Bank/Gaza or also the land where Israel currently exists. Does it say that on one of the facebook pages? (They all seem to be in Arabic now)

        If they are advocating for a binational state where Israel/West Bank/Gaza currently are, then Israel has seemingly been working just as hard to make that a reality. And if the Palestinians take over because they are a democratic majority, I happen to be a big fan of democracy.

        • Of course they refer to Israel within the ’67 lines, and they say so explicitly. They refer to 194 as if it is international law, which it isn’t, but that assures you that they’re referring to Israel and not Judea and Samaria. And if you’re a big fan of democracy, then clearly you’re a big fan of Israel. One aspect of democracy, however, is that people may enjoy a right to self-determination and to establish the parameters of their society. Israel has made offers to the Palestinians that would have enabled them to enjoy the same right to self-determination, but they have rejected them. Now, in lieu of agreements and negotiations, they seek to impose their version of history and nationalistic expectations on Israel and its citizens. It’s simply a call to eliminate a state and the right of that state’s citizenry to determine their own path.

          • Of course they refer to Israel within the ’67 lines, and they say so explicitly.

            Who is the “they” you are talking about, and where do they say this explicitly? There is nothing about that in the excerpt from the facebook page quoted in this post. I can’t see the rest of the original text of the page (which seems to alternate between being deleted or being entirely in Arabic), in case there was some other mention of Israel there.

            And if you’re a big fan of democracy, then clearly you’re a big fan of Israel.
            I’m a fan of Israel to the extent it’s democratic, and not a fan of it, to the extent that it isn’t democratic. There is plenty of stuff in that latter category.

            Finally, the question of how much Israel has been acting and negotiating in good faith, and whose fault it is that the Palestinians don’t yet have self-determination is a debate that probably extends outside the scope of a jewlicious comment form. I’m of the opinion that Israel should envision a future where the current Palestinians eventually become citizens of a future state in the West Bank or become Israeli citizens and figure out which of those solutions they would prefer and make it happen.

          • “They” are the organizers of that page. Translations of the page circulated widely, which is how I know what was on there.

            Israel is a democracy. A vibrant one. For example, did you know that the Knesset member who listed the highest expense amount for reaching out to constituents in the past year is an Arab whose party constantly attacks the Israeli government?

            With respect to whether Israel has been negotiating in good faith or not and whose fault it is the Palestinians don’t yet have self-determination is certainly not outside the scope of this comment form. You are also welcome to search around our site. Look under Taba offer, Olmert’s offer or Barak’s offer to get some very clear information (verified by yours truly multiple times) about who offered what to whom.

        • @andy r andy wrote “if the Palestinians take over because they are a democratic majority, I happen to be a big fan of democracy”

          How hard did you hit your head when you fell out of bed this morning? seriously you need to see a doctor cuz you are talking seriously stupid.

          Palestinian and democracy are not words that go together any more than Arab and democracy.

          They had what 3 elections, (all we are assured very democratic) and now you have 2 fiefdoms one Fatah and the other Hamas where they throw the opposition (Fatah) off of roofs. All very democratic… Then there is the proposed Palestinian Constitution declaring Palestine an Islamic state (this from the so called ‘secular’ Fatah party) in accordance with the 1995 Cairo Declaration of Human Rights non Muslims are accorded ‘equal respect’ not equal rights because of Sharia law is the basis of all law… so non Muslims can’t sue a Muslim… again all very democratic…

          But democracies aren’t about an election it is about a whole host of civil and civic institutions. Free press, independent courts, unarmed political parties… none of which are in Palestinian controlled territories or any Arab country for that matter

          Then there are the Jews. The people the Arabs have spit on and persecuted for the last 1300 years… suddenly history will reverse itself and the Arabs will treat the Jewish minority with respect and dignity just as they treat all minorities from Morocco to Iraq… oh wait no they don’t! The Arabs have an atrocious record of dealing with minorities: Berbers are persecuted across N Africa, Copts are routinely murdered coupled with the general oppression suffered by Copts and Nubians in Egypt along with the genocide of Black Africans in the Sudan… or to the East the Kurds in Iraq and Syria, the Maronites in Lebanon or the smaller minorities the Yazidi the Ashush… the Arabs are the very model of modern 7th century pluralism. Jacka$$!

    • How can Egypt be the model?

      Egypt wasn’t…
      1) A minority liberation movement
      2) About subverting and toppling a foreign country.
      3) A genocidal plot to wipe a religion, and country off a map.

  • When Hamas supporters say they want to liberate Palestine they are speaking about all of Israel. Not historic Palestine which includes much of Jordan, but the part of ancient Palestine that today is called Israel.

    Since Gaza and West bank are in the control of Palestinians – with some exceptions – it seems unlikely that they are liberating land they already control.

    • Since Gaza and West bank are in the control of Palestinians – with some exceptions…

      Oh, come on. Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln? If you don’t think that, from the Palestinian viepoint, the West Bank and Gaza need to be liberated then you’re crazy.

      • Again how hard did you hit your head? You have serious brain damage.

        People in Gaza need to be liberated from Hamas I suppose but who is going to do it? As for the West Bank sign a f#$%ing peace treaty when it it is offered.

      • Dear andy,

        i saw your effort,, but really dont bother yourself because you are entering a sterile conversation,,, they all agree that palestinians are non democratic people,, imagines yourself liviin in a land with your family and suddenly someone started bombin your house, killin your children stealin you and takin evrything away from you,, how cxan you be democratic??? how can you accept the situation??? israeli are killing thousands of palestinians every day and nobody talks about it!!! one jew is killed by a man who lost his son from a israeli soldier and its the end of the world!!! where is demcracy, there is no democracy in this world,, if there were democracy the israeli would not kill poor muslims to gain teritorry evry day…

  • This is a weird time for Jewish civil libertarians. On the one hand, free expression. On the other, incitement toward an existential threat. I wish there were a third way that didn’t involve having to take time from other pursuits just because someone’s being a jerk (to put it mildly).

    • Declaring a genocidal war against Jews under the guise of some fraudulent pose of a political movement that victimizes both Arabs and Jews, shouldn’t be any struggle for the sane Jewish Civil Libertarian.

      • Sorry, I meant to say, shouldn’t be an issue that a Jewish Civil Libertarian has to struggle with.

        It’s not a gray area. We don’t compromise our values for the sake of arguing another man has the right to commit crime.

  • I think I figured it out, the reason the Palestine/Israel conflict draws so many people in, regardless of their reading comprehension skills.

    It’s Religion and self esteem. Not human rights, because if that were the case they’d be just as on board to call out human rights violations made by other countries and territories.

    I still haven’t seem much of the Pro-Israel media bias everyone keeps talking about, even FOX news demonizes and belittles Israel. I’ve seen some vague pro-Israel jokes from Jon Stewart, but that’s not news.

    What I do hear, read and see in the media is how much it sucks to be Palestinian. No, not because everyone with ovaries is pretty much screwed, and not because their elected government decided that instead of governing, they should just make life as hard as possible for Palestinians while blaming Israel.
    But because Israel often has skirmishes with Palestine, and has in the past had settlements installed and removed from disputed territory.

    Hating Israel works for everyone, it works if you’re a conservative who thinks that everyone, who’re clearly supposed to be holding your spot for when Judgment day comes, is screwing up Jerusalem by trying to live there.

    It works if you’re a faux liberal, Palestine is smaller thus the accusations they make are valid. They don’t have to work to liberate a struggling people because the only work it takes to become involved in the ‘Palestinian cause’ is to bitch and moan to your hearts content.

    The best part is when people say they know Palestine’s opinon/side of the story, when the information they get is watered down and filtered through a cultural lens before it shows up in a neat two paragraph package in any news segment.

  • It is good to see that people like Andy R. are ready Jewlicious. As far as Israel’s democratic index – with only 61 years under its belt, in a state of near constant warfare with its neighbors, and millions of people from different cultures and religions to integrate I would give Israel 5 stars.

    No other country that young even comes close without the war, terror, and cultural makeup.

  • All over the world people who cannot manage their own lives claim to know how to solve the Arab Israel conflict. We also now have the rise of the racist Jew who knows nothing about their own heritage, who have never done anything positive for the Jewish cause but who needs to feel relevant and important. They use their alleged “Jewish” identity as some sort of permit to say anything, no matter how ill informed or stupid.
    This is what happens when real knowledge is devalued in favor of the ego.