(JTA) The social media company Meta is adjudicating whether a key phrase used by pro-Palestinian activists constitutes acceptable speech.
The company’s Oversight Board, an independent body tasked with reviewing Meta’s content moderation decisions, has taken up the question as it reviews three cases involving posts that use the phrase “From the river to the sea.”
The phrase has been used by Palestinian nationalist movements for decades, including by Hamas, and pro-Palestinian activists say it is a call for liberation. Israel and Jewish groups view it as advocating Israel’s destruction. It has been condemned in congressional votes and investigated in multiple instances by the U.S. Department of Education.
The slogan has appeared frequently in pro-Palestinian social media posts during the Israel-Hamas war, which began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
