11 aug 2020
Dear IMEMC readers: The IMEMC has recently received messages from Facebook telling us our page is “at risk of being restricted or unpublished”.
There is no way to appeal this threat, or counter the false claim that our page and website are “low quality”. We have tried many ways to reach Facebook, but have come across an impenetrable Wall in which there is no customer service line, no email contact, no appeals process – in short, no way to reach any humans at Facebook to challenge their claims.
So we would like to publicly present this question to Facebook (and readers, if you have some special knowledge or way to reach Facebook, please pass this along):
Please, dear readers, support the IMEMC anyway you can, and ensure that freedom of speech, freedom of the press, are inalienable rights that should not be suppressed.
We at the IMEMC reject all forms of injustice, all forms of racism, sexism, discrimination, and strongly believe all people are born equal.
We also believe in the peoples’ right to struggle for liberation and independence, and that nobody is better than anybody else because of their gender, race, religion, or anything else.
Please help us continue our work, and support the IMEMC with a financial contribution so we can fight back against this blatant attempt to suppress free speech and independent journalism!
We remain the only Palestinian-led news organization that is entirely supported by reader donations, with no foundations, corporate grants or political party funding that would diminish our independence.
There is no way to appeal this threat, or counter the false claim that our page and website are “low quality”. We have tried many ways to reach Facebook, but have come across an impenetrable Wall in which there is no customer service line, no email contact, no appeals process – in short, no way to reach any humans at Facebook to challenge their claims.
So we would like to publicly present this question to Facebook (and readers, if you have some special knowledge or way to reach Facebook, please pass this along):
- What exactly about our original, on-the-ground reporting about Israel-Palestine has ‘inauthentic content’ and is ‘low quality’? Please provide specific examples.
- What have we reported on our page that is false? Our reports come from on-the-ground witnesses and reporters.
- The definition provided of ‘inauthentic behavior’ and ‘low-quality content’ — that it is full of ads or spam — is clearly not the case, as we have no ads on our website.
Please, dear readers, support the IMEMC anyway you can, and ensure that freedom of speech, freedom of the press, are inalienable rights that should not be suppressed.
We at the IMEMC reject all forms of injustice, all forms of racism, sexism, discrimination, and strongly believe all people are born equal.
We also believe in the peoples’ right to struggle for liberation and independence, and that nobody is better than anybody else because of their gender, race, religion, or anything else.
Please help us continue our work, and support the IMEMC with a financial contribution so we can fight back against this blatant attempt to suppress free speech and independent journalism!
We remain the only Palestinian-led news organization that is entirely supported by reader donations, with no foundations, corporate grants or political party funding that would diminish our independence.
3 aug 2020
Yair Netanyahu retracts remarks, says was referring to costumed demonstrators; organizers of rallies say premier and family attempt to dehumanize them, protests will continue to grow until he resigns
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son said on Monday that his father was amused and even invigorated by the protests against him, labeling the demonstrators "aliens."
In an interview with Israel Airwaves Radio, Yair Netanyahu said he showed his father “select parts” from the demonstrations.
"I try and not show him the obscene things because that would be unpleasant, but you know, he finds it entertaining, gives him a bit of strength even," said Netanyahu.
For many weeks, protests have been taking place almost daily across Israel, including outside the home of the premier who was indicted in November 2019 for corruption, fraud and breach of trust in three cases - a first for an incumbent Israeli prime minister.
Protesters called for Netanyahu's departure from office and denounced the government's mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic.
Netanyahu later backtracked on his statements on Twitter, saying he did not intend to brand all demonstrators as "aliens", but a selected few who arrive at rallies in costumes.
“When I spoke about ‘aliens,’ at the left-wing protests in Jerusalem, I meant those who were dressed up as aliens and UFOs, those who strip, those who dress up as genitals, those who brandish crude signs, those who put a spaghetti pot on their heads and those dressed up as Spider-Man. There are too many of these, and it’s funny," Netanyahu wrote.
In response, the organizers of the protests accused the prime minister’s son of dehumanizing them.
“For the family of the accused, we are not even human — aliens. This is not a prime minister, it’s a criminal suspect for whom the plight of his people is a source of amusement. The protests will continue to grow until he resigns,” they said.
A Jerusalem court ordered Yair Netanyahu on Sunday to stop "harassing" the organizers of protests calling for his father's ouster.
Netanyahu tweeted the personal addresses of the organizers of the protests outside the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem on Thursday and called for similar demonstrations outside their homes.
"I invite everyone to demonstrate, day and night, in front of the houses of these people who organize anarchy in our country," he tweeted.
Justice Dorit Feinstein demanded the tweet be deleted and added in her ruling that he must "cease harassing protest organizers for six months and no longer publish their private addresses."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son said on Monday that his father was amused and even invigorated by the protests against him, labeling the demonstrators "aliens."
In an interview with Israel Airwaves Radio, Yair Netanyahu said he showed his father “select parts” from the demonstrations.
"I try and not show him the obscene things because that would be unpleasant, but you know, he finds it entertaining, gives him a bit of strength even," said Netanyahu.
For many weeks, protests have been taking place almost daily across Israel, including outside the home of the premier who was indicted in November 2019 for corruption, fraud and breach of trust in three cases - a first for an incumbent Israeli prime minister.
Protesters called for Netanyahu's departure from office and denounced the government's mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic.
Netanyahu later backtracked on his statements on Twitter, saying he did not intend to brand all demonstrators as "aliens", but a selected few who arrive at rallies in costumes.
“When I spoke about ‘aliens,’ at the left-wing protests in Jerusalem, I meant those who were dressed up as aliens and UFOs, those who strip, those who dress up as genitals, those who brandish crude signs, those who put a spaghetti pot on their heads and those dressed up as Spider-Man. There are too many of these, and it’s funny," Netanyahu wrote.
In response, the organizers of the protests accused the prime minister’s son of dehumanizing them.
“For the family of the accused, we are not even human — aliens. This is not a prime minister, it’s a criminal suspect for whom the plight of his people is a source of amusement. The protests will continue to grow until he resigns,” they said.
A Jerusalem court ordered Yair Netanyahu on Sunday to stop "harassing" the organizers of protests calling for his father's ouster.
Netanyahu tweeted the personal addresses of the organizers of the protests outside the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem on Thursday and called for similar demonstrations outside their homes.
"I invite everyone to demonstrate, day and night, in front of the houses of these people who organize anarchy in our country," he tweeted.
Justice Dorit Feinstein demanded the tweet be deleted and added in her ruling that he must "cease harassing protest organizers for six months and no longer publish their private addresses."
