Meta Supervisory Board Rules “From the River to the Sea” and Not Hate Speech

“Specifically, these three messages contain contextual signs of solidarity with the Palestinians — but do not contain language calling for violence or exclusion,” Meta wrote in its decision. “They do not glorify or even refer to Hamas, an organization that Meta considers dangerous.”

While the board agreed that the phrase has multiple meanings, critics say the words refer to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish non-governmental organization, called the slogan “From the River to the Sea” anti-Semitic and “a rallying cry that has long been used by anti-Israel voices, including supporters of terrorist organizations such as Hamas.”

The slogan has gained increasing popularity on social media — including Facebook, Instagram and Meta’s Threads — since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that killed nearly 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.

Pro-Palestinian activists, who chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” during protests, including demonstrations on university campuses last spring, say it is a call for equality and an independent state for Palestinians.

Former Columbia University President Minouche Shafik warned students that using the term could result in disciplinary action. In Germany, using the slogan is a crime.

According to Meta’s board — made up of impartial lawyers, academics, and technology advisors — for a phrase to be considered hate speech on Meta’s platforms, it must be accompanied by other language.

“The standalone statement cannot be understood as a call for violence against a group based on its protected characteristics, as advocating the exclusion of a specific group, or as supporting a designated organization such as Hamas,” the council wrote.

Meta’s board said Wednesday it understands why some people believe the term supports Hamas, after it appeared in the terrorist organization’s 2017 charter.

“The use of this phrase by this terrorist group with the clear intent and actions of violent elimination does not make the phrase inherently hateful — or violent — given the diversity of people who use the phrase in different ways.”