Recommendation approves Meta’s policy of allowing the use of the phrase. A few of the independent oversight board’s members disagreed and argued that in the wake of the terrorist attacks of October 7 the phrase’s use “should be presumed to constitute glorification of” Hamas “unless there are clear signals to the contrary.”

The Oversight Board for Meta, the parent company behind Facebook and Instagram has found that the expression “From the River to the Sea” isn’t automatically considered to be hate speech when it is it is used in connection with the conflict between Israel and Palestine, according to NBC News. Recommendation confirms Meta’s policy that allows the use of the phrase.

The decision of the board was based on three separate instances on Facebook where users had included this phrase within their posts. In each case the post was subsequently reported as a violation of Facebook’s hate speech policy, and the complainants argued that the expression demands the elimination of Israel. Facebook did not decide to delete the post, a decision that was eventually affirmed by the Oversight Board.

“The Board finds there is no indication that the comment or the two posts broke Meta’s Hate Speech rules because they do not attack Jewish or Israeli people with calls for violence or exclusion, nor do they attack a concept or institution associated with a protected characteristic that could lead to imminent violence,” the board said in its 32-page resolution. “Instead, the three pieces of content contain contextual signals of solidarity with Palestinians.”

The case was the posting that got around 8 million views. The post featured the phrase that was created using floating watermelon slices, which is a symbol commonly used in connection with Palestinian militants. The post was reported to have received 951 comments from 937 people, according to the Oversight Board.

The expression “From the River to the Sea” has been the subject of debate in particular since the events of the September 7 Hamas attacks against Israel and the following Israeli military operation in Gaza. While Hamas leadership as well as some pro-Palestinian activists employed the phrase to call for the creation of a Palestinian state that encompasses all the area in between Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea Some believe it signifies the general unity of people or a call to revert to the the borders of pre-1967.

The Oversight Board acknowledged the phrase’s numerous interpretations in its decision. “Because the phrase does not have a single meaning, a blanket ban on content that includes the phrase, a default rule towards removal of such content, or even using it as a signal to trigger enforcement or review, would hinder protected political speech in unacceptable ways,” the board concluded.

The decision, however, wasn’t unanimous. A few among the 21 board members opposed in protest, saying that after the terrorist attacks of October 7 the use of the phrase “should be presumed to constitute glorification of” Hamas “unless there are clear signals to the contrary.”

Meta in response on the court ruling said, “We welcome the board’s review of our guidance on this matter. While all of our policies are developed with safety in mind, we know they come with global challenges, and we regularly seek input from experts outside Meta, including the Oversight Board.”

The decision is made amid ongoing controversy over Meta’s moderation of content policies in relation to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Human Rights Watch has accused Meta of censoring pro Palestinian voices, while other groups have stated that Meta has blocked pro-Israel content.

The Oversight Board, created by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2019, acts as an independent entity to evaluate content moderation policies regarding Facebook as well as Instagram. The decisions of the Oversight Board are usually obligatory on platforms owned by Meta.

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) has attacked the Meta’s Oversight Board for its view that the expression “From the River to the Sea” shouldn’t cause content removal since the phrase does “not break Meta’s rules on Hate Speech, Violence and Incitement or Dangerous Organizations and Individuals.”

“‘From the River to the Sea’ is a slogan created with the sole vision of destroying the national homeland of the Jewish people,” the CEO of CAM Sacha Roytman Dratwa told the CAM. “It is genocidal in intent and meaning, and is not a legitimate political or ideological vision, because it targets the one Jewish State and its inhabitants for destruction.”