Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon says media companies should stop facilitating hateful rhetoric, including anti-Semitism.
Danon spoke at the High-Level Forum on Anti-Semitism, which was sponsored by the U.S., Canada, Israel, and the European Union, and followed the first U.N. General Assembly meeting on anti-Semitism. Danon said 63 percent of all anti-Semitic tweets incite violence against Jewish people, but only one in 10 of these tweets are removed.
“We are living in a new era and we face a new kind of anti-Semitism. Online communities of hate spread lies about Israel and conspiracy theories about the Jews to millions around the world. All they need is a wireless connection, a Facebook account, and a deep hatred for the Jewish people,” he said, the Associated Press reported.
Danon also cited Google, which recently removed a program being used to identify and target Jews online by tagging those with seemingly Jewish names or who have expressed support for Israel on the internet.
“By the time it was shut down, it had a vast database of names,” Danon said.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power echoed Danon’s comments by calling for “more effective tools to monitor and confront anti-Semitism online and in social media.”
However, she also insisted that freedom of speech must be protected, and that “we must insist on maintaining a distinction between legitimate criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism.” She acknowledged that “the lines between the two are often blurred.” JNS.ORG
{Matzav.com}
