US Congress Members protest to Abbas, condemning hate speech exposed by PMW
about PA TV hate speech that PMW had exposed
Facebook returns PMW post that exposed the PA hate speech
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Palestinian Media Watch recently exposed the PA TV broadcast of a girl reciting a poem that referred to Jews as "enemies of Allah, descendants of pigs." Three members of the US Congress, Doug Lamborn, Eliot L. Engel, and Trent Franks responded by writing a public letter to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The letter opened with the following words:
“We are writing to express our grave dismay and deep concern over the recent broadcast of a children’s program on Palestinian Television which included rabid incitement against the State of Israel and the Jewish people.” (The letter follows in full below.)
PMW also notes that Facebook last week returned the post to PMW's Facebook page that exposed this same PA TV video that the Congressmen criticized. Facebook had removed it, writing to PMW that it violated Facebook’s guidelines, which stipulate that "you will not post content that is hate speech." After it was clarified to Facebook that PMW exposed the PA’s hate speech and was not promoting it, Facebook put the original post back on PMW's page. YouTube also removed the video as “hate speech” and likewise returned it the next day. PMW thanks all our readers who contacted YouTube and Facebook protesting the removals.
The following is the letter to PA chairman Abbas from the Members of US Congress:
April 11, 2013
President Mahmoud Abbas
Ramallah, West Bank
via PLO Delegation to the United States
1732 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007
Dear Mr. President,
We are writing to express our grave dismay and deep concern over the recent broadcast of a children’s program on Palestinian Television which included rabid incitement against the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
The children's show, The Best Home, included a scene in which a young girl recited a poem filled with messages of hate and other libels demonizing Jews. The poem asserted that Jews, "Allah's enemies, the sons of pigs," defiled the Quran and Jerusalem, and "murdered children," "cut off their limbs," and "raped the women in the city squares.”
This mendacious message of vitriol – aimed at the future generation of Palestinians -- not only serves to foster hatred and violence but undermines the very essence of coexistence and peace which you have advocated.
Such incitement, which we had hoped was being stopped under your leadership, can only poison the minds of innocent young children instead of promoting coexistence and respect for one another which is a cornerstone for true peace.
During Secretary of State Kerry’s just completed trip to Israel and the territories, he correctly cited the need to break down barriers of “mistrust” as a condition for peace-making. In that spirit, we strongly urge you to immediately take whatever actions are necessary to ensure that such messages of hate are never broadcast again and that they end up in the dustbins of history.
Sincerely yours,
| Doug Lamborn | Eliot L. Engel | Trent Franks |
| Co-Chair | Co-Chair | Co-Chair |
| Israel Allies Caucus | Israel Allies Caucus | Israel Allies Caucus |
The Israel Allies Caucus is the only bipartisan, pro-Israel caucus in Congress. The Caucus spearheads pro-Israel initiatives and legislative efforts to ensure a secure future for the State of Israel. The caucus is dedicated to educating Members and staff on current events, administration policies and regional issues related to Israel.