Netanyahu's Son Earns 24-Hour FB Ban Over 'Hate Speech'

Yair Netanyahu wants all Muslims to leave Israel, called Palestinians 'monsters in human form'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 18, 2018 8:21 AM CST
Netanyahu's Son Earns 24-Hour FB Ban Over 'Hate Speech'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, second left, together with his wife, Sara, and sons Yair and Avner, pose to have their picture taken after voting at a polling station in Jerusalem on Jan. 22, 2013.   (AP Photo/Uriel Sinai, Pool)

The oldest son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to take a bit of a break from Facebook over the weekend for a series of posts the social media platform said "included hate speech." The New York Times details some of what brought on the 24-hour ban against Yair Netanyahu, 27, who posted that Iceland and Japan are free from attacks because "coincidentally there are no Muslims" in those countries, and that he wished there was an Israel without Muslims. The only way there will be peace in Israel, he wrote, per Al Jazeera, is if "all Jews leave [Israel] or all Muslims leave," and "I prefer the second option." The younger Netanyahu also lashed out after the death last week of two Israeli soldiers at the hands of a Palestinian, noting he hoped their deaths would be "avenged" and that "there will never be peace with the monsters in human form known since 1964 as 'Palestinians.'"

After being informed that he was temporarily blocked, Netanyahu took to Twitter to repost what he wrote on Facebook and accuse the latter site of "mind dictatorship," as well as of hosting "endless pages that call for the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews." The Times notes the first son has long been vocal online about his hard-right views, including with posts that feature conspiracy theories and "anti-Semitic tropes," per the Jerusalem Post. In contrast to Netanyahu's assertions, Al Jazeera notes the pushback Facebook has received from Palestinian groups, who say they're the ones who get the short end of the stick on social media sites in terms of censorship. By Tuesday, Netanyahu was posting again on Facebook, including sharing a Tuesday morning tweet from President Trump about "bias" he thinks leans in favor of Democrats by Facebook, Twitter, and Google. (More Benjamin Netanyahu stories.)

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