Facebook and Israel team up to silence Palestinian voices

Jordana Cutler, current Chief of Staff at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. has been named as the head of policy and communications at Facebook’s Israel office, Mondoweiss reported Monday.

This hire comes amid Israeli government frenzy against the global Palestinian solidarity movement, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, which often shares viral videos on Facebook that expose Israeli human rights violations.

In recent months, Israel and the social network have become more collaborative due to repeated demands and lobbying by Israeli government officials.

In October 2015, Simon Milner, who is Facebook Policy Director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, attended a conference by the Israeli legislature, the Knesset, titled, “Caucus Against Violent and Inciting Dialogue in Social Media.”

It was chaired by MK Revital Swid, a member of the Zionist Union.

According to the Jerusalem Post, following the conference, Swid made several requests to Milner in a letter.

He said that Facebook “should immediately locate, monitor and remove pages that spew incitement and encourage murder,” saying that “Facebook cannot detach itself from the terrorism being enabled through its network.”

He also called for hiring a representative in Israel to address these issues.

While Milner’s response did not indicate that there would be a new hire at Facebook’s Israel office, Adi Soffer Teeni, Facebook Israel’s general manager, began a search the next month.

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Information, welcomed the appointment of Cutler, recognizing that it’s a sign of “an advance in dialogue between the State of Israel and Facebook.”

According to Mondoweiss, he also said, “Facebook realizes that it has a responsibility to monitor its platform and remove content. I hope it will be regulated for good. If not—they will face legislation, and not only in Israel … anyone who harms the State of Israel must understand that there will be consequences.”

Facebook is already a client of Shalom Tel Aviv, a communications consultancy firm.

Cutler’s position as a diplomat further suggests that her role will be to bring Facebook and the Israeli government closer.