Thursday, February 12, 2015

Miko Peled, the Israeli anti-apartheid activist, shut out by Facebook





This is a "call to arms" for Palestinian supporters & civil liberties advocates: Miko Peled, the Israeli anti-apartheid activist, was shut out by Facebook about two weeks ago because they claim his ID cannot be verified & he might be trolling. In a pig's eye! Peled is a prominent figure who plays a pivotal role in Palestinian solidarity & Facebook would know that if they looked at the number of his friends, the activity on his wall, or just googled his name. He believes they are politically censoring him & that can hardly be in dispute.

Last year Facebook pulled the same stunt with Hamde Abu Rahma, a Palestinian photojournalist in the West Bank. Hundreds of Facebook supporters of his work rallied & campaigned to have his account restored, which it was. When your account is shut down, you lose an accounting of your friends, your photos, the discussions & you have to start from scratch. Facebook informed Peled that to reinstate his account it has to be under a different name or if someone else does it on his behalf. Once again, all they have to do is google his name. But of course, they already know exactly who he is.

So do we, which is why we value his exemplary work & role; his support for Palestinian justice is tough-minded & uncompromising. We need to assemble our forces on social media & get Miko Peled's original Facebook account reinstated. Can those who lead the campaign for reinstating the account of Hamde please let us know the best way to proceed? Can everyone please share this post & information far & wide to solidarity activists in defense of Miko & of civil liberties on Facebook.

This is a post from Peled's website explaining the Facebook censure: http://mikopeled.com/2015/02/03/1085/

(Photo of Miko Peled. Thanks to Naila Smith for heading up this campaign.)
 
Via Mary Scully


Sign the petition here.

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