The Israeli-Palestinian war has stirred emotions well beyond the Levant. However, we should approach the censorship of public speech with a cooler head. The British Home Secretary has warned that waving the Palestinian flag might be deemed a criminal act. France has banned pro-Palestinian protests, and so has Germany. The Chief Minister of an Indian state directed the police to address pro-Palestinian statements on social media.
Recently, a number of Facebook accounts of the Polish right wing have been banned from the portal. This, obviously, generated a wave of discontent among the group. I, however, wonder why should we expect a U.S. corporation established with private funds and focused on generating profit to realize some kind of “mission”?
Liberty. Equality. Fraternity. France and Europe and its three pillars have been shaken. Or rather have been shaking for at least a decade, but few wanted to admit this and to take action.
Punishing or silencing individual opinions is not acceptable, if they do not conflict with any categories of fundamental criminal law – even if they are clearly offensive or insulting to certain groups.
