Feddit.org announced today that they are changing their rules to match German law despite their server not being hosted in Germany.
Feddit.org now bans
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The sentence “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”
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Comparing Israel to the Nazis
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Calls to end Zionism
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Calling for the dissolution of Israel
And much more. The full original post can be found here, or
Click here for full text of original post:
Hi.
In the past few days, discontent regarding mod decisions in this community has been brewing, particularly when it comes to comments on Palestine, Israel, and Israeli politics and actions. There are also misunderstandings regarding mod intention and German law. We hope to clear that up with this post.
While the servers of feddit.org are in Austria, most of the mods of this community as well as admins of this server live in Germany. Speaking of, our server admins have also posted a write-up on the same topic.
And with that, let’s go:
In Germany, antisemitism is specifically sanctioned in German criminal law, both for speech and as a motivation for other criminal behavior. In addition, Germany seeks to protect the Jewish state of Israel (the so-called “Reason of State” introduced in 2008) and thus verges toward protecting Zionism as well. Certain criticism of Israel/Israelis is also categorized as “Israel-related antisemitism”.
Since criminal law is involved, enforcement can mean things like police raids and device confiscations. After such police action, it does not really matter if it was appropriate or if cases are dropped or never charged: The damage is done. All told, it’s not that fun.
There is also no point in engaging in discussions about the veracity of statements that could get us into legal trouble. In addition, we believe that you can express most opinions without breaking rules.
If your comment contains the following, it will be removed from this community:
- Calling for the dissolution of Israel, or calling for a one-state solution without specifying equal rights for all people; Jewish in particular.
- Calling for a destruction, annihilation, an end of all Zionism or the like.
- Equating Israeli actions and (historical) Nazism.
- The slogan “from the river…”
- Endorsement of or justifications for Hamas or Hezbollah, or slogans or graphics positively referring to these organizations. These are considered terrorist organizations in Germany.
- … and obviously: Any of the common antisemitic tropes or calls to violence against Jews or Israelis
Comments will not be removed for the following:
- Denouncing genocide.
- Denouncing Israeli war crimes.
- Criticizing Zionism as an ideology or political movement.
- Referring to the current Israeli government as “criminal,” “expansionist,” or “far-right”.
If your comment is removed nonetheless, these are not the reason. I’d also like to stress that this community was never a free-speech-absolutist zone: It is a (usually lightly) moderated community. There may also be times when bans go too far. In such cases, please DM the @EuroMod@feddit.org account (which all mods have access to).
To help you understand why, I'll leave an assortment of sources here (translations via DeepL).
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Berlin in mid-May [2024] around 6 o’clock in the morning. A loud, continuous “banging” against the apartment door wakes student Alina T. from her sleep. […] When her husband opens the door, several LKA officers, two employees of the district office and the SEK “storm” past him into the apartment. Puzzled, he looks at the search warrant. […] The background to this was a Facebook entry in the student’s profile: "From the river […]
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In November 2023, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Home Affairs also issued a prohibition order against Hamas.[60] According to the order, “the slogan ‘From the River to the Sea’ (in German or other languages)” is a distinguishing mark of Hamas[61]. […] the current legal situation [regarding “Denial of Israel’s right to exist”] is - contrary to what the statements of the Federal Ministry of Justice suggest[63] - anything but clear. Whether incitements to eliminate the State of Israel are prosecuted depends on the respective legal opinion and the prosecution will of the respective public prosecutor’s office.
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Press release from the previous government:
In this context, Section 111 StGB, which covers public incitement to commit crimes, may also be relevant. Incitement to extinguish Israel’s existence by force may be punishable under this provision. The same applies to calls to publicly display the Hamas flag. If Hamas attacks are publicly cheered and celebrated, this may also be punishable. This means that people who cheer on Hamas’s actions or publicly express their sympathy with the attacks may constitute the criminal offence of “approval of criminal acts” under Section 140 of the German Criminal Code (StGB).
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In connection with the controversial Palestine Congress in Berlin, the German authorities have also imposed an entry ban on former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. “In order to prevent antisemitic and anti-Israel propaganda at the event”, several entry bans have been issued, the news agency AFP learned from security sources on Sunday. One of these concerned Varoufakis. (Notably, Varoufakis would have spoken about one-state solutions …)
federal reverse (on behalf of the mods of !europe)
I did not leave reddit to come to a fucked down version of political censorship. fuck you and begone. I’m blocking their instance
So they’re joining the Nazis. They can fuck off and die.
Sometimes joining the bad side is the only way not to die. I wish you strength to do the right thing (and a family in a far away safe place) when you’re in such situation.
I promise you, the feddit mods are not going to die if they don’t ban criticism of Israel. Seriously, have some perspective.
I was reacting to an extreme comment, as you can see above.
It was extreme, but I don’t think it changes the fact that the feddit mods aren’t really facing serious consequences for not doing this.
I used a hyperbole to fight a hyperbole.
weren’t the na*is litterally against that group of people?
no they supported israel since they promised to help with “the jewish question” by resettling them.
The nazis hate jews and israel took advantage of that to get more bodies to settle their frontier. Notably they even helped the nazis circumvent a boycott going on at the time to achieve this.
ah hell yeah found the book
https://archive.org/details/zionist-relations-with-nazi-germany
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No, Christians were against the Jews. The nazis just took advantage of that hate. If you think that the nazis somehow had legitimate complaints against Jews or that those complaints were required to be in anyway accurate, then you have completely misunderstood the history of the last 100 years.
Oh, I see it now! I was looking at it the wrong anglw
They could have made a symmetrical ban.
I agree with this, in that I think it avoids the issue of appearing to side with one or the other — I think it’s more neutral.
Suppressing any discussion of genocide is the goal though so they still win under this fact pattern
Remember, Israel just wants to kill of Palestine if peace while western regime ehores praise them for their hard work.
It is really annoying when the shitposters won’t stfu about the genocide, mate!
Death to Germany
The country or the inhabitants?
Germany is a country. Germans are its inhabitants.
Yea, so which
Death to Germany
So where do the Germans go?
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Why would they have to “go” anywhere?
What would you do with them if you don’t relocate?
They can be resettled in Libya with the Gazans.
Where do the Israelis go?
They dont “go” anywhere. The people in that physical location form a new, better government thats not bought out by foreign interests.
any other obvious stuff I can give you the minute details on? Do you need a diagram of how to use the toilet? Lend me some of your crayons and I’ll diagram it out for you. Thats why we are all here, to give you painfully obvious answers to boneheaded questions.
Death to Germany
1984
Ex-nazis choosing to support neo-nazis. Maybe they lost the ex, is Germany OK?
Is it any shock when actual members of the Nazi party and SS were kept around to help rebuild West Germany?
We should have just dealt with the problem instantly. Hindsight is 20/20 but fascists deserve no breaks.
Why are only Germans ex-nazi and Italians not ex-fascist? Y’all seem to enjoy your pizza
It’s almost as if this thread isn’t about Italy, Italians, or Italian law 🤔 super weird of me to focus on the topic presented, I know
Yeah you can call it what aboutism but you lie if it aint so
out of all my years on the internet this is such a dumb take lmao
Germany is supplying 30% of the weapons used in the Gaza genocide.
Italy also supplied, so where do you draw the line between not-fascist/fascist?
A negligeable amount. But I have no objections to calling the Meloni regime Fascists.
No but you have to be a hypocrite or else I can’t be comfortable supporting nazis
I didn’t realise thinking Italy is fascist is mutually exclusive with enjoying pizza. I guess that means I’m not allowed to eat sauerkraut anymore?
I always check if my pizza is fascist before eating
Mine was made in America so I guess I’ve ticked that box. like who can afford to air ship a pizza from Vietnam or whatever
Wtf is this, this is like coptulating to nazis back in the day, shame on them
What capitulation lmao. Can’t capitulate to yourself.
sounds like grounds for defederation. protecting fascism is fascism.
I find it more disgusting than .ml and even hexbear, Chinese Human rights violations lean towards cultural genocide, Israel is killing, starving, dislocating and destroying their culture, ethnicity, community and land, it is as bad as it can get, any defence of Israel is disgusting for me, and criticism of Palestine on that front is very ill timed in that manner, you can’t worry about ‘terrorism’ when the alternative is extermination
Wanna take bets .world won’t defederate Feddit because muh freeze peach?
betting 100 dollars (not going to you of course) that feddit will remain federated for .world, sh.itjust.works and my home instance, discuss.online
Damn, I could use that 100 buckazoids 😔
I posted several threads asking for that and got REAMED.
The devs are tankies, the largest instances indirectly support fascism (and the tankies), and the biggest European instance is explicitly choosing to support neonazis.
Lemmy is dead.
That peter griffin chart where freeze peach is for the whites
Freeze peach is when you advocate for murder of brown people, otherwise it’s white genocide to not advocate for murder.
yes, it took a while, but the western world order is all but over. There is no justice, honor, decency, or dignity here. Its just pariah states with hollow shells of what used to be democracy. US, Germany, Britain, France-- all failed states playing pretend.
CuLtUrAl GeNoCiDe
Go to xiaohongshu right now and look at all the uyghurs sharing their music, food, language, stories, spreading their culture freely on a predominantly chinese app!
Whole ass street festivals in the main streets going on in xinjiang of uyghurs celebrating community
easiest fake news to dispel but god forbid (redd/lemm)itors step out of their bubble
Bro I just got banned for pointing this out today. Like seriously talk to one chinese person in your life feddit mods
samesies!! they will need you to be careful with how you criticize the occupation regime of west palestine for their but bash china for a completely imegined one and ban anyone who disigrees.
has boy boy made a video on Xinjiang I can watch yet?
no idea who youre talking about
They’re a youtube channel run by a pair of leftist Australian rascals. They even have a video where they try to enter a CIA base in Australia.
…equal rights for all people, Jewish in particular.
Lol
ive got temp banned from there for mentioning europe engages in colonialism.
havent participated a lot in there since.
Caught a perma ban there for calling german oligarchs being heavy on Nazi nepo babies
That server has censorship that’s more clown than lemmy.world.
German regime front on Lemmy… Lol
People should vote with their feet.
These clowns should not host pan EU communities, let them circle jerk Zionism in an echo chamber 🤡
And another instance gets blocked
Germany has a very binary view on class supremacism. It’s not supremacism is good vs bad. It’s a pendulum of who is above criticism. Russophobic nazi supremacism still kosher though.
Russophobic nazi supremacism still kosher though.
I’ve noticed that pro-Israel Germans are usually not that much against Russia.
Not from what I’ve seen at all. The people who insist on calling Palestinians (and any Arab people who oppose Zionism) “terrorists” are often the same people frothing at the mouth about how we have to smash the Russian “orcs.” Granted, this isn’t limited only to Germans, but I’ve definitely seen it specifically from them as well.
Worse is better. You need to have all sorts of delusions existent in the society, for the immunity to be preserved.
Honestly I’ve had different experience, too much Russia-sympathy from Germans. But maybe that just came out of fashion.
Not for nothing but Russia kinda deserves the current ire.
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Well to a tankie Ukrainians are not real people snd deservt it
Palestine is a good talking point to highlight the westoid genocide tendencies.
This the results you get when you shilling ideological shite instead of common sense
Trust a dronie to start whining about Russia and “tankies” in a thread about the genocide of Gaza.
Trust a “dronie” to protect their homeland!
“Protecting your homeland” by whining about Russia and “tankies” in a thread about the genocide of Gaza.
You’re the one protecting an eastern equivalent to Israel…
Edit: love that I got under your skin asshole.
I love that you’re banned for your comments, let me carry that feeling forward by user blocking you. bu-bye now.
???
least incoherent dronie.
So you’re a fan of the incursion into Ukraine? Good to know where you stand.
fuck the banderites
fuck the pissraelis
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Yep if you have Russian blood in you you’re guilty of all crimes of its government, even if you’re against Putin.
You’re so cool and not at all xenophobic.
I want you to take notice and how I said “Russia” not “Russians”. The state aren’t the individual people. But good job with following the hive mind. So proud of you.
The hivemind of “I don’t think everyone in Russia is inherently guilty of all crimes by Putin?”
Alright let’s just arrest everyone Russian. They’re all guilty.
You are making shit up lol
Also, many Russians support what Russia is doing in Ukraine the same way majority of Israeli Jews support the genocide…
But have you thought about the population doing he oppression mate
🤡
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I’m sure a non-zero amount support it, but it’s like thinking that everyone in America is guilty of the invasion of Iraq.
If there is a Israel citizen who is against the Genocide, I don’t want them considered guilty. I think they should be doing as much as they can against it, and being neutral to it is complicity. But if they’re against the genocide, they aren’t guilty.
I’m also unsure of the rates of support for the War on Ukraine in Russia, but I doubt it’s 100%. Even if it’s 99%, that 1% can’t be considered guilty as charged for.
I don’t consider think that being a citizen of a nation instantly makes you guilty. But I also acknowledge that they can benefit from how their nation acts on the world stage.
My nation benefited from the Iraq invasion, but I was 6 years old when we did it. I didn’t even know what war really was then.
Thank you one sane, non-kneejerk response. I appreciate you.
And for the late hivemind, I got a comment history full of not being a prick like the dude that responded to me.
Bro, again. You’re acting like the person insulting me, assumed I was. Please grab some nuance. The individual citizens are not as a whole responsible for state actions. Despite it the majority of the populace is in favor, you cannot blame them as a whole.
But why do that when we can do collective punishment, which is done by Russia, Israel, North Korea, and all the famous Good Nations?
I am not reading that. Can we get some more non political instances and communities?
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