Anti-Defamation Commission condemns Facebook for selling Nazi-like items

"At a time of a dramatic rise in antisemitism and racism against ethnic minorities, to have such poisonous objects on Facebook only helps to inflame the embers of discrimination and extremism."

By SARAH CHEMLA
CONTENT THAT promotes the idea that Jews control the banks and the media do not directly attack anyone, and thus do not fall into Facebook’s ‘hate speech’ category. (photo credit: DADO RUVIC/REUTERS)
CONTENT THAT promotes the idea that Jews control the banks and the media do not directly attack anyone, and thus do not fall into Facebook’s ‘hate speech’ category.
(photo credit: DADO RUVIC/REUTERS)
A German Tank jacket with the Nazi swastika and SS symbols.
A German uniform and helmet emblazoned with the Nazi swastika and Nazi eagle.
All these items can be found easily, without any restrictions, on Melbourne’s Facebook marketplace in Australia. 
The Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), Australia's leading civil rights organization, has condemned a Melbourne seller for offering Nazi imitated material on Facebook Marketplace.
Dr. Dvir Abramovich, ADC’s Chaiman, declared in a statement that “Facebook is not only the preferred home of Holocaust deniers, but is also a safe have for those trafficking in the very symbols that represent pure evil, industrialized murder and unimaginable suffering.
“It's appalling to think that Facebook is allowing people to benefit financially from the peddling of this horrid material to millions of consumers.“
The ADC has also called on Facebook to ban the sale of such objects.
“Australians expect better. By putting the welcome mat to individuals and making these hate items easily accessible, Facebook is re-victimising all the innocent lives extinguished by Hitler, and is normalising this ugly trade which celebrates the murderous ideology of the Third Reich,” Abramovich continued.
“At a time of a dramatic rise in antisemitism and racism against ethnic minorities, to have such poisonous objects on Facebook only helps to inflame the embers of discrimination and extremism. We know very well that in the real world, antisemitic words and propaganda often result in antisemitic violence and deadly attacks. There has to be shift in the corporate mindset that leads to the understanding that allowing users to profit from such blood-stained items is wrong, and that companies do own the moral message of the products that appear on their sites.
“We urge Facebook to act ethically by pulling these items from its marketplace without delay, and to remain vigilant in ensuring that similar materials cannot be listed," he concluded.

Stay updated with the latest news!

Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter

Subscribe Now
The ADC is not the only organization complaining to Facebook that initiatives must be undertaken to prevent the social media to spread antisemitism.
A coalition of nearly 130 Jewish and pro-Israel organizations from around the world has appealed to Facebook to step up its efforts to combat antisemitism on its platform, recruiting Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs Orit Farkash-Hacohen to help lead the charge.
“Social networks cannot be used as a wild space for antisemitism and harm to the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” said Farkash-Hacohen.
Facebook has come in for sustained criticism over its policy on hate speech after cases of Holocaust denial and antisemitism were allowed to remain on the site. But the social media giant is now taking steps to more closely conform with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA's) working definition of antisemitism, which includes making dehumanizing or stereotypical allegations about Jews, such as the myth of a world Jewish conspiracy or Jews controlling the media.
On Tuesday, Facebook’s Vice President for Integrity, Guy Rosen announced that the social media has updated its policies to better combat antisemitic speech on its platform.
"We’ve made progress combating hate on our apps, but we know we have more to do to ensure everyone feels comfortable using our services," Rosen wrote.
Rosen continued: "We’re also updating our policies to more specifically account for certain kinds of implicit hate speech, such as content depicting blackface, or stereotypes about Jewish people controlling the world."
Among the organizations that joined the call to action are StopAntisemitism.org, Zachor Legal Institute, NGO Monitor, Honest Reporting,  Zionist Organization for America, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, National Council of Young Israel, Jewish Policy Center and more.
Donna Rachel Edmunds contributed to this article.