A MEMRI TV clip posted on April 24, 2018 on the MEMRI TV YouTube channel translated and exposed anti-Semitic statements by Gaza religious scholar Khaled Hany Morshid. The MEMRI TV clip shows Morshid at the Gaza "Return March" stating in a religious lecture that "one of the greatest duties... and best forms of worship... is to fight those Jews." He goes on to state that in order to stop the Jews, the "sword of jihad for the sake of Allah is brandished and they are made an example of," and adds: "I call upon every Muslim: Do not stand idly by and let those Jews spread corruption... You must carry out glorious deeds against them."
YouTube: "Video Removed: Inappropriate Content"
The same day, YouTube removed this MEMRI TV clip from the channel, with the message: "Video Removed: Inappropriate content."
YouTube also posted on the page a notification explaining that the video had been "flagged for review" – that is, by YouTube users – and that YouTube had subsequently "determined that it violates our guidelines." It added, "We've removed it from YouTube and assigned a Community Guidelines strike, or temporary penalty, to your account" and warned: "If you receive three or more of one of the types of strikes listed above, we may have to disable your account."
MEMRI Appeals YouTube Decision To Remove Clip; YouTube Rejects Appeal
MEMRI appealed YouTube's decision to remove the clip, explaining that it is an educational resource and part of the research of the MEMRI Lantos Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial archives, which exposes anti-Semitism in the Arab and Muslim world and provides informational infrastructure for policies and strategies to counter anti-Semitism.
This appeal was rejected by YouTube, which stated: "After further review of the content, we've determined that your video does violate our Community Guidelines and have upheld our original decision."
It should be noted that at the end of every MEMRI TV clip it is stated: "MEMRI is a non-partisan, independent research institute providing research, analysis, and translation of primary materials covering a wide range of issues, including terrorism and ideological trends in the Middle East. These video clips are provided as a public service to an international viewing audience to bridge the language gap and better educate and inform. Material about statements by terrorists and extremists is provide to alert the public to threats, and in no way constitutes an endorsement of such activities."
YouTube Removed MEMRI's Previous YouTube Channel – Which Had Over 60,000 Subscribers, Hundreds Of Millions Of Views
MEMRI's previous YouTube channel, which had more than 60,000 subscribers and hundreds of millions of views, was terminated in July 2016; despite MEMRI's numerous appeals for information to resolve the outstanding issues and to regain access to the account, we were never successful in doing so.
An article published March 2, 2017 by Tablet magazine, "Why Is YouTube Punishing People Who Translate and Expose Anti-Semitism on Its Platform?" highlighted the termination of our YouTube account. It stated: "For years, YouTube has been taking down videos that translate and expose anti-Semitism and punishing those who post them. Perhaps the most notable victim of this censorship is MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute."
The article went on to describe the importance of MEMRI's work, saying: "MEMRI translates television and media from across the Middle East, highlighting both bigotry and those activists who seek to fight it." It also explains YouTube's flagging system and how an account can be terminated like MEMRI's was: "YouTube's system for identifying problematic content relies on users flagging and reporting allegedly objectionable videos. Site staff then sort through the reports and remove content at their discretion. Unfortunately, this process is easily gamed by those bigots and their sympathizers who don’t want MEMRI's material out there."
MEMRI Calls On YouTube To Rescind Wrongly Applied "Strike" Against Channel
MEMRI is the only organization in the world that comprehensively monitors anti-Semitism in the print and broadcast media, education systems and schoolbooks, and Friday sermons in mosques in the Arab and Muslim world, and produces hundreds of reports and videos on the material it has found. MEMRI's Lantos Archives on Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial are the largest archives in the world of translated Arabic, Farsi, Turkish and Urdu/Pashtu material on anti-Semitism from the past two decades.
It should be noted that in the past, MEMRI has met with YouTube to discuss the issue of jihadi and anti-Semitic content on the platform. MEMRI has done extensive research on this subject, including how YouTube allows U.S.-designated terrorist organizations, among them Hamas and Hezbollah, to maintain multiple accounts – thus violating YouTube's own Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
MEMRI has worked closely with leading agencies devoted to the issue of anti-Semitism, such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem Israel Holocaust Memorial, and others. MEMRI has also worked on this issue with the U.S. State Department and bipartisan Members of Congress, among them then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, then-House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, then-House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, U.S. Vice President Joseph R. Biden, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. John McCain, then-Secretary of State John Kerry, and then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
View MEMRI TV Clip "Gaza Scholar Khaled Hany Morshid At 'Return March' Venue Calls To Brandish The Sword of Jihad, Fight The Jews"
Below is the full transcript of the MEMRI TV clip that YouTube removed from the MEMRI YouTube channel.
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below:
Khaled Hany Morshid: "Allah mentioned the enmity of the Jews toward Islam and the Muslims in His book, saying: 'You will find that the people strongest in enmity for those who believe are the Jews.'
[...]
"The Prophet Muhammad did not take his dealings with them lightly. His clever way of dealing with them was to make an example of them. When a Jew tried to violate the honor of a Muslim woman, the Muslims arose in arms to fight the Jews, and to drive them out of Medina. The Banu Qaynuqa' tribe was among the most courageous of the Jews. They were brave people of war. But when they began to display enmity toward Islam and the Muslims, the Prophet Muhammad banished them from Medina, uprooting them completely. Similarly, when the Jews of the Qurayza tribe violated their treaty with the Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet Muhammad exterminated them, down to the very last one.
"The best way to describe the record of the Prophet's treatment of the Jews is one of violence and force toward the Jews. This is what all the Muslims should know. The relation between us and them is one of eternal enmity. The Jews will never stop this enmity unless the sword of Jihad for the sake of Allah is brandished, and they are made an example of, as was done by the Prophet Muhammad.
[...]
"I call upon every Muslim: Do not stand idly by and let those Jews spread corruption upon the land. [You must] carry out glorious deeds against them. One of the greatest duties, and one of the best forms of worship in our day, is to fight those Jews."
