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

  • The sentence “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”

  • Comparing Israel to the Nazis

  • Calls to end Zionism

  • 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 @[email protected] account (which all mods have access to).

To help you understand why, I'll leave an assortment of sources here (translations via DeepL).

  • A news report:

    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 […]

  • A legal treatise:

    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.

  • 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).

  • Another news report

    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 …)

  • Overview Germany in 2024 by Amnesty International

  • Overview Germany in 2024 by Human Rights Watch

federal reverse (on behalf of the mods of !europe)

    • BrainInABox@lemmy.mlEnglish
      101·
      16 hours ago

      Trust a dronie to start whining about Russia and “tankies” in a thread about the genocide of Gaza.

      • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.todayEnglish
        17·
        12 hours ago

        Trust a “dronie” to protect their homeland!

        Edit to add: your boos mean nothing. You can’t support Russia and Palestine. You’re obviously paid by someone, and/or misguided.

        Edit to add: I’m not deleting shit but have a group coming at me. 😉

        Edit #2: every negative number I get from you pricks is a positive in my book! Keep bringing it on you lonely pieces of shit!

        • BrainInABox@lemmy.mlEnglish
          81·
          16 hours ago

          “Protecting your homeland” by whining about Russia and “tankies” in a thread about the genocide of Gaza.

          • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.todayEnglish
            16·
            13 hours ago

            You’re the one protecting an eastern equivalent to Israel.

            Edit: love that I got under your skin asshole. Have fun with the cognitive dissonance you experience daily.

            Edit 2: it feels validating every time you ass holes down doot me! Please keep it coming!

    • Eugene V. Debs' Ghost@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      121·
      16 hours ago

      Yep if you have Russian blood in you you’re guilty of all crimes of its government, even if you’re against Putin.

      It’s so cool and not at all xenophobic.

      • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.todayEnglish
        27·
        20 hours ago

        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.

        • Eugene V. Debs' Ghost@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          101·
          19 hours ago

          The hivemind of “I don’t think everyone in Russia is inherently guilty of all crimes by Putin?”

          Alright let’s just arrest everyone in Russia. They’re all guilty. Especially the children and people in jail for protesting.

          • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
            28·
            20 hours ago

            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

            🤡

            • Eugene V. Debs' Ghost@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
              41·
              19 hours ago

              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.

            • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.todayEnglish
              21·
              19 hours ago

              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.

                • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.todayEnglish
                  23·
                  16 hours ago

                  For the same reasons America as a whole is being collectively punished cause of dumb ass trump bullshit!

                  I’ll give you two guesses where I’m from (despite having a very clear comment history). I am not blaming the rest of the world for their totally appropriate reaction.

                  • BrainInABox@lemmy.mlEnglish
                    31·
                    15 hours ago

                    For the same reasons America as a whole is being collectively punished cause of dumb ass trump bullshit!

                    No it isn’t. What the fuck are you talking about?