Understanding the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

"Some Canadians are wrongly critical of Israel in its war with Hamas and Hezbollah."

"Since the October 7th, 2023 massacre when 6,000 terrorists invaded Israel and murdered over 1,200 people, some have called for an end to the 'genocide'."

"Except these people aren't referring to the victims of the October 7th massacre. They're accusing Israel of genocide when Hamas and Hezbollah are to blame."

Aristotle Foundation video

Jerusalem, Israel. Photo by Mark Milke

YouTube has blocked a video advocating for Canadians to support Israel in its conflict against the terrorist group Hamas. It was flagged for inciting hatred on YouTube and blocked from paid promotion. Created by the Aristotle Foundation, the 18-minute video outlines landmark events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, accusing Canadians of understanding the situation "exactly backwards". 

 

A brief retrospective of Canadian history and national leaders who opposed slavery, Nazi Germany, civil rights and South African apartheid initiates the video, to establish why Israel should be supported in its war against Hamas. The opening discussion moves into a history of the conflict, terrorism, the peace process and the two-state solution. Narrated by Aristotle Foundation President Mark Milke, the video references terrorism that pre-establishment of Israel Jews utilized during Jewish lashbacks of the British Palestine Mandate.

"Israel is not perfect; no nation-state is. Just before its founding, Jewish terrorism against Arabs and the British were common, including at a coffee shop in Jaffa and the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in January 1948."

"Also, many Arab evacuations were forced and with tragic consequences. That included forced ethnic cleansing, recounted later by Yitzhak Rabin in his 1978 account of the battles at Ramle and Lydda, accounts initially censored by the Israel government."

Pedestrian by the Security Wall, 2005. Photo by Mark Milke

 

The think-tank made an effort to pay YouTube to promote the video to increase its viewership and reach. However, payment was declined and YouTube allegedly stated that the content "incites hatred against, promotes discrimination" against a spectrum of identity groups, including race, religion or nationality: "Content promoting hate groups or hate  group paraphernalia; content that encourages others to believe that a person or group is inhuman, inferior, or worthy of being hated" was cited as an example that YouTube underscored in their response.

According to the platform, another disqualifying element was that the video was deemed to harass or intimidate "an individual or  group of individuals". Milke, on the other hand, stated that the clip "explains the nuances, challenges and history of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute with an eye to proper cause-and-effect". Finally, the Aristotle Foundation leader added that the think-tank has plans to promote the video on X, instead.

"The quasi-censors at YouTube may not agree with my analysis -- Palestinians are primarily victims of their own, poor leadership over the decades including the late Yasser Arafat and now Hamas -- but they should allow for free and open debate, including advertising the same."

"Instead, YouTube asserts our video on Why Canadians Should Support Israel 'incites hate'. No, it incites people to think."

Aristotle Foundation President Mark Milke