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Facebook Helps Israel Blacklist Air Travellers

Posted by timothy on from the but-very-gently dept.

Jeremiah Cornelius writes "According to a report by the Associated Press, protesters have been stopped in their tracks after Facebook aided Israel in cracking down on the group of activists from the UK, France, and Belgium who planned their event using the popular social networking site. Facebook allowed government agents to track the activists activities and then create a black-list of people who participated in the planning of the protests. The black-listed group was then forwarded to airlines with instructions to prevent the activists from boarding air flights to Israel. Over 200 activists were prevented from flying after being added to the airlines terrorism watch list, according the the AP report. Was Julian Assange correct, when he warned that Facebook was a giant, 'appalling spy machine'?"

20 of 478 comments (clear)

  1. Its been done before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Facebook is in routine use by various "authorities " to profile people. So why not the Israelis?

    And in other news. Bears shit in woods.

    1. Re:Its been done before by cgeys · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's double-standard really. Not just from Facebook, but every other US company from Microsoft to Google too.. When it's against United States/Israel it's "terrorism", when it's against China, Russia or other non-western countries it's "helping activists to spread their message and bring down oppressive governments". Most Americans seem to think the same way, but for others like me who are european both sides seem like oppressive governments with huge amount of problems and most interest mostly being fighting or having wars with each other (yes, Europe too has its history and we're certainly learned from that.. well, the nordic countries at least. And we were originally vikings)

    2. Re:Its been done before by Runaway1956 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'll admit - I have two standards. I've become more aware of it in recent times. Some rogue nation does "x" against it's citizens, and I judge it as terrible. Then the US does something similar, and I judge it as a PITA.

      In this case, I see Israel doing something that I would condemn the US for, but I don't condemn Israel as harshly.

      Hmmm. Why is that? I'm not a Zionist. Could be, my military background. If Israel is to survive, then they had better use everything at their disposal, and use it efficiently. On the other hand, the US isn't fighting for it's very survival, so the same actions would be less forgiveable, I guess.

      Yeah, I have double standards. Unfortunately, a lot of people deny having their own double standards. And, least of all, can they be expected to understand those double standards.

      In reality, we've all admitted that "there's no privacy on the internet". All governments are busy data mining Facebook, and all the rest of the web. This should have been expected. Just like we've discovered that electronically aiding protestors in Arabic countries can, in some instances, expose those protestors to the government. It's to be expected. That doesn't make it right - just expected.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    3. Re:Its been done before by rvw · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I would say that if Israel is going to survive in the long run they need to get their act together and not be a general pain in the butt for all their neighbors. Especially now since the US has an economic situation that's not very promising. What if the economic aid that the US provides Israel disappears?

      If Israel wants to survive.... I hope they are going to realize that this is not the way to get there. They have stopped 200 activists this one time. Yay!!! Great for them. Do you think these protesters are going to use Facebook again? Will it stop the next group? And do you want to stop those groups?

      Israel has one big problem, and that is not Palestine or Hamas. It is their mindset that they still don't realise that they need to give some space to the Palestinians. And the more they restrict them, the more resistance they will face. Actions like this show that they don't have a real vision where they want to go in the future, if they really want to have a future there.

    4. Re:Its been done before by peragrin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No those inbred tribals gave refuge to Al queda after the CIA helped form Al queda to drive out the Soviets, and then left them there. If we spent a little time and money there rebuilding, and teaching them 30 years ago, then Al Queda wouldn't have turned against us(or wouldn't have had as much local support as they did)

      If you want to bring peace to someone. You have to be prepared to spend 50 years there. We have to stay in Afgahnistan and iraq for another 40 years. Or they will fall into absolute chaos for 10 years.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
  2. Facebook is a public forumn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Most groups in Facebook are public by default. They are also public to those who belong to the group. So they didn't have to do any super-spy type thing. It's the users of the group who left themselves out in the open.

  3. Oh, big wow. by Gordonjcp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At least they didn't just let the protesters get there and gun them down. This is surprisingly restrained behaviour from the Israeli government.

    1. Re:Oh, big wow. by jacobsm · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Then by your logic the Americans should get out of the parts of the country that were won by conquests, which is most of the country including the original 13 colonies.

      I'm not even going to start on the European countries, or the precious Arabs.

      Get over it. Israel won it's wars fair and square. If the Arabs won a single war do you think for a minute that there wouldn't have been a holocaust that would make the Nazi's look like amateurs?

    2. Re:Oh, big wow. by jklovanc · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Wars of conquest are prosecuted by aggressors. Every war Israel has been involved in has either been started by Arabs (War of Independence, Yom Kippur, War of Attrition), in response to being denied access to the Suez Canal, blockade of the Gulf of Aqaba and attacks from the Gaza Strip(Sinai War, Six day War) . The only reason Israel exists today is due to these defensive wars. The only land they occupy has been used as bases by aggressors.

      The Palestinians started the war after Palestine was partitioned by the UN. They lost the war and are still fighting using terrorist techniques. Hamas does not even recognize Israel's right to exist and one of it's founding tenants is to destroy Israel.

      Yes there are major issues that Israel needs to address; Jewish settlements in the West Bank, return of refugees, etc. On the other hand, suicide bombers and rocket attacks do not garner my sympathy for the Palestinians. The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip voted for Hamas and are getting what they voted for. Peace will only come when Hamas accepts Israel's right to exist and stops terrorist violence.

      Just for your information I am a Gentile from Canada and have no religious reason for supporting Israel. Perhaps you should look at the history of Israel before making baseless assumptions.

    3. Re:Oh, big wow. by TapeCutter · · Score: 4, Informative

      The country was created and given to them by a UN resolution

      This is a common myth, particularly in the US. What actually happened was that contrary to the plans of the UN/UK/US to split Palestine in two, the Jewish Agency (zionists) unilaterally declared indepenence in 1948 and called themselves Israel, which in turn triggered the "war of conquest" with the Arabs. The UN did not recognise Isreal as a legitimate state until 1949, there was no other realistic choice since Israel had already established themselves as a state by winning a war against several Arab states.

      btw; Before the zionists declared independence the area did not belong to the Arabs, it was technically a part of the British empire who conqured it during WW1..

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  4. "Facebook aided"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There's a difference between facebook actively aiding Israel officials, and those officials viewing the members of a facebook group. Maybe not planning activities in a publicly-viewable setting would have helped these people?

    Police, officials, whatever, viewing publicly-accessible information posted on social media sites is a Good Thing, occasionally. If you don't _want_ it viewed, don't post it publicly [and please note, I don't mean, don't post it online. Some medium of privacy should be expected, and the summary and my [brief] skim of TFA didn't say this was privacy violation in any way].

  5. Not surprising by NSN+A392-99-964-5927 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Anything to do with Facebook, Israel and super hidden government agents is going to be bad. For those who have not watched Pilger's film The War you Don't see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ah20IAyYxg

    I know Julian and he is also quite right about facebook being an appalling spying machine. I loathe facebook with a passion, but there again I am a non-conformist, facebook is the sheep following sheep society and if that is not enough, people get emotionally blackmailed into using it. You do not need facebook, you need a life!

    --
    All cows eat grass!
  6. Doesn't say that Facebook helped Israel directly. by Kifoth · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The closest it comes to describing what happened is: Israel had tracked the activists on social media sites, compiled a blacklist of more than 300 names and asked airlines to keep those on the list off flights to Israel. and "These people announced on their Internet sites that they planned to come here and cause

    disruptions, and told their friends."

    Sounds like they bragged in public, using their own names. And nothing more.

    It's shit like this, Slashdot...

  7. Re:Facebook - Owned By A Jew. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe you should look into the work of some Jews like Noam Chomsky, in case you think being a Jew inherently makes you a supporter of Israels policies.

    Equating being a Jew with being pro Israel comes off as racist.

  8. Re:Doesn't say that Facebook helped Israel directl by Kifoth · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My point wasn't regarding the politics. It was that Slashdot blatantly distorted the article to manufacture a sensationalist headline.

  9. Terrorism wha list? by radio4fan · · Score: 5, Informative

    Where does it say in the article that they were added to the 'terrorism watch list'?

    In fact the Israelis told the airlines that the people on the list would not be allowed to enter Israel, so the airlines prevented them from flying.

    There's no mention of terrorism: the submitter made that bit up.

  10. Re:Rogue state by j35ter · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yeah, and this gives them the right to steal land, drive people out of their homes, assassinate activists around the world, secretly stash nukes, turn racism into law... ? Get real: Israel is a military/religious dictatorship with overly racist overtones; exactly the opposite of what the U.S. stands for.

    --
    Delta-Mike November Bravo Tango
  11. Re:Facebook - Owned By A Jew. by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Because assholes come in many colors and shapes, tying greed and general antisocial behaviour to a group of people (where its members didn't choose to be part of it) is kinda nonsensical.

    If I'm an asshole to people, I chose to be that way. I didn't choose the color of my skin or the origin, religion or culture of my parents.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  12. Re:Doesn't say that Facebook helped Israel directl by VortexCortex · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sounds like they bragged in public, using their own names. And nothing more.

    It's shit like this, Slashdot...

    o_O ...And this is is the part where I say you're a moron if you believe I don't use YOUR name, Paul, to brag in public about my anti-copyright protests.

    Well, perhaps I don't use your name; Maybe someone else does, and I use some other's name... In reality, without Facebook's Help, how would they verify that the IP addresses posting as Susan Someone really belongs to Susan, and not Jane?

    Are you suggesting that they just took the names and added them to the no-fly list without identity verification? Is this not even more outrageous?

    Go ahead. Continue to ignore the ease of which I can now use your name online to falsely incriminate you... If you are not outraged now, then maybe you will be when you can't fly, ride a train, get a driver's license, or vote because of something I said or did using your name?

  13. Re:Turning the tables with lawfare by jovius · · Score: 4, Informative

    Flotilla is a statement against the Gaza blockade AKA collective punishment on general civilian population. Hamas only slightly won Fatah in the elections, and Hamas got the votes of about 30% of the population. The gazans are suffering because of small number of islamists and their israeli counterparts, who wish to have the palestinian areas fully included in a Greater Israel.

    Polarizing the issue leads the public astray, because the real issue are the palestinians who are exploited by multitude of parties to promote their selfish political agendas. Every single death of any nationality or religion of any of the sides is exhaustively politicized and used as a straw man to polarize the conflict even more.

    If the human rights were universally applied Israel and palestinians would live in either two distinct nations or in one nation of Israel, which by definition would not be a Jewish state. Because of the insistence of having a distinct Jewish state which many say should encompass all palestinian areas too the palestinians are bound to suffer, and because the islamists are promoting their narrow minded ideology the palestinians (of which small number are actually Christians and Jewish) are bound to suffer too.

    The conflict history is full of provocative acts by any of the sides and the real moral high ground is with jewish conscientous objectors and human rights activists as well as their arab counterparts. Sustaining the black&white distinctions is essential for promoting the violent nationalistic objectives of either side, and much of the global cheer is directed for or against the sides (which they both like) instead of directing the energy to protect the civilian populations against the exploitation.

    The conflict is rotten from the core and almost everything in it is totally corrupted including the Flotillas to some extent. Somewhere on the road the civilians continue their suffering and play their part in the charade.