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Israel and UAE strike major agreement; Facebook bans blackface and antisemitic conspiracy theories; Jewish groups condemn Marjorie Greene

ADL Headlines newsletter

August 14, 2020

THE WEEK’S BIG 3

Israel struck an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to establish “full normalization of relations” even as it forgoes for now plans to annex occupied West Bank territory in order to focus on improving its ties with the rest of the Arab world. Facebook will start banning posts that contain blackface or that promote antisemitic conspiracy theories that Jewish people are running the world. A Georgia congressional candidate, who has a history of spreading QAnon conspiracy theories, and Islamophobic rhetoric, won a primary runoff this week; ADL and other organizations have raised concern about her history of bigoted rhetoric.

Read on for more on these headlines, news you can use to fight hate and the latest info about ADL from around the country.

1) Israel and United Arab Emirates Strike Major Diplomatic Agreement

“In a surprise statement issued by the White House, President Trump said he brokered a deal that would lead to Israel and the U.A.E. signing a string of bilateral agreements on investment, tourism, security, technology, energy and other areas while moving to allow direct flights between their countries and set up reciprocal embassies.” The New York Times: READ MORE

+ READ: ADL Applauds Historic Israel-UAE Agreement

+ Jonathan Greenblatt tweet: I commend Israeli and Emirati leaders for being willing to buck the hardliners and make real concessions toward Arab-Israeli peace…

2) Facebook Bans Blackface and Certain Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories

“The social media giant announced the expansion of its hate speech policies in a press call on Tuesday morning. Under the new policy, Facebook will no longer allow visual or written posts that depict ‘caricatures of black people in the form of blackface’ or ‘Jewish people running the world or controlling major institutions such as media networks, the economy or the government.’” Recode: FULL STORY

+ Jonathan Greenblatt tweet: “Let's be clear, these are minor steps to address urgent issues on the platform…”

+ READ: Review of Facebook’s Progress On Stop Hate For Profit Recommendations

3) Jewish Groups Condemn Conspiracy Theorist Marjorie Greene After Runoff Victory

“Greene has been a vocal promoter of the QAnon conspiracy theory — which alleges that President Donald Trump is working to take down a network of Democratic politicians and celebrities who practice satanism, pedophilia and cannibalism — and has posted Facebook videos expressing antisemitic, racist and Islamophobic views.” Jewish Insider: FULL STORY

+ ADL Southeast tweet: Ms. Greene has a history of propagating antisemitic disinformation, including the notion that Jewish philanthropist George Soros collaborated with the Nazis in World War II…

+ ADL Resource: What is QAnon?

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