Well, you may, or may not, see the video featuring RT’s Abby Martin who interviewed journalist Max Blumenthal who has intervied many in the state of Israel.
βJust notified by YouTube that Abby Martinβs interview with Max Blumenthal has been blocked from being viewed in 28 countries (including Israel) to βcomply with local laws.β Actions disabled & warnings for viewers elsewhere,β the programβs official Twitter account related on Thursday.
Entitled βJewish-American on Israel’s Fascism: βNo Hope For Change From Within’,β the episode featured a discussion between Martin and journalist Max Blumenthal about the increasingly militaristic, racist attitude of Israel towards Palestinians.
βYouTube has claimed that it removed my interview on Israel-Palestine with Abby Martin to comply with laws in 28 countries. However, nothing I did or said in the discussion was even remotely illegal, even in countries with the strictest hate crime laws,β Blumenthal told RT in an email.βMy comments were based entirely on my extensive journalistic experience in the region and my analysis was clinical in nature. At no point did I denigrate anyone based on their faith or ethnicity.β
Blumenthal said that his comments were βmotivated by a strong opposition to Israel’s systemic discrimination against Palestinians,β and his βdedication to equal rights for all.β He called the YouTube’s decision βa political one and likely made under pressure from powerful pro-Israel interests.β
A screenshot from YouTube which accompanied the tweet identified the 28 countries and territories where the 2015 video, was blocked and this list includes most European countries.
Viewers from around the world responded to Empire Filesβ tweet, reporting that the video includes a warning that is has been βidentified by the YouTube community as inappropriate or offensive to some audiences.β The videoβs description, view counter, comments section, as well as βlikeβ and βdislikeβ options have apparently also been disabled by YouTube.
According to Blumenthal, this isnβt the first time YouTube has censored his commentary and journalism on Israel-Palestine. In 2010, he made a viral video exposing βracist extremismβ in Israel, which received widespread media coverage and was subsequently removed from the platform without explanation.
βThe trend of censoring material that presents Israel in a less than favorable light has only intensified as establishment attacks on critical voices expands. This latest episode confirms my view that the pro-Israel lobby and its willing accomplices in Silicon Valley present one of the greatest threats to free speech in the West,β Blumenthal told RT.
Last year, YouTube invited the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to join its “Trusted Flagger” system. The ADL defines opposition to Israel’s system of apartheid as a form of anti-Semitism. Blumenthal told RT that he believes the ADL is likely behind the suppression of his interview with Martin.
Empire Files, the documentary and interview program airing on teleSUR, is known for addressing hot-button issues that are often overlooked or ignored by traditional media.
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