Israeli Court Won’t Block Anti-Islam Film
A Jerusalem court denied a request by Arab-Israeli politicians and religious leaders seeking to remove an anti-Muslim movie from YouTube and block all Israeli access to it.
The request to the Jerusalem District Court to issue an injunction against Google to block access to “Innocence of Muslims,” which insults the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, was filed Wednesday, The Jerusalem Post reported. Google owns YouTube.
The court ordered a full hearing for Oct. 15 on the request, but declined to block access to the movie and its trailer until the hearing, according to the newspaper.
The lawsuit said that access to the movie is incitement to racism against Muslims, which violates Israel’s Penal Code, among other charges.
Access to the video has been blocked in several Muslim countries. A 14-minute trailer of the movie dubbed in Arabic has sparked riots throughout the Arab world and in Arab communities in other countries. The backlash led to the killing of four American diplomats in Libya.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
