"Israel is not a country! Delist it from Facebook as a country."
July 30, 2008 10:55 AM   Subscribe

Anti-Israel Facebook group "seized" - the Jewish Internet Defense Force (warning: self-starting Google video) says that it has taken control of an anti-Israel Facebook group and is steadily deleting members by the second. "It has also changed the group's administrator titles to read 'Mossad Zionist.'"
posted by mrgrimm (62 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Link to said group, for anyone logged into Crackbook. Down to 20,771 members. I'm sure this'll make all the tensions in the middle east on the internet go away.
posted by imperium at 11:01 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Keep fighting the good fight, boys. Hana Senesh did her part. You, in your stained sweatpants and cheetos-stained fingers, are doing yours.
posted by felix betachat at 11:09 AM on July 30, 2008 [6 favorites]


Fuck this, I'm creating my own facebook group and it's going to be called the "Jewish Ambivalence Front." For all those Jews out there who wake up, turn towards the holy land and say: "meh."
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 11:14 AM on July 30, 2008 [15 favorites]


If they keep up the pressure, there will be no opposition to Zionism shortly. They should burn some anti-Israel books next.
posted by Mayor Curley at 11:14 AM on July 30, 2008 [2 favorites]


As far as I can tell, they've been at it for quite some time. What's Facebooks TOS on this? According to the above page 5000 compaints is the magic number, but what do I know?
posted by soundofsuburbia at 11:17 AM on July 30, 2008


Wait, so this seemingly-legitimate JIDF group is essentially advertising that they hacked into someone's Facebook account?
posted by roll truck roll at 11:25 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


No, wait, Facebook launched on February 4, 2004. The date on that post is all wrong. Sorry.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 11:25 AM on July 30, 2008


a country, I was told in school, is a place with a flag and an army. Israel is a country.
posted by Postroad at 11:28 AM on July 30, 2008


These people have also been stealing all the good spots in Parking Wars. There is no end to their mischief.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:28 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Thing is, there were probably a number of intelligence agencies monitoring this group and others but now JIDF have essentially driven the members underground so, you know, dumb.
posted by hojoki at 11:35 AM on July 30, 2008


Wait, so this seemingly-legitimate JIDF group is essentially advertising that they hacked into someone's Facebook account?

They might not have even done anything so clever.

The JIDF would not specify what technological methods it used to gain access to the group, but said it succeeded in doing so after the old administrators left.

"Ultimately, it was a result of our enemies' stupidity and our timing, persistence and determination more than anything else," David said.


I don't play with Facebook much, but I think if the leaders of a group quit Facebook the group might get open to takeover by any member. So it could be that they just had someone join up and waited for this chance.

And Facebook groups are mostly throwaways; celebrating this as a victory is just overblown and lame.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 11:36 AM on July 30, 2008


a country, I was told in school, is a place with a flag and an army. Israel is a country.

So is West Texas, by that definition.

Listen, I love how we've all decided to allow Israel into the Country club as the last great act of Imperial Europe, but can we stop pretending this was anything other than a land grab? Virtually all of the countries in the world are sitting on conquered territory, there's no reason to pretend this one is any different.
posted by tkolar at 11:36 AM on July 30, 2008 [9 favorites]


They have to individually uninvite every single member? Sucks to be them.
posted by mek at 11:38 AM on July 30, 2008 [3 favorites]


However, when it comes to... purposefully disseminating misinformation to demonize Jews and to delegitimize Israel, there is a moral obligation to remove the platform of such repugnant hate-mongers.

This from a group whose linked homepage contains a counter reading "Islamic terrorists have carried out more than xx deadly terror attacks since 9/11." Way to own that double standard, guys. And, uh, death to the Facebook oppressors? Keep on guessing those account passwords, you stalwart warriors of truth you.
posted by Mayor West at 11:39 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Listen, I love how we've all decided to allow Israel into the Country club as the last great act of Imperial Europe, but can we stop pretending this was anything other than a land grab? Virtually all of the countries in the world are sitting on conquered territory, there's no reason to pretend this one is any different.

*throws bucket of snark on troll*
posted by felix betachat at 11:40 AM on July 30, 2008


Virtually all of the countries in the world are sitting on conquered territory, there's no reason to pretend this one is any different.

I agree with you completely. There isn't any reason to pretend this one is any different. But that cuts both ways; since Israel is no different, it's just as unrealistic to expect them to give up their land as it is to expect England, Brazil, China, or the United States to give up their land.
posted by Justinian at 11:44 AM on July 30, 2008 [5 favorites]


The Jewish Internet Defense Force's guide to Arabic sites goes like this:

If you see Arabic and don't understand, or if you'd like to write messages in Arabic, try this tool: http://www.google.com/translate_t

Right. What could possibly go wrong?
posted by Termite at 11:44 AM on July 30, 2008


This from a group whose linked homepage contains a counter reading "Islamic terrorists have carried out more than xx deadly terror attacks since 9/11."

Oh sheesh, did you click on the page that counter links to? If not and you're at work, don't. Quite Phelps-ey, it is.
posted by roll truck roll at 11:48 AM on July 30, 2008


since Israel is no different, it's just as unrealistic to expect them to give up their land as it is to expect England, Brazil, China, or the United States to give up their land.

Yes, but it's funny how differently the issues of, say, Tibet, Taiwan and Ireland play in the US press than the issue of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights.
posted by yoink at 11:49 AM on July 30, 2008 [7 favorites]


Because the situations are all different. Now, there is certainly a valid discussion to be had about coverage of Israeli issues in the USA, but pretending that all of those situations are the same is a strawman.

Let's not pretend that the situations are exactly analogous.
posted by Justinian at 11:56 AM on July 30, 2008 [3 favorites]


Hah, an older entry on their blog:

the interesting thing about this blog + the most disgraceful day....

we get more hits from the haters of the Jewish people, than the Jewish people themselves.

SO the JIDF would just like to thank all you haters for all the attention and media traffic (and your ip addresses, links to more hostile sites, etc...)

YOUR COMPUTER IS BROADCASTING YOUR IP ADDRESS!

It also really seems like this Defense Force is an army of one, who likes to weirdly relate Radiohead songs to his struggles.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 11:56 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


... since Israel is no different, it's just as unrealistic to expect them to give up their land as it is to expect England, Brazil, China, or the United States to give up their land.

A small, new, morally disputed colonialist country can't exist without the recognition, support, and approval to exist by other powerful nations. That's why a country similar to Israel called "Rhodesia" no longer exists.
posted by dgaicun at 12:05 PM on July 30, 2008


Pffft, if the situation were reversed, and some loony brown folks were doing this to a Zionist group, people would be up in arms about the "terror inflicted upon the Jews!". This teapot tempest is a micro example of the macro acceptance that all is fair in love and war just as long as it's pro-Israeli. That said; hacking Facebook? Really? And you wanna count that as a feather in your cap? Ooookay.
posted by dejah420 at 12:06 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


That's why a country similar to Israel called "Rhodesia" "Biafra" no longer exists.

Fixed that for you.
posted by felix betachat at 12:14 PM on July 30, 2008


Jewish Internet Defense Force? We're the People's internet defense force of Judea! The only thing we hate more than Facebook antisemites is the Jewish Internet Defense Force.
posted by empath at 12:15 PM on July 30, 2008 [12 favorites]


Splitters!
posted by yoink at 12:17 PM on July 30, 2008 [3 favorites]


It also really seems like this Defense Force is an army of one, who likes to weirdly relate Radiohead songs to his struggles.

You're right, and that should have been obvious right away, rereading the entries about the Facebook takeover.

Since you're probably reading this, Jewish Internet Defense Force, tell me: how can you tell whether someone hates jews from their IP address? Might it have something to do with; oh, I don't know; geography?
posted by roll truck roll at 12:18 PM on July 30, 2008


Let's not pretend that the situations are exactly analogous.

Then again, let's not deny that analogies exist. The US, like any other nation, obscures what's convenient: our leaders say democracy is important, feudalism is wrong, and countries shouldn't seize land--except when antidemocratic, feudalistic, or land-grabbing rulers are good for US business, because really, what is freedom but a way to sell fried potatoes when you're annoyed with France?
posted by shetterly at 12:20 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Facebook group squabbles are news now? It sounds like a stupid idea for a group that's gotten an equally stupid response.

"The JIDF would not specify what technological methods it used to gain access to the group, but said it succeeded in doing so after the old administrators left."

There's no hacking involved here. If the administrators of a Facebook group leave the group, the first member to notice and click the "click here to become a group administrator" button becomes the new administrator. It's a dumb mechanism, but that's how it works.
posted by omarr at 12:38 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


As soon as I saw the headline for this post in Google Reader, a fully formed derailroad schedule popped into my mind's eye. And whaddya know, y'all are right on time!
posted by seanmpuckett at 12:43 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


As soon as I saw the headline for this post in Google Reader, a fully formed derailroad schedule popped into my mind's eye. And whaddya know, y'all are right on time!

And I guess we know where those tracks end...
posted by felix betachat at 12:49 PM on July 30, 2008


And I guess we know where those tracks end...

Yea, you know who else liked to derail threads, right?
posted by thanotopsis at 12:59 PM on July 30, 2008


dialectics, you fucking shitpeas! You're just going to create more anti-Zionist havoc on the faebook by blaring your victory over the internets :)
posted by By The Grace of God at 1:00 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


" but can we stop pretending this was anything other than a land grab? Virtually all of the countries in the world are sitting on conquered territory, there's no reason to pretend this one is any different."

I thought it was a Facebook grab?
posted by three blind mice at 1:07 PM on July 30, 2008


shetterly,
Feudalism? What?
posted by Sangermaine at 1:21 PM on July 30, 2008


Fixed that for you.

The Igbo state was cessationist, rather than colonialist. It did receive military support from both Rhodesia and Israel, suggesting they saw themselves is the endeavor. And in each other, obviously; Israel also gave military support to Rhodesia.
posted by dgaicun at 1:53 PM on July 30, 2008


As soon as I saw the headline for this post in Google Reader, a fully formed derailroad schedule popped into my mind's eye. And whaddya know, y'all are right on time!

Doesn't a thread have to be 'railed' first to be derailed? I'm failing to find the rails on this thread in the first place, and am frankly amazed that it hasn't already devolved into more petty sniping and ad hominem attacks.


I'll wait.
posted by Brak at 1:58 PM on July 30, 2008


This is hardly the equivalent of burning books: its a bunch of idiots being juvenile. Why is this interesting enough for an FPP? Or is it just an excuse for another argument about Israel?
posted by rottytooth at 2:03 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Er, the "hackers" are juvenile, not anyone in this thread, if that wasn't clear.
posted by rottytooth at 2:04 PM on July 30, 2008


I didn't realize you could become an administrator of a Facebook group so easily. I guess there's much less to the story than I supposed ... I was curious about any tos or possibly legal violations, which could have been interesting (maybe). As it stands, it's one dude (or a few) with a some extra time and a pet peeve. Hmm. Oh well. I would say pull the post down, but whatever. It's "news."

They have to individually uninvite every single member? Sucks to be them.

The funniest part of the story. I picture one guy clicking (and waiting 30 seconds), click (and waiting 30 seconds), clicking ... that's commitment (if you're not getting paid). I suppose you could surf porn while waiting for Facebook to resolve each time.

frankly amazed that it hasn't already devolved into more petty sniping and ad hominem attacks

I was going to say that I was surprised by the noninflammatory tone of the conversation ... but there's really not that much to discuss if the "hack" wasn't a hack.

(on preview: flag and move on, rottytooth. maybe if you flag it enough, you can kill it.)
posted by mrgrimm at 2:04 PM on July 30, 2008


Sangermaine, I was thinking of the CIA helping Tibet's feudal lords fight to restore slavery/serfdom during the '50s. The US lost that one, so people don't talk about it much. But the US did prevent a general election in Vietnam, overthrew democracy in Iran to reinstall the Shah, overthrew democracy in Guatemala to install a military dictatorship, etc.
posted by shetterly at 2:10 PM on July 30, 2008 [2 favorites]


The Igbo state was cessationist, rather than colonialist.

Well, I'd say that after the aliyah of the mizrahim in the '50's, when a second holocaust looked imminent and Jews from throughout North Africa and the Middle East began fleeing to Palestine, the Zionist state started to look a lot more "secessionist" and a lot less "colonialist" (as if that term even applies when speaking of a stateless nation...). Sure, you have to fudge the details a little, but no moreso than making Israel look like Rhodesia.
posted by felix betachat at 2:13 PM on July 30, 2008


There isn't any reason to pretend this one is any different. But that cuts both ways; since Israel is no different, it's just as unrealistic to expect them to give up their land as it is to expect England, Brazil, China, or the United States to give up their land.

So, uh, next time someone steals something from you, I suppose I can be the first to point out that its unreasonable for you to expect them to give it back, because, er, a lot of old crusty dead people stole lots of shit and passed it on to their greatgrandkids and they ain't giving it back?

I think timing kind of matters.
posted by mano at 3:00 PM on July 30, 2008


The Economist has an interesting article about internet hate groups.

It points out how the internet was meant to bring everyone together and we'd all get along and instead we have this kind of behavior but instead nationalists of all stripes have got together to make groups stating how they are much better than the other side.
posted by sien at 3:35 PM on July 30, 2008


omarr writes "There's no hacking involved here. If the administrators of a Facebook group leave the group, the first member to notice and click the 'click here to become a group administrator' button becomes the new administrator. It's a dumb mechanism, but that's how it works."

Probably better than the way Yahoo Groups does it. There is the administrators are all MIA without having passed the torch the group just doesn't have an administrator. Which is bad if new members require admin approval and worse if the group is moderated.
posted by Mitheral at 3:53 PM on July 30, 2008


Bah. Israel is a village on Travian and I've been farming them for ages.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 4:10 PM on July 30, 2008


At least Hitler never hacked Facebook.
posted by sportbucket at 5:21 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


So, the guy stole Obama's prayer from Facebook?
posted by qvantamon at 5:47 PM on July 30, 2008


This is some blatant shit right here. Where's the outrage? I mean really the most you can get is fucking analogies? History will look back on these times and rightfully condemn. And just like apologists of today the oppressors will distance themselves by saying "it was my ancestors, not me".

Most people keep it mum when glaring appression rears it's ugly head. Maybe because of pro-Israel watchdogs in every institution ready to push the button at the first hint of dissent. Now thats terrorism when your career and livelihood is threatend by these Zionist maniacs who have been beating Americans over the head with "never again, always remember" Guilt trips as if the holocaust was the worst catastrophe in human history. Fuck that. That shit was stolen and it ain't right.
posted by Student of Man at 7:23 PM on July 30, 2008


That's why a country similar to Israel called "Rhodesia" no longer exists.

Rhodesia didn't grant black people political rights. Non-jews in israel do have political rights -- non-jews in the occupied terretories don't. Israel is not perfect, but it's not Rhodesia either.
posted by Tlogmer at 7:35 PM on July 30, 2008


I would just like to remind anyone who actually cares about the goings on about any of this, Israel is a little over twenty one thousand square kilometers of dirt, located on the eastern hemisphere of a little bluegreen planet that is roughly 510,072,000 kmĀ².

This little planet is approximately 149,597,870,691 kilometers away from the sun. The bipedal inhabitants of Earth currently argue whether there are eight planets or nine revolving around this sun, when in actuality, Sol boasts several thousand pieces of debris revolving around it, of which Earth is one. The closest item is known by Man as Mercury. The furthest away that humans can detect is currently named Eris. The fact is these celestial bodies do not really have names, but human beings have give them names, because they have to anthroporphize everything they see in order to pretend to understand it.

Sol's system is located in one arm of a galaxy that humans have dubbed "The Milky Way." It takes approximately two hundred and fifty million years for the sun to revolve around the galactic center. The Milky Way is one of billions of known galaxies. Those are only the ones that can possibly be seen by humans. Each galaxy contains at least tens of millions of stars. Some contain upwards of a trillion. And each of these stars may have several thousands of debris revolving around them. Some of those might have life.

So what happens in Israel? Not that big a deal.
posted by ZachsMind at 8:06 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


To the people in the middle of any catastrophe, the universe is about -----><----- this big, ZM.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 8:19 PM on July 30, 2008


ZachsMind, that could be a comment in any thread or, for that matter, a response to any comment you've ever made.
posted by roll truck roll at 8:19 PM on July 30, 2008


these Zionist maniacs who have been beating Americans over the head with "never again, always remember" Guilt trips as if the holocaust was the worst catastrophe in human history. Fuck that.

This probably sounds better in the original German.
posted by Justinian at 8:54 PM on July 30, 2008 [5 favorites]


The Economist has an interesting article about internet hate groups.

It points out how the internet was meant to bring everyone together and we'd all get along and instead we have this kind of behavior but instead nationalists of all stripes have got together to make groups stating how they are much better than the other side.


I bet you'd never find a link & comment like that on fark.
posted by UbuRoivas at 9:48 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


I'm a bit nervous about anyone who claims "God told me to __________." be they Christian, Muslim, or Jewish.

Evolve, bitches.
posted by aiq at 12:55 AM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


Ha! Internet settlers! Pretty soon they'll start bringing in caravans and generators, dumping their sewage on neighboring facebook sites and starting fires. At least internet settlers don't get savagely drunk on arak and shoot at my house in the middle of the night.

Israelis - is there nothing left on this planet that you cannot find a way to steal?
posted by Baby_Balrog at 1:49 AM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


So what happens in Israel? Not that big a deal.

I'd like to see you try that argument in Israel. It's not like anyone's selling real estate in Betelgeuse. I mean, what's your point? That they can go somewhere else, or all these lines we draw are arbitrary, and thus meaningless? If it's the first, then you're wrong, and if it's the second, then your assumption (lines on a map are human abstractions) doesn't prove your conclusion (that they are meaningless).
posted by Edgewise at 6:55 AM on July 31, 2008


Zachsmind: "So what happens in Israel? Not that big a deal."

Tell that to the villagers of Al'Khader, who have lost 92% of their ancestral orchard land to the apartheid wall.

Just lines on a map, right?
posted by Baby_Balrog at 8:44 AM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


So, uh, next time someone steals something from you, I suppose I can be the first to point out that its unreasonable for you to expect them to give it back, because, [...]

... they have a lot of guns and a lot people and aren't likely to give it back anytime soon?

I have this same problem with the IRS every April. That's life.
posted by tkolar at 8:58 AM on July 31, 2008


The solution to the whole Israel thing is pretty straightforward:
  1. All Arab nations have to recognize that Israel exists as a state (even if they don't like it)
  2. Israel has to leave all settlements and return them to Palestinian rule. No more knocking down houses. The Palestinian government, in turn, must completely secure its borders and people. No more rocket attacks, no more bombers. Israel has to sit on its hands; no more retaliatory attacks
  3. Jerusalem becomes an open city, owned by no one but allowing access to all
Unfortunately, this will never happen. Both sides believe if they sit around long enough they will get their way.
posted by Deathalicious at 10:25 AM on July 31, 2008


No, the solution is:
  1. All of Israel and Palestine are deeded over to me.
  2. Everyone else leaves.
posted by oaf at 1:51 PM on August 1, 2008


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