, in which he used the word “Zionist” while talking about Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.){kind=link}
Social media platform Instagram has deleted two posts from Professor Ali Erbaş, the head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), in which he used the word “Zionist” while talking about Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
Erbaş’s press advisor, Burak Orhan, announced on X on Tuesday that Instagram had deleted the two posts on Monday shortly after a ban on the platform was lifted on Saturday evening after remaining in place for nine days.
📍 İnstagram Türkiye’de erişimin tekrar açılmasının ardından yeni skandal bir uygulamaya imza attı
📍 Diyanet İşleri Başkanımız Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş hocamızın @dibalierbas instagram hesabında yer alan 2 ayrı mesajı dün silindi
📍 Skandalın en ilginç tarafı 3 ay önce yapılan… pic.twitter.com/iPyQt2LJOR
— Burak Orhan 🇹🇷🇵🇸 (@Burakorhan0) August 13, 2024
Orhan, who shared the screenshots of the deleted posts with a notification from Instagram, said both posts were excerpts from Erbaş’s speeches at international conferences held several months ago in İstanbul and Mecca in which he criticized ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In one of his posts he referred to a “Zionist threat,” and “occupying Zionists” in the other one.
According to Instagram’s notification, Erbaş’s posts were taken down for violating community guidelines on dangerous organizations and individuals.
The Transparency Center at Meta Platforms, Instagram’s parent company, says they do not “allow content that praises, supports or represents individuals or groups engaging in terrorist activity or organized hate.”
The notification warned that if Erbaş continues to violate the guidelines with similar messages, his account could be restricted.
According to Orhan, the reason for the removal of Erbaş’s posts, which he described as “scandalous,” is his use of the word “Zionist” in both messages.
“I guess it is forbidden to use the word Zionist on Instagram. But defending the murderer Israel in any way is allowed. Instagram’s removal of posts will not be enough to hide Zionist Israel’s genocide against Palestinians; no matter what it does, it will one day be held accountable for its crimes against humanity,” said Orhan.
Meta said last month that it would start taking down more posts that target “Zionists” when the term is used to refer to Jewish people and Israelis rather than representing supporters of the political movement.
The policy update came as tensions escalate in the Middle East amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, which began in retaliation for an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on the south of Israel on October 7.
Meta has been criticized for years on how it handles content involving the Middle East, and those criticisms grew further after the start of the war, with rights groups accusing the company of suppressing content supportive of Palestinians on Instagram and Facebook.
Instagram had been blocked in Turkey since the morning of August 2 until August 11 for reasons that were never fully explained but was linked to its deleting of posts in support of Palestine and Hamas leaders.
Unlike most of its Western allies, Turkey does not recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization and accuses Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza, where the number of people killed in Israeli attacks has neared 40,000 people so far.