Israel media urge Twitter, Facebook to stop anti-press hate

Major Israeli news outlet are calling on Facebook and Twitter to take action against social media posts inciting violence against journalists after a rash of attacks and death threats targeting reporters

JERUSALEM -- Major Israeli news outlets Tuesday called on Facebook and Twitter to halt what they said were social media posts inciting violence against journalists after a rash of attacks and death threats targeting reporters. In letters sent to the social media giants, over a dozen newspapers, websites, TV and radio stations said “journalists have become a target for incitement, which has put them in clear and present danger." Israel has gone through a tumultuous month that included heavy-handed police crackdowns against stone-throwing Palestinian demonstrators at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site, mob violence between Israeli Jews and Arabs and an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. Bystanders attacked journalists covering the unrest in Israeli cities, and news anchors and reporters covering the fighting in Gaza faced intense verbal attacks and death threats online.