YouTube Rules Not to Remove Anti-Hamas, Israeli Song Despite Protests From Pro-Palestinian Activists, Employees

Decision-makers at YouTube have decided not to remove from the popular video platform a Hebrew-language rap song that expresses support for Israel’s ongoing military campaign targeting Hamas terrorists controlling the Gaza Strip, despite backlash from pro-Palestinian activists, WIRED magazine reported on Tuesday.

Following the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, the Israeli rap duo Ness Ve Stilla released a song titled “Harbu Darbu,” which is derived from Syrian Arabic and in Hebrew slang refers to unleashing hell on one’s enemies. In the song, the rappers attack Hamas and call out some celebrities who have expressed support for the terrorist group or condemned Israel, including model Bella Hadid, singer Dua Lipa, and former Playboy model Mia Khalifa. All three women have accused Israel of “genocide” since the Oct. 7 attack.

Ness Ve Stilla also call for revenge against Hamas and the fellow Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah. The rappers name Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and top Hamas officials Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, saying, “Every dog’s day will come.”

“Everyone who planned, everyone who supported, everyone who carried out, everyone who murdered, every bad person gets his punishment in the end,” they rap in the song. “We brought the whole army on you and I swear there will be no forgiveness … One, two, shoot.” They also describe Hamas supporters as the “Children of Amalek,” which is a reference to the ancient biblical tribe that tried to destroy the Israelites. “Amalek” has been used throughout history to describe Israel’s enemies.

The music video for “Harbu Darbu” has garnered over 25 million views on YouTube.

Pro-Palestinian activists and supporters, including YouTube employees, have criticized “Harbu Darbu,” claiming it incites “genocide,” violence, and hatred against all Palestinians and should be considered hate speech. They have also argued it could be removed for violating YouTube’s harassment policies. However, YouTube has allowed the song to remain on its website.

Management at the popular video platform concluded that the song’s lyrics target Hamas, not all Palestinians, and that as a US-designed terrorist organization, Hamas can be subject to hate speech on YouTube without violating the website’s policies, sources with knowledge about content moderation at YouTube told WIRED magazine. YouTube executives also reportedly determined that the song’s targeting of Hadid, Lipa, and Khalifa does not constitute harassment.

The publication further reported that YouTube’s trust and safety team consulted with executives and reviewed interpretations by experts of the song’s lyrics, usage of slang, and phrasing before making its decision. In one instance, YouTube’s management determined that one of the song’s opening lines, which describes rats coming out of tunnels, proves that the song is about Hamas terrorists, who regularly use tunnels for their military operations, and therefore does not qualify as hate speech.

YouTube employees told WIRED they believe the platform is biased, inconsistent, and unfair in its moderating of content related to the Israel-Hamas, war but YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon denied those accusations.

“We dispute the characterization that our response to this conflict deviated from our established approach toward major world events,” Malon told the magazine. “The suggestion that we apply our policies differently based on which religion or ethnicity is featured in the content is simply untrue. We have removed tens of thousands of videos since this conflict began. Some of these are tough calls, and we don’t make them lightly, debating to get to the right outcome.”