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Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke May 18, 2021

No, this photo doesn't show an anti-Israel activist holding a photo of Hitler

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  • A woman photographed holding a sign that says "Defund Israel" and "We will never stop" is holding what appears to be a photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doctored to look like he has a mustache similar to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s. 
     
  • Such imagery has been used in protests against Netanyahu before, and has at times drawn criticism.
 

An image of a woman carrying a sign that says "Defund Israel" and  "we will never stop!" is being shared on social media, and users are drawing attention to a framed photo she’s holding.

"Yes," reads one Instagram post, "that’s a photo of Hitler. ‘We will never stop’ = we want to commit another Holocaust. Terrorists are amongst us." 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Facebook owns Instagram.

A closer look at the framed picture in the image shows that the portrait is not of Hitler. It appears to be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a Hitler mustache drawn on his face, as some people commenting on the photo pointed out. 

It’s imagery that’s been used before in protests against Netanyahu. 

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In November 2020, an Israeli activist was criticized for comparing Netanyahu to Hitler, according to the Jerusalem Post, and saying in a video on social media that "in the 30s, there was a bitter enemy of the Jews. He was in Germany, and he acted just like you; divided, incited, destroyed."

In 2016, a poster showing Netanyahu with a Hitler mustache appeared at an art school in Tel Aviv, and in 2017, pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Sydney protested the prime minister’s visit to Australia, calling him a "war criminal" and carrying a banner with Netanyahu with a Hitler mustache and the word "fascist." 

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The Instagram post makes a far-reaching claim based on an incorrect description of the photo.

We rate it False.

 

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More by Ciara O'Rourke

No, this photo doesn't show an anti-Israel activist holding a photo of Hitler

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