Some Arab MKs have petitioned the courts in Israel to demand that Google (owner of Youtube) block access to the video (Innocence of Muslims) that has [supposedly] sparked riots across the Mid-East, as Muslims see the video as being anti-Islam.

According to the JPost:

MK Taleb a-Sanaa and various Arab-Israeli mayors and religious leaders on Wednesday filed a petition with the Jerusalem District Court demanding that Google take down an anti-Islam video ridiculing the Muslim Prophet Mohamed from YouTube, to prevent future publicizing of the film and to block all access to the film in Israel.

The petitioners characterized the film as abusive and violating the image of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad in a racist manner, while trampling his sanctity and desecrating his name.

The film was also considered highly damaging as it violated the dignity and faith of more than a billion Muslims and more than a million Muslim citizens in Israel, according to the petition. The petitioners claim that the publication violates the religious feelings of Muslims in contravention of Section 173 of the Penal Code, constitutes incitement to racism against Muslims in violation of Article 144 of the Penal Code, and is defamatory according to the 1965 Defamation Law.

The petition was filed by attorney Kais Nasser, and was filed against Google, which owns YouTube.

News reports have indicated that Google has already blocked access to the video in Egypt, Libya, Indonesia and India, but has rejected a request by the White House to pull it from the video-sharing site YouTube altogether. Authorities in Afghanistan ordered YouTube to be shutdown "indefinitely" to stop Afghans from watching the film, while Russia and Saudi Arabia also threatened to block the website unless it removes the film.

I don't see why  Google/YouTube doesn't block the video completely and have it removed. They do that regularly with videos they determine to contain hate or indecent material. They should do that with this video as well, if anything.

If they do not remove it from their system, I do not think it should be "blocked" in Israel. Israel should not be in the business of censorship. Proving the necessity for censorship by pointing to China and Libya as examples just sows even more how much we should avoid getting involved in censorship.

What do you think?

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