The Arabic Wikipedia site has for several months featured a banner reacting to the ongoing war in Gaza, calling the Israeli military campaign a "genocide" and accusing Israel of targeting civilians before calling for a "just and comprehensive peace."
The banner has drawn sporadic attention, receiving write-ups in the conservative American magazine National Review and the Jewish blog Elder of Ziyon, and sparked a brief but heated debate among editors of the online encyclopedia, leading one former administrator of the Hebrew site to resign his role, but has not met significant opposition.
The banner, which is featured on every Arabic-language Wikipedia page, reads: "In solidarity with the right of the Palestinian people, no to genocide in Gaza, no to killing civilians. No to targeting hospitals and schools. No to deception and double standards. Stop the war and spread a just and comprehensive peace." Next to these words is a modified version of the Wikipedia logo, in which the iconic jigsaw-puzzle globe is wrapped in a ribbon with the Palestinian flag on one side and the design of a keffiyeh on the other.
Several of the phrases in the banner are hyperlinked, with "genocide in Gaza" linking to the entry for the ongoing war (called the "2023 Israeli-Palestinian War' in the headline, though the article also cites the names "Al-Aqsa Flood Operation," "Third Intifada," and "Gaza Massacre").
The words "killing civilians" link to a directory page for articles on "Massacres during the 2023 Israeli-Palestinian war," containing 169 such articles at time of writing. The articles cover specific incidents in Gaza in which the IDF is said to have killed or intentionally targeted Palestinians, usually civilians, with the names of the reported dead listed. These articles cite Arabic news sources, often linking to articles by the Yemen Press Agency, a Sana'a based outlet with a pro-Houthi and anti-Israel slant, or al-Mayadeen, an Iran-aligned outlet that operates out of Beirut.
The directory also includes entries on Hamas attacks against civilians on October 7, such as the massacre at the Nova music festival in Re'im, or the invasions of the Kfar Aza and Nir Oz kibbutzim. These, however, are referred to using the word "attack" (in Arabic, hujum), whereas IDF operations in Gaza are referred to using the word "massacre" (majzara.)
The phrase "targeting hospitals and schools" is also hyperlinked, taking the reader to an entry for the "Baptist Hospital Massacre," the explosion at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City about a week and a half into the war in Gaza, which was initially reported as the result of an Israeli airstrike but has been determined by American, British, Canadian, French, and Israeli intelligence to have most likely resulted from an errant rocket launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Arabic page endorses the claim that Israel is responsible, citing the controversy in a section called "Israeli propaganda."
Finally, the words "deception and double standards" links to an entry for "Operation al-Aqsa Flood," using Hamas's name for its October 7 attack, during which thousands of operatives invaded Israel, killing about 1,200, mostly civilians, and taking more than 250 people hostage, while committing acts of rape and sexual violence. Specifically, the hyperlink connects to the section of the entry that deals with media coverage of the attack.
Hebrew Wikipedia admin quit citing neutrality violation
Wikipedia has a policy of neutrality, although the site, or particular versions of it, have participated in 'blackouts' and other acts of protest in the past. The Arabic "genocide" banner prompted a heated discussion in an internal forum between defenders of the action and one Hebrew-language Wikipedia administrator, with the username Bharel, who took issue and ultimately stepped back from his role on the site.
"I have stopped contributions and donations to [Wikimedia Foundation, the group that runs Wikipedia]," his personal user page now reads. "They actively support [Arabic Wikipedia] displaying a banner on their homepage against alleged 'Israeli propaganda' and 'genocide', thereby breaking the agreement with us contributors for building a neutral encyclopedia. Your donations and contributions are [used] to promote politics and sway public opinion. When will you be the next target?"