(JTA) — Many Israeli and Jewish schools are urging parents to limit their children’s access to social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram over concerns about increasing graphic content being shared from Israel and Gaza. ing.
David Lange, who lives in Israel and runs the Israeli advocacy group Israellycool, posted a screenshot of a message from his daughter’s school on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The message, written in Hebrew and shared via a WhatsApp group, warned that Hamas could soon start sharing videos of captured Israeli and American hostages and urged parents to download TikTok from their children’s phones. urged to delete it.
I just. you can’t. Message from my daughter’s school: Dear Parents, We have been informed that a video of an abductee pleading for his life will soon be sent to us. Delete the Tiktok app from your children’s phones. I can’t afford to let my kids watch this! ”
— (((David Lang))) (@Israellycool) October 10, 2023
It is unclear where the information about the upcoming hostage video came from. But videos showing pleas, violence, and even killings are common tools for hostage-taking terrorist groups. Israel said about 150 of its citizens were being held hostage, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas has threatened to execute hostages in response to attacks in Gaza, the Palestinian territory he controls.
Soon Jewish schools across the country began repeating this warning. The Frisch School, a modern Orthodox school in Paramus, New Jersey, sent a similar message to the community, also warning of the possibility of a hostage video.
An email sent to the school Tuesday morning by the school’s principal, Rabbi Eli Sinel, said: “Local psychologists have contacted us and the Israeli government has announced that children will be asked to use Instagram and TikTok. “We have been informed that we are urging parents to tell their parents to delete it immediately.” “We urge students to do the same as soon as possible.”
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Hannah Senesh Community Day School in Brooklyn also urged parents to consider restricting their children’s access to social media.
“We understand that we cannot completely prevent students from viewing images that may appear on their phones, but we encourage parents to be honest with their children about this possibility. We strongly encourage you to foster open communication, monitor your social media usage, and discuss ways to avoid opening these videos and what to do if you come across such media,” said Tuesday. That afternoon, there was an email from school principal Nicole Nash. “We also urge parents to strongly consider asking their children to remove these apps, at least for the time being.”
Even without the hostage video posted on TikTok, social media has been in hot water since shortly after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, killing more than 1,000 people, including many Americans, and injuring thousands more. It is full of dark and disturbing images and videos.