“From the River to the Sea” | #TranslateHate
“From the River to the Sea”
noun \ ‘fruhm ‘thə ‘RIVər ‘too ‘thə ‘si \
: the catch-all phrase symbolizing Palestinian control over the entire territory of Israel’s borders, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea
HOW IT’S ANTISEMITIC:
“From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free” is a rallying cry for terrorist groups and their sympathizers, from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) to Hamas, which called for Israel’s destruction in its original governing charter in 1988 and was responsible for the October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israeli civilians, murdering over 1,200 people in the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. It is also a common call-to-arms for pro-Palestinian activists, especially student activists on college campuses. It calls for the establishment of a State of Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, erasing the State of Israel and its people. Another phrase “Globalize the Intifada,” which uses the Arabic word for “uprising” or “shaking off,” also calls for widespread violence against both Israelis and Jews across the globe (see “Globalize the Intifada”).
Sometimes the Palestinian flag emoji is used as shorthand for these phrases to spam social media posts related to Jews, whether having to do with Israel or not. There is of course nothing antisemitic about advocating for Palestinians to have their own state. However, calling for the elimination of the Jewish state, praising Hamas or other entities who call for Israel’s destruction, or suggesting that the Jews alone do not have the right to self-determination, is antisemitic.
