THE NEW YORK TIMES: The pro-Palestinian rallying cry has become a fixture of protests in the United States and was a focus of the congressional censure of Representative Rashida Tlaib. It has a fraught history.
When House Republicans and a solid bloc of Democrats banded together this week to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, for her statements about the Israel-Gaza war, they homed in on her embrace and defense of one pro-Palestinian slogan they called unacceptable: “from the river to the sea.”
The official congressional rebuke of Ms. Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, said the phrase was “widely recognized as a genocidal call to violence to destroy the state of Israel.” The top White House spokeswoman disavowed it from the West Wing, saying that it was “divisive” and that many considered it hurtful and antisemitic.
The phrase, which Ms. Tlaib has defended as “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction or hate” has not only become a flashpoint for dispute in Washington; it has echoed across college campuses and in cities throughout the country in recent weeks as pro-Palestinian activists protest the heavy civilian toll of Israel’s war against Hamas. The slogan has prompted charges of antisemitism and fueled an increasingly bitter debate over the conflict, its root causes and how it should be waged — and what position the United States should be taking as it rages on.
The decades-old phrase has a complicated back story that has led to radically different interpretations by Israelis and Palestinians, and by Americans who support them.
“The reason why this term is so hotly disputed is because it means different things to different people,” said Dov Waxman, a professor of Israel studies at the University of California in Los Angeles, adding that “the conflicting interpretations have kind of grown over time.”
The phrase “from the river to the sea” — or in Arabic, “min al-nahr ila al-bahr” — dates to the dawn of the Palestinian nationalist movement in the early 1960s, about a quarter century before Hamas came into existence. It gained popularity within the Palestine Liberation Organization, or P.L.O., as a call for returning to the borders under British control of Palestine, where Jews and Arabs had both lived before the creation of Israel as a Jewish state in 1948. » | Karoun Demirjian and Liam Stack, Reporting from Washington and New York | Thursday, November 9, 2023
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Showing posts with label call for Palestinian state. Show all posts
Showing posts with label call for Palestinian state. Show all posts
Friday, November 10, 2023
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
He told the Arab League that before the year's end "we will see Palestine in a very different situation".
Mr Erdogan made a new attack on Israel, saying its government's mentality was a barrier to peace in the Middle East.
The Palestinians are currently preparing a bid for United Nations membership despite Israeli and US opposition.
Mr Erdogan is in Egypt as part of a tour of three Arab states that recently ousted their leaders, in an attempt to improve Turkey's standing in the region.
Turkey's relations with Israel have worsened since Israeli forces boarded an aid ship in May last year as it was heading for Gaza.
Nine Turkish activists were killed during the raid. Israel has refused to apologise and said its troops acted in self-defence. » | Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Sunday, February 21, 2010
HAARETZ: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his Spanish counterpart Miguel Moratinos are promoting an initiative by which the European Union would recognize a Palestinian state in 18 months, even before negotiations for a permanent settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are concluded.
According to senior European diplomats and senior Israeli officials, Israel has relayed its opposition to the initiative - warning that it would undermine any chance of a successful peace process. >>> Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent | Sunday, February 21, 2010
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
"The Holy See supports the right of your people to a sovereign Palestinian homeland in the land of your forefathers, secure and at peace with its neighbours, within internationally recognised borders." – Pope Benedict XVI
BBC: Pope Benedict XVI has offered his support for the Palestinians' right to a homeland, as he continues a Middle East tour in the West Bank.
Speaking on his arrival in Bethlehem, the Pope called for a just and lasting peace in the region.
He urged Palestinians not to resort to violence and terrorism.
He is holding a Mass in the town, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ. He will later give a homily in Manger Square and visit a refugee camp.
One of the aims of the pontiff's visit is to preserve a diminishing Christian presence in the Holy Land. >>> | Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Watch BBC video: Pope calls for a Palestinian state >>>
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