“From the river to the sea,” which references the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, is viewed by many as antisemitic as it promotes a reality in which Israel does not exist as a Jewish homeland, leading some to see it as a call for ethnic cleansing or genocide against Israel’s Jews.
Earlier this week, the Dutch parliament passed a motion calling ‘’From the River to the Sea’’ a criminal act of incitement to violence.’’ The slogan is often heard or seen on banners in pro-Palestinian rallies across Europe and elsewhere.
‘’As a general rule we don’t really comment on remarks of individual politicians in the national context in the member states,’’ said EU foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano at the EU Commission daily briefing on Friday.
He answered a question from a Wall Street Journal reporter who was wondering whether the Commission would repudiate a call by Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz ‘’to free Palestine from the river to the sea.’’
‘’We don’t know of course the context and other things but I can only say that this is maybe for the Deputy PM herself to explain or for Spanish authorities. Again our role and the general rule is not to comment on individual remarks of politicians in the member states,’’ the spokesperson added.
Then the reporter, in a follow-up question, noted that the ‘’context can’t be more crystal clear.’’ Does the Commission believes that a call ‘’free Palestine from the river to the sea’’ is akin to ethnic cleansing,’’ he asked, adding ‘’You maybe know that several European governments have passed legislations to ban the phrase exactly for that reason.’’
‘’I think it is important to remind everyone of our position of striving to find a two-state solution where Israel and Palestine can live side-by-side in peace, in security and in prosperity,’’ replied the EU Commission lead spokesperson Eric Mamer.
The Spanish politician, who is a member of an extreme-left political party, made her statement in a video published on X (see below) following her country’s decision on Wednesday to recognize Palestine as a state, like two other countries, Ireland and Norway, did.
Diaz’s video drew accusations of antisemitism from Israel and Jewish groups.
“From the river to the sea,” which references the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, is viewed by many as antisemitic as it promotes a reality in which Israel does not exist as a Jewish homeland, leading some to see it as a call for ethnic cleansing or genocide against Israel’s Jews.
Diaz accused Israel of ‘’barbarism’’ and called for the European Union to be pressured “to end its agreements and treaties with Israel.”
The 27 EU member states are set to meet Monday in Brussels to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and its implications in the region. They will also meet the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Earlier this week, the Dutch parliament passed a motion calling ‘’From the River to the Sea’’ a criminal act of incitement to violence.’’ The slogan is often heard or seen on banners in pro-Palestinian rallies across Europe and elsewhere.
The Dutch motion was initiated by MP Diederik Van Dijk from the Christian Reformed (SGP) political party because, he said, ‘’ since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, there has been a chilling increase in antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands..’’ ”The context of the slogan “from the river to the sea” comes directly from the Hamas charter,” he said.
“No Hamas ranting in our streets or stations,’’ Van Dijk stated, adding that ‘’police need more tools to tackle antisemitic slogans at demonstrations.’’
He asked the Dutch government to follow the example of Germany and Austria to place the chanting of the slogan at demonstrations in an antisemitic context and to include it in the so-called action perspective, so that police and prosecutors can actually take action.
