CNN recently sent reporter Elle Reeve to several college campus for a segment that aired on Wednesday’s Anderson Cooper360 and Thursday’s CNN This Morning to get both sides perspective on the anti-Israel genocidal slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
During the report, Reeve noted, “’ "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ heard in many campus protests has become a lightning rod.”
Why might that be? According to Drexel University student Youssef Rafeh, “Free Palestine is when Palestinians can live with food, water, electricity, have equal rights that all humans deserve.”
Maybe you shouldn’t launch wars against your neighbor, but Sean (no last name given), a student at the University of Pennsylvania liked to pretend that Israel goes to war for the fun of it, “You're completely ignoring the fact that people chanting that have lost all their family members, have had neighborhoods wiped out.”
Cornell student Zoe Bernstein then pointed the obvious, “From the river to the sea -- the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, Palestine will be free. Free of what? Free from who? What will happen to the people who live there? That to me sounds like a call for genocide or an ethnic cleansing, and that really does terrify me honestly.”
Beni Romm, another student from UPenn, agreed, “Chanting slogans of ‘From the river to the sea’ and intifada is never going to invite a conversation with Jewish students of, ‘Hey, look at me, I'm also experiencing suffering as a result of the events in Israel.’"
Bernstein and Romm are pointing out that words have meanings and if you take these people at their word, they are calling for the elimination of several million Jews. They aren't calling for Gaza to have food or electricity, because if they were they would be demonstrating against Hamas.
Another Cornell student, Momodou Taal, however, didn’t see what the big deal is, “What "From the river to the sea" means is that Palestinians will live freely in that region away from settler violence. That's not calling for the extermination of Jewish people.”
Just the millions living in Israel.
UPenn Middle East history professor Eve M. Trout Powell also declared that if you have a problem with these genocidal chants, then you might as well be a precious snowflake who can’t handle uncomfortable ideas, “This organization, it works two ways. I mean, I don't hear people talking about Israeli violence pre-October 7th. I'm not hearing it. If the term makes you uncomfortable, then ask why it makes you uncomfortable.”
Back in April, in another report on campus controversies, Reeve wondered if debating transgenderism was analogous to debating murder. Yet, here she is over six months later facilitating a debate on calls for genocide. CNN’s dictum that one should be truthful, not neutral has its limits.
Here is a transcript for the November 1 show:
CNN Anderson Cooper 360
11/1/2023
8:37 PM ET
CROWD: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.
ELLE REEVE: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," heard in many campus protests has become a lightning rod.
YOUSSEF RAFEH: Free Palestine is when Palestinians can live with food, water, electricity, have equal rights that all humans deserve.
SEAN [LAST NAME WITHHELD]: You're completely ignoring the fact that people chanting that have lost all their family members, have had neighborhoods wiped out.
REEVE: Many Jewish student leaders see the chant as a threat, a call for Jewish genocide in Israel.
ZOE BERNSTEIN: From the river to the sea -- the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, Palestine will be free. Free of what? Free from who? What will happen to the people who live there? That to me sounds like a call for genocide or an ethnic cleansing, and that really does terrify me honestly.
BENI ROMM: Chanting slogans of "From the river to the sea” and intifada is never going to invite a conversation with Jewish students of, "Hey, look at me, I'm also experiencing suffering as a result of the events in Israel."
CROWD: Free, free Palestine.
MOMODOU TAAL: What "From the river to the sea" means is that Palestinians will live freely in that region away from settler violence. That's not calling for the extermination of Jewish people.
CROWD: From the river to the sea.
EVE M. TROUTT POWELL: This organization, it works two ways. I mean, I don't hear people talking about Israeli violence pre-October 7th. I'm not hearing it. If the term makes you uncomfortable, then ask why it makes you uncomfortable.
