A river and a sea

 I have heard it sometimes in my home town and elsewhere

 

“From the river to the sea, all Palestine will be free”

In a way I do know what it means but I was very surprised when two left people were asked in London, the question:

 

Which river and what sea? And they could not answer.

 

"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" is a political slogan.

What it means literally:

• "The river" = the Jordan River in the east
• "The sea" = the Mediterranean Sea in the west

The land between them is the area that currently includes Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Historically this was Mandatory Palestine under British control before 1948.

 

Supporters, particularly in pro-Palestinian protests, say it is a call for freedom and equal rights for Palestinians throughout the land, or for a single democratic secular state where Palestinians and Israelis live with equal rights. They argue it is not about harming Jews. 

 

Well, this is what they say in languages we know and to the media, but one journalist here in Sweden, who is from the middle east, speaks Arabic, wrote an article about this.

At one demonstration in Swedish, they said one thing, then in Arabic another thing. The thing in Arabic was, Death to the Jews. No harm right!

Jews, not Israelites.

 

When a slogan is heard by most Jews as a call for Israel to be eliminated, many Christians see it as a threat to Jewish people both in Israel and in the diaspora. In Sweden and elsewhere, reports of threats against Jews often rise when that slogan is widely chanted.

For many Christians, protecting Jewish life is a theological and moral concern rooted in the shared heritage and in verses like Genesis 12:3 and Romans 9-11, as well as in repentance for past Christian antisemitism.

Lets see what it says:

 

 

 

Genesis 12:3

New Revised Standard Version

³ I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

 

A core Christian ethical principle for many is to seek truth and peace, and to avoid dehumanizing language.

If "from the river to the sea" is understood to mean that Israel should not exist, many Christians see that as a rejection of a two-state or shared future solution, and as language that can be used to justify violence rather than negotiation. That is why some churches have spoken against both antisemitic slogans and anti-Palestinian slogans.

 

Do our politicians understand this!