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The Truth behind the Chant:
“From the River to the Sea”


False Charges of Genocide against Israel

On streets and campuses around the world, we have heard the slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Ironically, those chanting it think they are advocating for peace in the Middle East, but they are instead standing with Hamas and crying for the obliteration of Jewish people who live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

We have heard the calls to support Hamas in its cause for the Palestinian people when, in reality, the efforts of Hamas are designed only to benefit Hamas and not the average Palestinian, whom the terrorist group uses as human shields. 

We have also heard Israel labeled a genocidal, oppressive, and colonizing nation. Let us look at the accusation of genocide in a bit more detail.

The United Nations defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” If Israel were trying to commit genocide against Arabs in Gaza, it is obvious they have failed; Palestinians are thriving within Israel proper and even within Gaza (prior to the war) and the West Bank. 

Despite the decades-long, ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, there are still more than two million Arabs living in the Gaza Strip, and Israel has more than one million Arab citizens within its borders with full legal rights. Arab soldiers even fight in the Israel Defense Forces, and an Arab Muslim judge, Khaled Kabub, was appointed in 2022 to a position in Israel’s Supreme Court. These realities would not occur in a nation committing genocide or even apartheid. 

Moreover, Arab nations like Jordan and Saudi Arabia made heroic efforts to protect Israel from aggression during Iran’s cruise missile strike in April. This action begs the question: Why would Arab nations protect a country accused of genocide against fellow Arabs?

But the irony runs even thicker. Israel is a parliamentary democracy, guided by constitutional documents, with freedom of speech, religion, and the press, unlike its many neighbors. Israel’s Basic Laws (its version of a constitution) include a section on human dignity and liberty, ensuring the preservation of life, dignity, property, and personal liberty of all citizens, including Arab Muslim Israelis. 

Yet, Hamas’ 1988 charter is explicitly anti-Israel and anti-Jewish and clearly maps out its genocidal, terrorist aspirations:

“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it.”

“The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.”


Although Hamas updated its charter in 2017, wherein it might accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, it still refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Additionally, its actions on October 7, 2023, reveal its lack of dedication to peace.

Nothing New under the Sun

This current spate of hatred did not begin with the creation of the modern State of Israel in 1948 or with the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023. Jewish people have been accused of every conceivable crime throughout history without recourse to evidence or logic. In previous generations, the slogans and the signboards complained Jewish people were too capitalist, too communist, too rich, too poor, too educated, too backward, too religious, and too godless. The common thread between these contradictory accusations was the following: no matter what Jewish people do, antisemites find a way to hate us.

Countless kingdoms and empires throughout the centuries have carried out genocidal programs against Jewish people. The Third Reich was the worst in a long line of attempts in history. Today, the modern State of Israel has become the lightning rod for antisemitic anger, and though it is not perfect or without political error, it has never been guilty of the antisemitic tropes forming the crux of today’s criticism of Israel and Jewish people. The vitriol against Israel is irrational and without merit. Yet, despite the efforts of Israel’s foes, every attempt to destroy Jewish people has failed. Why?

Jewish Survival

Have you ever considered there may be something beyond the natural realm at play here—something supernatural leading to Jewish survival against extraordinary odds and powerful enemies?

The Bible says some astonishing truths about Jewish people. The prophet Jeremiah said God would preserve Jewish people as a nation as long as the sun and moon are still in the sky (Jer 31:35–37). Since the solar system and Jewish people remain today, his prophecy checks out. Yeshua said, “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22), and, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). Yeshua has a special love for His own people. 

Paul, the Jewish apostle and rabbi, said, “From the standpoint of God’s choice [Jewish people] are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28–29). Jewish people have survived and continue to thrive because God promised to protect His chosen, and God always keeps His promises.

We can only understand the history of antisemitism and its present virulent expression by pulling back the curtain of everyday life to look at the underlying spiritual reason for this “world’s oldest hatred.” If the God of the Bible exists, and He has expressed His plans and purposes for Jewish people, it makes sense evil forces opposed to Israel’s God would seek to try to destroy His chosen people in every generation. 

One of the challenges we face as twenty-first-century rational thinkers is our disregard of the spiritual world. We entertain the possibility of more being “out there,” which we cannot see or touch with our five senses. We especially long for a beautiful world beyond our sin-tainted existence, especially in tough moments. We hope against hope ultimate good exists. But, if it does, then we would have to accept the probability the opposite is true as well.  

If ultimate good exists, then it is likely a form of extreme evil does too. For Jewish people, Adolph Hitler clearly attained and even embodied evil in ways few human beings ever do. Who was his greatest enemy? Jewish people, of course. He hated Jewish people with an otherworldly hatred. It is almost impossible to believe such a degree of enmity was culturally or sociologically generated. We believe Hitler was a demonic tool, and the devil (haSatan in Hebrew) is ultimately behind evil world events. HaSatan, which means “the adversary,”appears seventeen times in the Hebrew Bible. He is the embodiment of ultimate evil and stands behind and inspires those who have sought the destruction of Jewish people throughout the ages.  

Maybe you do not believe in ultimate evil, as we all much prefer some form of ultimate good.  Nevertheless, it is evident both exist in the history of the world and are epitomized in the plight of Jewish people. If you can open your heart and mind to the reality presented by the Bible, then you would be open to the idea a good God who keeps His promises exists, as does an evil being who seeks the destruction of the very people God created and called to be a bridge of redemption to a dark and fallen world.  

The good news from the teaching of the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) and the New Testament is, ultimately, evil loses and good triumphs! This good news is described throughout the entire Bible. One day, God Himself will finish the job and deliver the devil to a lake of fire where he will no longer pose a threat to Jewish people, to our world, and to the kingdom of our holy God. Evil is not eternal but is temporary and has a beginning and an end. Ultimate good endures for all eternity and is found in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and is available to those who follow Him and call upon the name of the Messiah for salvation.  

A Question to Consider


At this point, it would be good to examine what drives people to seek the destruction of Jewish people. Ask yourself the question: Who is behind this, and is it the side of life you want to choose? Even those who may not desire to erase Jewish people from the earth but are supporting the cause of those who do will eventually discover the cause is antithetical to truth and goodness. Their approach is a losing proposition as God Himself is preserving and protecting Jewish people from our opponents.