Letter to Meta Regarding the Use of the Phrase "From the River to the Sea" on its Platforms.

As some of you many know, I am a member of a groups of Jewish Law Moms who recently submitted a letter to Facebook regarding our concern over the tremendous amount of hate speech we see on the platform, particularly in the form of the use of the phrase “From the River to the Sea.” I did not draft this letter, however I joined this effort as a signatory to it. Facebook required a website from which to receive the letter. I therefore have lent my Substack site to this project to facilitate submission of the letter pasted below:

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Meta Oversight Board

Submitted via email

Re: Posts That Include “From the River to the Sea”; 2024-004-FB-UA, 2024-005-FB-UA, 2024-006-FB-UA

Thank you for the opportunity to submit these comments regarding hate speech against Jews. We appreciate the delicate nature of the challenge and the heightened emotions of this particular inquiry. The more than 100 undersigned are all Jewish lawyers, trained in US law, including fundamental constitutional law. All of us know that the phrase in question – From the River to the Sea – is fundamentally antisemitic. 

As a group of Jewish women lawyers who live and practice all over the country, we submit these comments because we are in agreement: We strongly believe that the phrase “from the River to the Sea” is hate speech, as it calls for the destruction of Israel.

To be clear, the river in question is the Jordan River, which borders Israel on the east. The sea is the Mediterranean Sea, which borders Israel on the west. Calling for the Palestinian state “From the River to the Sea” means the elimination of the State of Israel. The full phrase is “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free.” The failure of any writer to include the second clause does not negate it, any more than saying “don’t count your chickens” has nothing to do with whether or not they hatch. It is, in fact, the entire point of the phrase.

It may be that not every person who uses the phrase is aware of its meaning. It is doubly sad, then, that they would use a phrase they not only do not understand but do not intend as antisemitic. However, such good intentions cannot withstand the fact that the phrase is antisemitic. Others, of course, use the term as it is meant.

We would be remiss if we did not include our support for a peaceful two-state solution, without threat of terrorism (intifada) or random hate killings by anyone. However, using phrases like “From the River to the Sea” does not support a peaceful solution, but rather calls for the elimination of the only Jewish country in the world.

Historical Anti-Semitism

Jews became a people, a nation, when we were brought out of Egypt. There is solid historical evidence that Jews inhabited Judea (hence, our name) as early as 700 BCE. Ancient Greek and Roman texts, such as those of Josephus and the New Testament, provide lasting evidence that Jews have been in the region, as a people, for more than 3,000 years. Jews have been living there continuously, ever since. The Babylonians expelled the Jews from the area in the sixth century BCE, beginning what we now call the diaspora. Jews were treated poorly in most places they lived, although there were periods of calm and even flourishment.

Many Jews left the middle east and settled all over the globe. Jews went to Spain and had varying experiences,¹ until they were expelled in 1492.² The first British Jews arrived in 1070³ and were expelled in 1290, after a series of ⁴ massacres. Jews were in what is now Germany in 321 CE. In 1096, the First Crusade led to persecution of Jews. Other massacres in Germany occurred in 1298, 1336, 1349,⁵ and throughout the 1400s.⁶  

The continuity of antisemitism from the middle ages to the Holocaust has been well documented.⁷ The Holocaust, as you are no doubt aware, was the murder of six million Jews, as well as Catholics, the disabled, Roma and others.⁸

Need for Jewish State

In 1948, with support of the international community, Israel was founded. It was after years of deliberation and discussion, and after, of course, the Shoah (Holocaust). 

We could extoll the technological and medical accomplishments that have come out of Israel. We could talk about the fact that it is the only democracy, and pluralistic country, in the Middle East. But the point is that for our entire history – thousands of years – Jews have been away from our homeland and in places that, all too often, become unsafe. 

Israel has a Law of Return, which allows all Jews, anywhere, to become Israeli citizens. This provides security for Jews all over the world. Indeed, since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, applications for Aliyah are up – one agency has seen a 142% rise in applications from North America,⁹ applications from France are up 430%,¹⁰ because many Jews believe that Israel is the safest place to be Jewish.¹¹

Of the world’s four largest religions, all have at least one country where their religion is the majority.

• Approximately 30% of the global population are Christian.¹² More than 150 countries have a Christian majority and 90% of Christians live in countries where they are a majority.¹³ 

• More than 20% of the global population are Muslim.¹⁴ Almost 50 countries have a muslim majority, and 75% of Muslims live in those countries.¹⁵ 

• The one billion Hindus that make up 15% of the world’s population are concentrated in India.¹⁶ There are two other countries with a Hindu majority. More than 95% of all Hindus live in those three countries.¹⁷

• Buddhists are seven percent of the world’s population.¹⁸ Seven countries have a Buddhist majority.¹⁹

Jews make up 0.2% of the global population, 40% of us live in Israel, and another 40% live in the United States, making us just under 2% of the US population. There is one country with a majority Jewish population.

Fate of Jews in Middle East

Since the formation of the Jewish state, the population of Jews in other Middle Eastern countries²⁰ has decreased from around 750,000 to a few thousand outside of Israel.²¹ Here are some examples:

• Since the first millennium, Jews lived in Algeria.²² Despite two decades of harassment, murders, and having citizenship revoked, in 1955, 140,000 Jews lived there. Most Jews left in the 1960s, when the government deprived Jews of economic rights. In 1994, the GIA announced its intention to kill all foreigners, Christians, and Jews.²³ Most of the remaining Jews fled. There are currently fewer than 200 Jews left in Algeria.²⁴

• Jews have lived in Bahrain since ancient times.²⁵ The population appears to have remained around 500-600 since then. Before Israeli independence, in 1947, the Jews of Bahrain were the targets of widespread violence.²⁶ There are approximately 50 Jews there now.²⁷

• Morocco had a thriving Jewish community for decades. The population has gone from approximately 300,000 Jews in the 1950s to 5,000 today.²⁸

• In 1917, Jews were 40% of Iraq’s population.²⁹ Iraq had 150,000 Jews in 1948. In the 1950s, Iraq expelled its Jews. Now fewer than five Jews remain.³⁰

• Jordan, formerly known as TransJordan before 1917, had a significant population of Jews before 1948. The Kingdom of Jordan itself was created in 1946 when TransJordan and Palestine were divided by the British.³¹ There are no Jews in Jordan today.³²

• Jews lived in Ancient Persia, part of which is now known as Iran.³³ Throughout centuries, they faced times of persecution. In the early 1900s, living conditions improved, but after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, most remaining Jews left the country.³⁴ In 1948, there were 100,000 Jews in Iran. There are fewer than 10,000 today.³⁵ Jews continue to be persecuted in Iran, including the thirteen Jews accused of spying for Israel in 1999 and the ongoing case of Arvin Ghahremani.³⁶ The Iranian government continues to promote antisemitism.³⁷ Yet, Iran has the second largest Jewish population in the Middle East, after Israel.

• A synagogue in Lebanon today, the Sidan Synagogue, was built in 833.³⁸  In 1940, there were 7,000 Jews. Today there are 29 Jews left in Lebanon.³⁹

• In 1911, 21,000 Jews lived in Libya. But the country began enacting progressively discriminatory laws like Italy’s 1938 Race Protection Law and sending Jews to concentration camps.⁴⁰ After World War II, antisemitic attacks left 12 dead and hundreds of homes destroyed. Almost 31,000 Jews fled Libya. Today, there are none left.⁴¹ 

• Records reflect that Jews have lived in Syria since before Roman times.⁴² In 1948, there were 40,000 Jews in the country.⁴³ In that year, Syria enacted a ban on the sale of property owned by Jews. In 1953, bank accounts held by Jews were frozen, and in 1964 Jews were banned from travel.⁴⁴ There are now four Jews left in the country.⁴⁵

Conversely, Arabs make up 21% of people in Israel and have full citizenship rights.⁴⁶ Amd even in Gaza, which has not been occupied by Israel since 2005, the population has almost doubled.⁴⁷

Fate of Jews without Israel

In 1982, Ehud Manor, in response to the Six-Day War, wrote Ein Li Eretz Acheret. The song opens with the words “Ein li eretz acheret, gam im admati bo'eret” which translates to “I have no other country, Even if my land is aflame”. The song is a love letter to Israel, closing with language that translates to “I will not stay silent because my country changed her face…” Regardless of the politics, and even when many of us disagree with the government, Israel is our home. Our ancestral and always home, which welcomes Jews from all over the world.

Since the Babylonian exile, Jews have prayed for a return to Israel. From our seders concluding with wishing next year in Jerusalem⁴⁸ to our ancient religious texts remembering Jerusalem and mourning Zion,⁴⁹ the Land of Israel is our home.

Calls for Destruction of the Jewish State are Antisemitic

Since Israel was established, and even before then, there have been vocal calls for its destruction. As studies show, antisemitism and anti-Israeli sentiments are inextricably linked.⁵⁰ There is a difference between criticizing the actions of the Israeli government and calling for the end of the country; the latter is blatantly antisemitic.

The World Jewish Congress reminds us that the phrase is not only calling for “Palestinian control over the entire territory of Israel’s borders” but is also used by terrorist groups including Hamas.⁵¹ 

Hamas is not only a US-designated terrorist organization, but the organization that carried out the horrific attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023. It calls for the destruction of Israel and all Jews in its charter.⁵² It further declares that violence is the only solution to the “Palestinian problem.” Hamas coined the phrase at issue, saying, in 2017, that it rejected any “alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”⁵³ The phrase “from the river to the sea” is “an abbreviation” of the language from the Hamas charter.⁵⁴

Hamas does not accept a two-state solution, nor has any Palestinian government thus far. As Thomas Friedman wrote in the New York Times, “when people chant slogans like ‘liberate Palestine’ and ‘from the river to the sea,’ they are essentially calling for the erasure of the state of Israel, not a two-state solution.”⁵⁵  

At the recent spate of protests where slogans like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” can be heard, one also may hear or read statements like, “Save a life, kill a colonizer,”⁵⁶ “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Israel has got to go,”⁵⁷ “Glory to the Martyrs of Palestine,”⁵⁸ and “We are Hamas.”⁵⁹ In Florida, a protester lamented not that she was not protected – not as someone who wanted to criticize Israel, or support Palestinians – but as someone who is “anti-Jewish.”⁶⁰ Even the President of the United States has noted that “slogans calling for the annihilation of Israel” are antisemitic.⁶¹

The protests are, according to the organizers’ documents, fully supportive of rape and murder of civilians as legitimate forms of “resistance.”⁶² These protests support antisemitism, even if not all of their actions are antisemitic. 

The phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is a historical rallying cry to destroy Israel, the only country where Jews have the full right of self-determination. It is, by definition, antisemitic.⁶³

We call on Meta to consider the antisemitic nature of the phrase when taking actions against users of the phrase on its platforms. 

Sincerely,

Lauren Aronson Rockville, MD Also barred in DC

Shelby Arenson Morganville, NJ

Simi Kaplin Baer      Philadelphia, PA  

Noga Benmor-Piltch New York, NY 

Susie Berg   San Rafael, CA

Polina Bernstein      Los Angeles, CA    

Beverly A. Block Pittsburgh, PA

Stacey Bloom Boston, MA

Rachel K. Boudoin Marietta, GA

Olga Brand  Boca Raton, FL

Valerie Brand  Philadelphia, PA      

Nancy A. Bukar       Arlington, VA  

Mindy Chudoba Penryn, CA

Kelly A. Cohen Santa Monica, CA

Francine Cohen Marlboro, NJ

Anne Coyle Los Angeles, CA

Jodi Daniel Kensington, MD

Natalie Danz Fort Lauderdale, FL

Sheila Delshad Los Angeles, CA

Ilana Drescher        Fort Lauderdale, FL

Jessica Dworkin St. Petersburg, FL

Katherine Dwyer     Escondido, CA

Stephanie Dykeman Northbrook, IL   

Paula S. Eichberg     Stevensville, MD 

Rebecca Feder Dix Hills, NY    

Nicole Feit White Plains, NY

Yelena Ferreira Parsippany, NJ

Kristie Fingerhut Mundelein, IL

Marina Fraigun Los Angeles, CA

Susan Germaise      Santa Monica, CA   

Heidi Gertner Bethesda, MD

Stefanie Gitler         Vienna, VA          

Lisa Paige Glass      Boca Raton, FL

Jessica Goldstein Columbus, OH 

Lisa Golshani Los Angeles, CA

Juelle Gomes New York, NY

Elysa Greenblatt New York, NY

Keri Halperin Northbrook, IL

Deborah Heald Los Angeles, CA

Jaime Heller Nashville, TN

Abby Hemstreet Plano, TX

Kelly Hinojosa Los Angeles, CA

Mallary Hollander   South Orange, NJ   

Allison Holzman Scotch Plains, NJ

Amy J. Holzman      Minneapolis,  MN   

Donna Honeycutt Tampa, FL

​​Diana Honig Orinda, CA

Sarah Horowitz Chevy Chase, MD

Jennifer Jacobs Altamonte Springs, FL

Sarina Kaplan Philadelphia, PA

Shari Keiser Chicago, IL  

Jenny Kleinberg       Manhattan Beach, CA

Carrie Kleinman Voorhees, NJ

Alla Kostinsky  Bridgewater, NJ      

Jennifer Kouzi Westchester, NY       

Samantha Kravitz Gaithersburg, MD

Rebecca Kristall       Highland Park, IL      

Leemore Kushner Los Angeles, CA

Katie Lachter   Sea Cliff, NY   

Nazanin Lahijani      Calabasas, CA 

Lindsay Lefteroff Northbrook, IL

Sharon Leifer Boston, MA

Leila Jade Levi Bethesda, MD

Leanna Levin York, PA

Lisa Levin Gaithersburg, MD

Michelle Levy  Boca Raton, FL

Sharone Levy  Highland Park, IL     

Jennifer Lewin Dobbs Ferry, NY          

Kim Life San Diego, CA

Leslie K. Lipson Atlanta, GA

Dara Lovitz Bala Cynwyd, PA

Lucy Lubashev Arlington, MA

Sara McGlocklin      Monrovia, CA 

Sabrina Sacks Mann Philadelphia, PA

Diana Maltzer Orinda, CA      

Valerie Silverman Massey  San Diego, CA 

Heather Mayer Encino, CA

Jacqueline Mayer Tampa, FL

Anat Maytal New York, NY 

Esther Meisels Miami, FL

Lindsay Milchiker Los Alamitos, CA

Brandi Moore Los Angeles, CA

Rachel Moore Skokie, IL

Jessica Novick Maitland, FL     

Dara Biltekoff Ordon Buffalo, NY

Rochelle Paley Shaker Heights, OH

Shira Penziner New York, NY 

Anna Persky Fairfax, VA

Rebecca Phillips Washington, DC

Nicole Pinkos Sharon, MA

Amy Pokras Grayslake, IL   

Cynthia Port Cleveland, OH

Laura Posner New York, NY

Carrie Douglas Price San Antonio, TX

Raina Richter Los Angeles, CA

Dahlia Rin Westwood, MA

Sarah Roberts San Diego, CA 

Ariel Robinson Los Angeles, CA      

Emily Robinson Agoura Hills, CA

Alyse Rosenberg West Orange, NJ

Mojdeh Rosenzweig Los Angeles, CA

Randi Rothberg Plainview, NY

Jill Grappell Rudnick Hastings on Hudson, NY

Debra Sahler Ramsey, NJ

Marisa Schafer Norwalk, CT

Samantha Schonfeld New York, NY

Margaret Schrieber Ann Arbor, MI

Amy Shane Ellicott City, MD

Jennifer Newman Sharpe Brooklyn, NY

Ella Shenhav Lutz, Florida

Shulamit Shvartsman Glen Rock, NJ

Amanda Simon       Philadelphia, PA     

Ellen Simon Upper Saddle River, NJ

Jamie Smith Washington, DC      

Jennifer Solomon    Alameda, CA   

Vanessa Sophir Rockville, MD

Sharon Sorkin Ann Arbor, MI

Brooke Stan Austin, TX   

Sandra Strassner     Manhattan Beach, CA

Bari Steinhokz Austin, TX  

Sharon Stern Cortlandt Manor, NY

Cara Tenenbaum Kensington, MD

Sarah Thomas Brentwood, TN

Marcy Cohen Turner Highland Park, IL

Amanda Vass  Sacramento, CA         

Robyn Herman Walcoff     Lafayette Hill, PA    

Tamar Yellin Omaha, NE 

Shira Zatcoff Woodbury, NY

Sharon Zinns   Dunwoody, GA      

1. “Long before July 31, 1492, Spain was the site of massive religious violence—of massacres, forced conversions, inquisitorial torture, and expulsions. In fact, Christians forcibly converted Jews to Christianity as early as the fifth century.” Expelled from Spain, PBS available at https://www.pbs.org/wnet/exploring-hate/2022/07/26/expelled-from-spain-july-31-1492/.

2. See, for example, the Holy Child of La Guardia, a blood libel case from 1491 which is not only still recognized today but also celebrated. El Santo Nino de La Guardia, Archdiocese of Madrid, available at https://oracionyliturgia.archimadrid.org/2015/09/25/el-santo-nino-de-la-guardia-martir-%E2%80%A0-1489-3-3-2-2/.

3. Shira Schoenberg and Mitchell Bard, United Kingdom Virtual History Tour, Jewish Virtual Library, available at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/united-kingdom-virtual-jewish-history-tour. 

4. See, for example, genetic evidence of a contemporaneously documented massacre on February 6, 1190 at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2022/aug/dna-human-remains-found-medieval-well-shines-new-light-jewish-history.  

5. See information on the Erfurt massacre at Medieval Histories, Erfurt in Germany was Home to a Vibrant Jewish Community Annihilated in 1349 at https://www.medieval.eu/erfurt-in-germany-was-home-to-a-vibrant-jewish-community-annihilated-in-1349/.

6. Ritzmann I. Judenmord als Folge des "Schwarzen Todes": Ein medizin-historischer Mythos? [The Black Death as a cause of the massacres of Jews: a myth of medical history?]. Med Ges Gesch. 1998;17:101-30. German. PMID: 11625662.

7. Nico Voigtlaender and Hans-Joachim Voth, Persecution Perpetuated: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Semitic Violence in Nazi Germany, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 127, Issue 3, August 2012, Pages 1339–1392 available at https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/127/3/1339/1922392. 

8. United State Holocaust Museum, Learn about the Holocaust, available at https://www.ushmm.org/learn/learn-about-the-holocaust. 

9. “Nefesh B'Nefesh said it received about 4,200 requests to open Aliyah files after Oct. 7 last year, a 142% increase over the same period the previous year.” Deena Yellin, What is Aliyah? What to know about immigration to Israel and why interest is on the rise, NorthJersey.com, January 26, 2024 available at https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2024/01/26/what-is-aliyah-what-to-know-immigration-israel/72354740007/ .

10. Jerusalem Post Staff, France sees 430% increase in opening of immigration files since Hamas massacre, Jerusalem Post, December 17, 2023 available at https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-778425 .

11. Deborah Danan, ‘The safest place to be Jewish’: 2,600 people have moved to Israel since Hamas invaded, Times of Israel, December 23, 2023 available at https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-safest-place-to-be-jewish-2600-people-have-moved-to-israel-since-hamas-invaded/ .

12. Pew Research Center, The Global Religious Landscape, available at   https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/ 

13. Pew Research Center, Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population, available at  https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/  

14. Pew Research Center, The Global Religious Landscape, available at https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/ 

15. Pew Research Center, The Future of the Global Muslim Population: Muslim-Majority Countries, available at https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/01/27/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-muslim-majority/ 

16. Pew Research Center, The Global Religious Landscape, available at  https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/ 

17. Pew Research Center, The Global Religious Landscape: Hindu, available at  https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-hindu/ 

18. Pew Research Center, The Global Religious Landscape, available at  https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/ 

19. Pew Research Center, The Global Religious Landscape: Buddhist, available at  https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-buddhist 

20. “For most of history, the Mizrahim have been without sovereignty and equality in the Muslim world,” Hen Mazzig, Op-Ed: No, Israel isn’t a country of privileged and powerful white Europeans, LA Times, May 20, 2019 available at https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-mazzig-mizrahi-jews-israel-20190520-story.html 

21. Wikipedia, Arab Jews, available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Jews 

22. See, for example, “Part of the Jewish population in Algeria belonged to very old settlements dating back to the first century BCE.” Heuman, J., The silent disappearance of Jews from Algeria: French anti-racism in the face of antisemitism in Algeria during the decolonization. Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, 22(2), 149–168 (2023) available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14725886.2022.2027211 

23. U.S. Department of State, Algeria Report on Human Rights Practices for 1996 (1997) available at https://1997-2001.state.gov/global/human_rights/1996_hrp_report/algeria.html 

24. World Jewish Congress, Jews in Islamic Countries: Algeria available at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-algeria 

25. Ariel Scheib and Mitchell Bard, Bahrain Jewish Virtual History Tour, Jewish Virtual Library available at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bahrain-virtual-jewish-history-tour 

26. Kvindesland, E. The Manama riots 1947: Bahraini Jews between Palestine and Gulf labour politics, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 1–16 (202) available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13530194.2022.2128720

27.  Lazar Berman, Herzog meets with small Bahrain Jewish community in Manama, Times of Israel, December 5, 2022 available at https://www.timesofisrael.com/herzog-meets-with-small-bahrain-jewish-community-in-manama/ 

28. World Jewish Congress, Morocco available at https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/about/communities/MA 

29. Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Iraq Passes  Law: Contact with Israel Punishable with Death, Israel 365News May 27, 2022, available at https://israel365news.com/353302/iraq-passes-law-contact-with-israel-punishable-with-death/ 

30.  Iraq’s Jewish Community Dwindles to Fewer than Five, AFP, March 28, 2021 available at https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210328-iraq-s-jewish-community-dwindles-to-fewer-than-five 

31. CIA World Factbook available at https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jordan/ 

32. Expulsion of Jews from Jordan, Jewish Virtual LIbrary, available at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/expulsion-of-jews-from-jordan 

33. Jews in Islamic Countries: Iran, Jewish Virtual Library, available at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-iran 

34. Lyn Avins and Gabrielli Tsabag, Light and Shadows: The Story of the Iranian Jews, Fowler Museum at UCLA available at https://fowler.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/LightAndShadows_CRU.pdf 

35. Jews in Islamic Countries: Iran, Jewish Virtual Library, available at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-iran 

36. Jewish Iranian sentenced to death for murder receives last-minute stay of execution, Times of Israel, May 19, 2024 available at https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-iranian-sentenced-to-death-for-murder-receives-last-minute-stay-of-execution/ 

37. “The law recognized Jews as a religious minority and provided for their representation in parliament. According to the Tehran Jewish Committee, the country’s population included an estimated 9,000 Jews. Members of the Jewish community were reportedly subjected to government restrictions and discrimination. Government officials, including the supreme leader, president, and other top officials, routinely engaged in egregious antisemitic rhetoric and Holocaust denial and distortion. Supreme Leader Khamenei’s social media accounts repeatedly contained antisemitic attacks and tropes. State-run media routinely claimed “Zionists” influenced Western nations on topics affecting Iran and blamed “Zionists,” among others, for fomenting unrest in the country.

According to NGO reports, school textbooks included content that incited hatred against Jews as part of the state curricula for history, religion, and social studies.”

United States Department of State, 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, available at https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/iran/. 

38. Hagay Hacohen, Jewish cemetery in Sidon, Lebanon, destroyed – will UNESCO help? Jerusalem Post, December 21, 2019 available at https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/jewish-cemetery-in-sidon-lebanon-destroyed-will-unesco-help-611631. 

39. Minority Report: The Jews of Lebanon, Arab News available at https://www.arabnews.com/JewsOfLebanon. 

40. Maurice M. Roumani, Italian Fascism and its Treatment of Jews in Libya during World War II: The Expulsion of Libyan Jews to Tunisia and the Bombardment of La Marsa, available at https://www.sephardichorizons.org/Volume11/Issue2-3/RoumaniM.html. 

41. Sheryl Silver Ochayon, The Jews of Libya, Yad VaShem available at https://www.yadvashem.org/articles/general/the-jews-of-libya.html, 

42. Harvard Divinity School, Judaism in Syria available at https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/faq/judaism-syria. 

43. Jews in Islamic Countries: Syria, Jewish Virtual Library available at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-syria. 

44. Harvard Divinity School, Judaism in Syria available at https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/faq/judaism-syria. 

45. Zvika Klein, The president of Syria’s Jewish community passed away; only four Jews remain in Damascus, Jerusalem Post, September 22, 2022 available at https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-717885. 

46. Israel Democracy Institute https://en.idi.org.il/articles/38540. 

47. The population of Gaza in 2005 was 1.3 million; it was 2.1 million in 2021, per the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_Rainbow/Documents/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B8%D8%A7%D8%AA%20%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B2%D9%8A%2097-2017.html. 

48. Added to the Seder in the Barcelona Hagaddah, c. 1370, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/670182. 

49. “By the rivers of Babylon, where we lay down, and there we wept, when we remembered Zion…If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither. let my tongue stick to my palate if I cease to think of you, if I do not keep Jerusalem in memory even at my happiest hour.” Psalm 137.

50. See, Cohen, F. et al, Modern Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israeli Attitudes, J Pers Soc Psychol. 2009 Aug;97(2):290-306. doi: 10.1037/a0015338. PMID: 19634976 available at http://nwkpsych.rutgers.edu/~kharber/publications/Cohen%20et%20al.%202009%20Modern%20Anti-Semitism%20and%20Anti-Israel%20Attitudes.pdf. 

51. Hamas was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States in 1997, see https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/. 

52. Charter courtesy of the Federation of American Scientists, available at https://irp.fas.org/world/para/docs/880818.htm . 

53. Wilson Center, Doctrine of Hamas, October 20, 2023 available at https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/doctrine-hamas 

54.  Jeffrey Herf, From the River to the Sea, American Purpose, November 20, 2023 available at https://www.americanpurpose.com/articles/from-the-river-to-the-sea/. 

55. Thomas Friedman, Why the Campus Protests are so Troubling, NY Times, May 8, 2024 available at https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/opinion/campus-protests-gaza.html. 

56. University of Washington at 

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57.  Northwestern University at

stop_antisemitism

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58. Akhtor Makoii, Pro-Palestinian Protesteres Project “Student Intifada” Slogan onto University, The Telegraph, May 8, 2024 available at  https://www.yahoo.com/news/pro-palestine-protesters-project-student-145647063.html. 

59.  Jesse Bedayn, Jewish students grapple with how to respond to pro-Palestinian campus protests, Associated Press, May 3, 2024 available at https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-campus-protest-jewish-student-2e904dac59c6fda38b0c13831ba89ead.

60. See a video of the event at https://x.com/IsraelWarRoom/status/1788017663995719962. 

61. Remarks of President Biden at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Annual Days of Remembrance Ceremony, May 7, 2024 available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/05/07/remarks-by-president-biden-at-the-u-s-holocaust-memorial-museums-annual-days-of-remembrance-ceremony/ 

62. See the National Students for Justice in Palestine’s Day of Resistance Toolkit, available at https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/DAY-OF-RESISTANCE-TOOLKIT.pdf. 

63. American Jewish Congress, Translate Hate, From the River to the Sea, available at https://www.ajc.org/translatehate/From-the-River-to-the-Sea.