A video posted to Twitter on Thursday has caused an uproar, showing an elderly woman protesting in support of Palestine while completely oblivious to her misquoted chant. The footage recorded by user Joel Fischer shows the woman holding a large Palestinian flag on a city street as the on-camera host inquires whether she is Palestinian.
After the woman attempted the chant “From the nation to the sea Palestine will be free” and stumbled over her words, the man remarked: “From the nation to the sea?”
The woman quickly pursed her lips and attempted to correct her error, saying: “No, from the, uh, mountains to the sea!” Despite her attempt to recover, the man remained unconvinced that she knew her facts, pressing: “‘From the mountains to the sea’? Which mountains?”
At this point, a faint voice can be heard off-camera suggesting “From the river” as the correct chant, but it appears that the woman was undisturbed by the corrections and continued with a pleasant smile. Ultimately, the man concluded that she didn’t know her facts, saying: “Ya fucking idiot” as the camera stopped rolling.
The slogan “From the river to the sea,” which the woman misquoted, is a common chant used at pro-Palestine protests, which have surged recently as a result of the ongoing tensions between Israel and Palestine. It refers to Palestinian claims on all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. According to the Anti-Defamation League, this call for Palestinian control of the traditional borders of the Jewish state could be interpreted as “antisemitic” in nature.
I can watch this all day ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/GbRIUUqTDz
— Joel Fischer ???????? (@realJoelFischer) November 30, 2023
Though it is unclear whether the woman had fully intended to participate in an antisemitic demonstration, her botched chant brings to light an important message of needing to understand what we support before committing publicly. As Fischer concluded in his online video description, “Don’t be THAT guy. Research and understand what you are supporting.”