At many of the protest demonstrations following October 7, people chanted, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free. ” Many people in Israel view this slogan as an expression of antisemitism because, for them, it represents a call for the destruction of the only Jewish state in the world.

I am sure that among those who chant this slogan, some would indeed be happy about the physical destruction of Israel, but others favor eliminating Israel as a political entity—including anti-Zionist Jews and ultra-Orthodox Satmar sect members, who are clearly not anti-Semites, even if they oppose political Zionism.

As a liberal Zionist, I believe that between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, there should be two political entities—one, the national home of the Jewish people, and the other, the national home of the Palestinian people. Of course, I oppose the “River to Sea” slogan, but it is important to understand that there are different and diverse motivations for those who chant it, and it does not necessarily convey a message of hatred.

It should also be remembered that, in practice, Israeli governments have been controlling the land “from the River to the Sea” for 59 years and are going to great lengths to maintain this control.

Those who oppose the slogan and also oppose any negotiated partition of the land should recognize the glaring contradiction. The current Israeli government is the main opponent of the division of........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)