'From the river to the sea': Why these 6 words spark fury and passion over the Israel-Hamas war

[elias7]

48. It doesn't matter why you want to say it

Palestinians are clear what they mean when they say it. Some say that the Jews should leave and go back where they came from, some say the Jews can stay but it is a Palestinian country. The bottom line is that for them, this is their land. They don’t care that Jews have been living there for 3000 years and have just as much claim the land as an ancestral homeland as anybody else, probably more, and should have a right to return, just as the Palestinian refugees claim to have.

The problem is that embedded in the term is the destruction of Israel, regardless of your intent. Words or phrases that trigger minority groups should be respected as words to avoid. I see upstream you did have a discussion regarding aspersions towards women, and I think that most intelligent and sensitive people avoid using such triggering language.

Certainly when the so-called TERFS start talking about womanhood and language that seems quite innocuous, certain phrases are very triggering for the transgender community because of the subtextual meaning and Most of us try to avoid those so as not to trigger that community.

I am telling you as a Jew that “from the river to the sea” is triggering to me as an antisemitic and anti-Israel remark, and most people who respect me and my identity would honor my request not to use it. using something that is being made clear to you is triggering to Jews, shows an insensitivity like using the N word, flying a rebel flag, or using any number of dog whistles to demean minority groups.