(CNN) CNN said Thursday that it had severed ties with contributor Marc Lamont Hill following controversial comments the liberal pundit made about Israel.

"Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN," a spokesperson for CNN confirmed in a short statement.

The move was first reported by the media news website Mediaite.

Hill, who is also a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, made the controversial comments during a meeting at the United Nations held for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Wednesday.

In his remarks at that meeting, Hill said "we must advocate and promote non-violence," but added that "we cannot endorse a narrow politics of respectability that shames Palestinians for resisting, for refusing to do nothing in the face of state violence and ethnic cleansing."

Read More</s>Marc Lamont Hill delivers a Nov. 28 speech on Palestine at the UN, after which he was fired from his position as a CNN commentator. (Courtesy of #UnitedNations General Assembly Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People)

Philly native and Temple professor local Marc Lamont Hill just celebrated the one-year anniversary of the opening of Uncle Bobbies' Books and Coffee on Nov. 27, the Germantown coffee shop and bookstore that is a tribute to black-owned bookstores he frequented during his youth and his inspiring, educational relationship with his late Uncle Bobbie Lee Hill.

But Hill is making national news not for his business thriving as a community hub serving up great coffee, but for being fired from his long-held position as a CNN commentator after he gave a passionate speech in defense of Palestinian rights at the United Nations, which has also received criticism from domestic Jewish groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the National Council of Young Israel, who called the speech anti-Semitic.

Particular ire was sparked by Hill's closing line: "We have an opportunity to not just offer solidariy in words, but to commit to political action, grassroots action, local action and international action which will give us what justice requires, and that is a free Palestine, from the river to the sea." The phrase "from the river to the sea" has been used as a slogan by militant Palestinian groups like Hamas and the PLO, and understood by some to mean an eradication of the ever-controversial state of Israel, founded in 1948.

Hill took to Twitter to deny the accusations against him, calling accusations that he had called for the destruction of Israel "absurd."

"'River to the sea is a phrase that precedes Hamas by more than 50 years," he tweeted. "I was talking about full citizenship rights IN Israel and a redrawing of the pre-1967 borders. ... I concluded my remarks with a call to free Palestine from river to sea. This means that all areas of historic Palestine —e.g., West Bank, Gaza, Israel— must be spaces of freedom, safety, and peace for Palestinians."

On Nov. 29, a CNN spokesperson confirmed that the network had ended its contract with Hill. They did not specify a reason or aspect of Hill's speech which led to their decision.

In general, the speech, given on at the United Nation's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People during the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, was heavily critical of Israel's policies, its treatment of Palestinians, and the circumstances of its founding. Hill drew parallel between the 70th anniversary of the UN's founding with a "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, in which he asserted that Palestinians have been denied these same rights since the declaration was first made.

Hill, who noted in the speech and on his social media accounts that he visiting Palestine over Thanksgiving, at one point paused to have a drink of water, before asking to be excused for his thirst – telling the crowd he had just gotten off a flight from Palestine, and had been "boycotting Israeli water."

An outcry quickly arose after Hill's firing by CNN, with many supporters on social media rushing to Hill's defense.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald, famed for his publication of stories based on documents leaked by former NSA analyst Edward Snowden, accused CNN of caving to the "right-wing outrage machine." One petition demanding CNN re-hire Hill had garnered some 7,300 signatures by Friday afternoon, another petition had 2,200 signatures.

Temple University, for its part, stood by Hill: " he has a constitutionally protected right to express his opinion as a private citizen," Temple said in a statement. “Marc Lamont Hill has been quoted extensively over the last 24 hours. Marc Lamont Hill does not represent Temple University and his views are his own."

Was the speech anti-Semitic or legitimate criticism? Judge for yourself, and watch the video below.</s>(JTA) — CNN has fired Marc Lamont Hill, a political commentator and professor at Temple University, after he used a phrase associated with Palestinian extremists – “a free Palestine from the river to the sea” – during a speech at the United Nations.

A CNN representative told Mediaite on Thursday that Hill was no longer working for the news channel.

Hill, a professor of media studies and urban education at Temple who also hosts the syndicated television show “Our World with Black Enterprise,” made the remark on Wednesday at an event held for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

“We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grassroots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea,” Hill said.

“Palestine from the river to the sea” was a slogan of the Palestine Liberation Organization beginning with its founding in 1964, claiming a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and rejecting control by Israel of any land in the region, including areas controlled by Israel prior to 1967. It later became a popular political slogan used by Palestinians who reject compromise with Israel, including the terror group Hamas, which calls for the destruction of Israel.

Hill’s remarks drew criticism from the Anti-Defamation League; Dan Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama; and Dani Dayan, Israel’s consul general in New York, among others.

The ADL called his remarks “divisive” and “destructive.”

“Those calling for ‘from the river to the sea’ are calling for an end to the State of Israel,” Sharon Nazarian, the group’s senior vice president for international affairs, told the Jewish Journal. “It is a shame that once again, this annual event at the United Nations does not promote constructive pathways to ‘Palestinian solidarity’ and a future of peace, but instead divisive and destructive action against Israel.”

Shapiro called Hill’s use of the “river to the sea” phrase “disgusting,” while Dayan called him “a racist, a bigot, an anti-Semite.”

Hill defended his remarks, saying in a tweet that the phrase predates Hamas by some 50 years.

“It also has a variety of meanings. In my remarks, which you clearly didn’t hear, I was talking about full citizenship rights IN Israel and a redrawing of the pre-1967 borders,” he retweeted.

Hill also suggested that Palestinians have a right to use “resistance” against Jewish civilians to achieve their aims without specifically ruling out violence.

“We must advocate and promote nonviolence at every opportunity, but we cannot endorse a narrow politics of respectability that shames Palestinians for resisting, for refusing to do nothing in the face of state violence and ethnic cleansing,” he said.

Hill later said in a tweet: “In my speech, I talked about the need to return to the pre-1967 borders, to give full rights to Palestinian citizens of Israel, and to allow right of return. No part of this is a call to destroy Israel. It’s absurd on its face.”</s>(JTA) — A CNN political commentator and professor at Temple University used a phrase associated with Palestinian extremists – “a free Palestine from the river to the sea” – during a speech at the United Nations.

Marc Lamont Hill, a professor of Media Studies and Urban Education at Temple who also hosts the syndicated television show “Our World with Black Enterprise,” spoke at the United Nations on Wednesday at an event held for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

“We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grassroots action, local action, and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea,” Lamont Hill said.

“Palestine from the river to the sea” was a slogan of the Palestine Liberation Organization beginning with its founding in 1964, claiming a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and rejecting control by Israel of any land in the region, including areas controlled by Israel prior to 1967. It later became a popular political slogan used by Palestinians who reject compromise with Israel, including the terror group Hamas, which calls for the destruction of Israel.

Lamont Hill defended his remarks, saying in a tweet that the phrase predates Hamas by some 50 years. “It also has a variety of meanings. In my remarks, which you clearly didn’t hear, I was talking about full citizenship rights IN Israel and a redrawing of the pre-1967 borders,” he retweeted.

Lamont Hill also suggested that Palestinians have a right to use “resistance” against Jewish civilians to achieve their aims, without specifically ruling out violence. He said that Israel sometimes fails to distinguish between Palestinian civilians and fighters and that “we must allow the Palestinian people the same range of opportunity and political possibility. If we are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, we must recognize the right of an occupied people to defend itself.”

“We must advocate and promote nonviolence at every opportunity, but we cannot endorse a narrow politics of respectability that shames Palestinians for resisting, for refusing to do nothing in the face of state violence and ethnic cleansing,” he said.

Dan Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama, called Lamont Hill’s use of the “river to the sea” phrase “disgusting.” “Calling for the elimination of Israel is anti-Semitic and (being thankfully futile) does Palestinians no favors,” he tweeted.

Lamont Hill later said in a tweet that: “In my speech, I talked about the need to return to the pre-1967 borders, to give full rights to Palestinian citizens of Israel, and to allow right of return. No part of this is a call to destroy Israel. It’s absurd on its face.”</s>CNN has fired a commentator who made comments that critics described as a 'dog whistle' advocating the elimination of Israel.

During a speech at the United Nations on Wednesday, Marc Lamont Hill said accused the Israeli government of 'normalizing settler colonialism' and called for a 'free Palestine from the river to the sea.'

Hill made the comment during a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

On Thursday, a a spokesperson for CNN told Fox News, 'Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN.

Those calling out the television personality said his use of the phrase 'from the river to the sea' was problematic, due to its regular use by anti-Israel groups, including the terrorist organization known as Hamas.

Hill said the phrase 'precedes Hamas by more than 50 years' and 'has a variety of meanings,' calling the assertion that he was calling for the eradication of Israel 'absurd on its face.'

When Hill used the phrase in question, the crowd erupted in applause.

Hill’s speech was described as an 'especially obscene UN moment that reveals the true nature of the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish animus of the modern United Nations,' by Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices/

'Hill's call at the United Nations for the destruction of the Jewish state was not some accident,' Bayefsky added.

'He didn't misspeak. He was an invited guest. He was the only person invited to speak as "the" representative of "civil society." When he ended his extraordinary tirade with "Give us a free Palestine from the river to the sea" his words were met by a round of applause. The only applause for any speaker.'

Before Hill's profile was removed from the CNN site, it described the political commentator as 'one of the leading intellectual voices in the country.'

He's appeared on the cable network discussing a variety of issues, including guns in America.

At other points during his speech, Hill said he had just taken a flight from 'Palestine' and that he 'was boycotting the Israeli water so I was unable to quench my thirst,' as he poured himself a drink.

'If we are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, we must recognize the right of an occupied people to defend itself,' Hill said at another point during his talk, while comparing the Palestinian movement with the American civil-rights movement.

'We must prioritize peace, but we must not romanticize or fetishize it.'

In response to the controversy, Hill wrote on Twitter on Thursday:

'Yesterday, I gave a speech at the UN in which I critiqued Israel’s polices and practices toward Palestinians. It’s baffling how people are not responding to the critique, but instead responding to things I didn’t actually say.

'In my speech, I talked about the need to return to the pre-1967 borders, to give full rights to Palestinian citizens of Israel, and to allow right of return. No part of this is a call to destroy Israel. It’s absurd on its face.

'I believe in full rights for all citizens. I believe in safety for all citizens. I believe in self-determination for all citizens. This is not an anti-Semitic position.

'While I have my own beliefs about one vs two state solutions (I prefer one), it is not my job as an outsider to decide for Palestinians or Israelis. Regardless of the resolution, however, Palestinians cannot be denied freedom, self-determination, or human rights.

'Unfortunately, we are in a moment where any critique of the Israeli government is called anti-Semitic. Any call for Palestinian freedom is seen as an attempt to diminish Israel freedom. This does not have to be, nor should it be, the case.

'I concluded my remarks with a call to free Palestine from river to sea. This means that all areas of historic Palestine —e.g., West Bank, Gaza, Israel— must be spaces of freedom, safety, and peace for Palestinians.

'Anyone who studies the region, or the history of Palestinian nationalism, knows that “river to sea” has been, and continues to be, a phrase used by many factions, ideologies, movements, and politicians.

'The phrase dates back to at least the middle of the British Mandate and has never been the exclusive province of a particular ideological camp. The idea that this is a Hamas phrase is simply untrue.

'It’s also ABSURD and illogical to suggest that a speech that explicitly called for redrawing borders and granting full citizenship for Palestinians IN Israel was also calling for its destruction. People either didn’t listen to the speech or they’re being dishonest.'

In response to one Twitter user who accused Hill of calling 'for the destruction of Israel,' saying, 'That is not criticism that's violence,' Hill wrote:

'I did not. I have not. And I would not.'

After this exchange, Hill tweeted again, this time writing:

'I normally would ignore the current drama, but it’s actually important to me that I’m clear and understood. As a matter of principle.

'I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination. I am deeply critical of Israeli policy and practice. I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things.

'My reference to "river to the sea" was not a call to destroy anything or anyone. It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza. The speech very clearly and specifically said those things. No amount of debate will change what I actually said or what I meant.

'This isn’t a case of throwing rocks and hiding hands. I genuinely believe in the arguments and principles that I shared in the speech. I also genuinely want peace, freedom, and security for everyone. These are not competing ideals and values.'

Hill is a former professor at both Columbia University in New York and Atlanta's Morehouse College.

He currently teaches media studies and and urban education at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Temple spokesperson Brandon Lausch said in a statement that Hill 'does not represent Temple University and his views are his own. However, we acknowledge that he has a constitutionally protected right to express his opinion as a private citizen.'</s>NEW YORK (AP) — CNN on Thursday parted ways with contributor Marc Lamont Hill after a speech the college professor made on Israel and Palestine at the United Nations.

A CNN spokesperson confirmed Hill is no longer under contract. The network did not give a reason, but the move comes amid objections to Hill’s speech by the Anti-Defamation League and other groups.

Hill, a professor of media studies at Temple University who had been a recurring political commentator on CNN, called for countries to boycott and divest from Israel in the Wednesday speech given for the UN’s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

“We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea,” Hill said in the speech.

The ADL and others said the “river to the sea” phrase is code for the destruction of Israel often used by Hamas and groups bent on its destruction.

“Those calling for ‘from the river to the sea’ are calling for an end to the State of Israel,” the ADL’s Senior Vice President for International Affairs, Sharon Nazarian, said in a statement, adding that the annual event at the UN “promotes divisiveness and hate.”

Hill sent a series of tweets responding to his firing and defending his speech.

“My reference to ‘river to the sea’ was not a call to destroy anything or anyone,” Hill said on Twitter. “It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza. The speech very clearly and specifically said those things.”

“I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination,” Hill tweeted, adding, “I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things.”</s>CNN fired its analyst Marc Lamont Hill on Thursday after ‘controversial’ statements he made about Israel at the United Nations.

“Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN,” a network spokesperson said in an email.

Speaking at a pro-Palestine meeting at the UN on Wednesday, Hill called for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea.”

The statement — which is sometimes said by the militant group Hamas and refers to extending Palestine’s borders from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea — is viewed by some as advocating for the destruction of the Jewish state, reported the New York Post.

Related: 14 Palestinians wounded during protests along the Gaza border

“Those calling for ‘from the river to the sea’ are calling for an end to the State of Israel,” Sharon Nazarian, the Anti-Defamation League’s senior vice-president for international affairs, told the Jewish Journal.

Hill also works as a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. The school stood by him on Thursday, saying in a statement: “Marc Lamont Hill does not represent Temple University and his views are his own. However, we acknowledge that he has a constitutionally protected right to express his opinion as a private citizen.”

Hill took to Twitter to defend himself. “My reference to ‘river to the sea’ was not a call to destroy anything or anyone. It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza,” he wrote on Thursday. “I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things,” he added.</s>Marc Lamont Hill faced accusations of anti-Semitism for using term in UN speech, denies he was advocating for Israel’s destruction or killing Jews

ed note–so, the obvious question that needs to be (rationally) asked and (honestly) answered here (and particularly on the part of those ‘Trump is owned by d’Jooz’ types) is why Jim Acosta has not been fired as well, if indeed, as we are incessantly told by all the ‘experts’ within ‘duh muuvmnt’ that the 45th POTUS is the ‘chosen son’ of Judea, Inc and that all the opposition to him within the JMSM in America is simply a ‘leftist’ thing rather than an overt attempt to destroy his presidency on the part of OJI?

Go ahead, all you ‘experts’, take your time formulating your answer.

CNN on Thursday said it had ended its contract with one of its political commentators after he used a phrase associated with Palestinian extremists – “a free Palestine from the river to the sea” – during a speech at the United Nations.

“Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN,” the network said in a statement.

Lamont Hill, a professor of Media Studies and Urban Education at Temple University who also hosted the syndicated television show “Our World with Black Enterprise,” spoke at the United Nations on Wednesday at an event held for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

“We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grassroots action, local action, and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea,” Lamont Hill said.

“Palestine from the river to the sea” was a slogan of the Palestine Liberation Organization beginning with its founding in 1964, claiming a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and rejecting control by Israel of any land in the region, including areas controlled by Israel prior to 1967. It later became a popular political slogan used by Palestinians who reject compromise with Israel, including the terror group Hamas, which calls for the destruction of Israel.

Lamont Hill defended his remarks, saying in a tweet that the phrase predates Hamas by some 50 years. “It also has a variety of meanings. In my remarks, which you clearly didn’t hear, I was talking about full citizenship rights IN Israel and a redrawing of the pre-1967 borders,” he retweeted.

Lamont Hill also suggested that Palestinians have a right to use “resistance” against Jewish civilians to achieve their aims, without specifically ruling out violence. He said that Israel sometimes fails to distinguish between Palestinian civilians and fighters and that “we must allow the Palestinian people the same range of opportunity and political possibility. If we are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, we must recognize the right of an occupied people to defend itself.”

“We must advocate and promote nonviolence at every opportunity, but we cannot endorse a narrow politics of respectability that shames Palestinians for resisting, for refusing to do nothing in the face of state violence and ethnic cleansing,” he said.

Dan Shapiro, the former US ambassador to Israel under president Barack Obama, called Lamont Hill’s use of the “river to the sea” phrase “disgusting.” “Calling for the elimination of Israel is anti-Semitic and (being thankfully futile) does Palestinians no favors,” he tweeted.

Dani Dayan, Israel’s consul general in New York, also condemned Lamont Hill’s remarks. “Lamont Hill called for the elimination of the State of Israel from the map,” he tweeted. “MLH is a racist, a bigot, an antisemite. The fact that he is all this while in the payroll of @CNN and [Temple University] is appalling.”

Lamont Hill later said in a tweet that: “In my speech, I talked about the need to return to the pre-1967 borders, to give full rights to Palestinian citizens of Israel, and to allow right of return. No part of this is a call to destroy Israel. It’s absurd on its face.”

Were Israel to accept a “right of return” for the 5 million-plus on whose behalf the Palestinian Authority and Hamas demand it, this would mark the end of Israel as a majority Jewish state.

Only a few tens of thousands of those millions were refugees who lived in what is today’s Israel before the state was established; the rest are descendants of refugees. Israel’s position is that a Palestinian state would provide citizenship for refugees and their descendants, as Israel has absorbed Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. PA President Mahmoud Abbas has said he does not seek to flood Israel with refugees, but has formally continued to demand a “right of return” in intermittent peace negotiations.</s>Jewish and pro-Israel groups said Lamont Hill’s speech was anti-Semitic, but the professor stands by his comments.

CNN cut ties with Marc Lamont Hill, a Media Studies and Production professor and national news contributor on Thursday, for his controversial pro-Palestine, anti-Israel remarks during a United Nations speech the day before.



Israel supporters criticized Lamont Hill, who started teaching at Temple University in the urban studies and MSP departments in 2005. 



Lamont Hill said the state of Israel is committing injustices against Palestinians and called to “free Palestine from the river to the sea,” in his speech.



Jewish and Israel advocate groups, like the National Council of Young Israel, said the language in Lamont Hill’s speech was anti-Semitic and similar to what Hamas, an Islamic extremist Palestinian nationalist group, and other groups with the goal to eliminate Israel use. They said he called for the destruction of Israel.



Some Jewish advocacy groups also called for Lamont Hill to be fired at Temple.



“Marc Lamont Hill has been quoted extensively over the last 24 hours,” wrote a university spokesman in a statement to The Temple News. 



“Marc Lamont Hill does not represent Temple University and his views are his own,” the statement read. “However, we acknowledge that he has a constitutionally protected right to express his opinion as a private citizen.”



Lamont Hill was endowed as the Klein College of Media and Communication’s first Steve Charles Chair in Media, Cities and Solutions in May 2017.



He said he was in Palestine the day before he delivered his UN speech. Lamont Hill has visited the country several times as an activist and researcher. 



He expressed support of protest and the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Movement against Israel-based institutions that do not recognize or support the occupation of Palestine. 



Lamont Hill stood by his positions on Thursday, tweeting that his remarks were not anti-Semitic, and he is a critic of Israeli policy towards Palestine.



“Unfortunately we are in a moment where any critique of the Israeli government is called anti-Semitic,” he tweeted.



In October 2017, Lamont Hill spoke to Temple Students for Justice in Palestine in the Student Center about his support for an independent Palestinian state.</s>CNN has parted ways with contributor Marc Lamont Hill after a speech the college professor made on Israel and Palestine at the United Nations.

A CNN spokesperson confirmed Thursday that Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract.

The network did not give a reason, but the move comes amid objections to Hill's speech by the Anti-Defamation League and other groups.

Hill, a Temple University professor, called for a boycott of Israel and for a "free Palestine from the river to the sea" in the Wednesday speech.

The ADL and others said the "river to the sea" phrase is code for the elimination of Israel.

Hill replied on Twitter that the phrase was "not a call to destroy anything or anyone," and said he supports Palestinian freedom, not anti-Semitism.
CNN announces it has severed ties with liberal commentator Marc Lamont Hill after he gives a U.N. speech advocating for Palestinian rights in which he used the phrase, "free Palestine from the river to the sea".