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