“From the River to the Sea” is a phrase most recently heard by Pro-Palestinian protesters. It refers to the land between the Jorden River and the Mediterranean Sea; the land of historic Palestine which has been under dispute since Jewish aspirations for a homeland began to develop in the late nineteenth century.
But the phrase “From the River to the Sea” is not exclusively Palestinian. Although the exact origins are disputed, scholars such as Omer Bartov has placed its origins prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, referring to a song written by Israeli founding father Ze’ev Jabotinski that claimed Jewish ownership over the entire area. The term was also used in the platform of the Israeli Likud Party as far back as 1977. The Likud Party has dominated Israeli politics for decades and continues to claim the Jordan River as the eastern boundary of the State of Israel.
Rashid Khalidi, a preeminent historian of Palestine, published an article in The Nation in November 2023 entitled “It’s time to confront Israel’s version of ‘From the River to the Sea’.” Khalidi writes:
“Far from being a mere slogan, the phrase captures both the longtime ambitions of the Israeli right and the reality Israel has imposed on Palestine since 1967.”
The aspirations of some Israelis to conquer all the land from the River to the Sea is borne out in a 2025 documentary by British film maker Louis Theroux, soon to be available on the BBC iPlayer if you’re int he UK, or on Apple TV soon. Theroux followed up the documentary with this article in the Guardian.
Certainly, the slogan has also been used by Pro-Palestinian movements, but the characterization of the phrase as a one-sided aspiration for a land grab is simply not grounded in fact.