Charlotte Church slammed for singing controversial 'from the river to the sea' chant at pro-Palestine charity concert
26 February 2024, 08:32 | Updated: 26 February 2024, 08:36
Welsh singer Charlotte Church has been criticised for singing the controversial 'from the River to the Sea' chant at a pro-Palestine concert.
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The 38-year-old singer led a choir who were singing in protest against the war in Gaza at a 'Sing for Palestine' event in south Wales.
The chant is widely considered to be anti-Semitic and a call to abolish the state of Israel.
The choir were also heard singing 'Stop the Occupation' at the event at the Bedwas Workmen's Hall in Caerphilly.
The 'from the River to the Sea' chant has been subject to controversy in the UK to due to its widespread at pro-Palestine demonstrations across the country.
The phrase "symbolises Palestinian control over Israel's borders, from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea", according to the American Jewish Committee.
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Meanwhile, Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the UK, previously told LBC that people sing the chant "either [because] people don’t understand what they’re saying or they understand, and they ignore the consequences".
“From the River to the sea’ only has one meaning: that if you look on the map, Israel shouldn’t exist and Israel should be totally eliminated from the Middle East map. What is that, if not ethnic cleansing of Jewish people from their homeland?," she told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast.
Caller insists you can't critique Israel without being labelled as 'anti-Semitic or an Islamist'
It is not the first time Ms Church has been outspoken in her support for Palestine.
She released an Instagram video in November calling for the 'liberation of Palestine' amid the war in Gaza.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) group has since said it will ask the Charity Commission to investigate how the choir event was allowed to take place on the premises.
