LETTER: Mia Swart ignores context

I read the article authored by Mia Swart (“Few university administrators truly honour academic freedom,” March 15) with much disappointment. Swart erroneously argues that the expression, “river to the sea” is not inherently hateful or anti-Semitic.

However, Swart herself points out that context matters when determining whether a phrase or utterance constitutes hate speech. Despite this, she then blissfully skips over the context underscoring the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. The context is crucial.

In 2012, the former leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashal, declared in a speech celebrating the group’s 25th anniversary that “Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the south to the north. There will be no concession on any inch of the land.”

The unambiguous meaning of this slogan is that for Palestine to be free, it must be in absolute control of the land that falls within the internationally recognised borders of Israel. According to the very person who is credited with creating the slogan, it follows that in order for Palestine to be free, Israel as a sovereign country must cease to exist.

Is it possible that some people use this slogan being unaware of its context and origin? Swart certainly seems not to be aware of it. But failing to be aware of critically important context does not excuse one from the harm caused by using the expression.

Assuming a person wanted to voice their support for the plight of Palestinians, there would be many ways of doing so without asking for the annihilation of Israel and inciting hate towards its citizens. For a start, a distinction must be drawn between support for the Palestinian people and support for Hamas. The Palestinian people are not synonymous with Hamas. Hamas is the entity that has repeatedly and expressly not only called for Israel’s destruction but stated that Israel does not have the right to exist.

Swart’s conclusion was unfounded and her premise that the slogan, on face value, is devoid of maleficence (and is therefore defensible in terms of academic freedom of speech) is deeply flawed as well.

Klaas Mokgomole
SA Zionist Foundation deputy director of community relations

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