Pro-Palestinian commentator urges allies to stop with ‘from the river to the sea’ chant: ‘Incredibly hurtful’

"The Young Turks" show host and announced 2024 Democratic Party presidential candidate Cenk Uygur turned heads on social media this week after asking his fellow critics of Israel to stop using the "From the River to the Sea" chant, calling it "hurtful" to the Jewish people.

Uygur, who maintains that Israel is committing "war crimes" in Gaza with its response to Hamas’ massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, added that the chant is "counterproductive" to the Palestinian cause.

On his X account Monday, Cenk asked, "Can everyone please stop the dumb ‘from the river to the sea' chant? It is incredibly hurtful to our Jewish brothers and sisters."

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Cenk Uygur, host of the television show "The Young Turks with Cenk Uygur," recently urged pro-Palestinian demonstrators to stop using the "From the River to the Sea" chant. (Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

"It's also incredibly counterproductive to protecting Palestinians. Do not chant something that majority thinks is call for genocide. Not complicated," Uygur added. 

"From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free," is a mantra that has been chanted by radical supporters of Palestine in their demonstrations against Israel. It is widely seen to be a call for violence and genocide against Jewish people in Israel.

Former counterterrorism coordinator Nathan Sales recently told Fox News that it is a call for "extermination of the Jewish state," and that proponents of the slogan "think that Israel shouldn't exist at all."

The Anti-Defamation League has also classified the chant as a call to violence against Jews in Israel. 

In an entry on its website from October, the organization wrote, "This rallying cry has long been used by anti-Israel voices, including supporters of terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the PFLP, which seek Israel’s destruction through violent means." 

"It is fundamentally a call for a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, which would mean the dismantling of the Jewish state."

Uygur’s post struck a different tone compared to the variety of anti-Israel posts he’s composed recently. 

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The Young Turks founder and CEO Cenk Uygur has been a vocal critic of Israel and its treatment of the Palestinian people. (Fox News Digital)

Within hours of the conciliatory statement, Uygur accused the Jewish state of committing "genocide" against the Palestinians in its war against Hamas, and accused the United States of bankrolling it.

He wrote, "We can all see the genocide in Gaza with our own eyes. Yet, almost every one of the politicians in Washington is pretending that it isn't happening. And that we should send $14 billion to help Israel commit obvious war crimes because they are being oppressed by the Palestinians."

In another post, he made around the same time, "The Young Turks" host accused the U.S. government of hypocrisy for reprimanding college administrators who have allowed genocidal anti-Israel rhetoric on campuses, while supporting Israel's so-called "genocide" in Gaza. 

He wrote, "US Congress: University deans should be fired if they don't punish people potentially chanting about genocide. Also US Congress: We will be voting to send $14 billion to effectuate the genocide of the Palestinian people."

And the day before, he stated, "Israel's supporters use this talking point about how Palestinians don't want Israel to exist. There's no chance they could do that, even if they wanted to. But in reality, ISRAEL IS BLOCKING THE EXISTENCE OF PALESTINE. And keeping 5 million Palestinians in an open-air prison."

Uygur did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.