Di tok wey dem dey call “From River to Sea, Palestine go dey free” don shake di Western governments and media, from UK Home Secretary to Vienna police. Dis na why di slogan don turn big part of di Palestinian struggle.

From Beirut to Las Vegas, from Tunis to Rome, people wey dey support Palestine don dey waka for street dey protest against di heavy bombing wey Israel dey do for Gaza. Di slogan “From River to Sea, Palestine go dey free” don turn rallying cry for di people. But e don also bring wahala as Western officials dey call am anti-Semitic.

One Middle East human rights expert wey no wan show her real name, wey dem call Dr. Nancy Sokolnick, talk say di slogan dey simplify di matter. She talk say e dey show how Palestinians dey face oppression anywhere dem dey, whether dem be Israeli citizens or dem dey live for occupied territories. She say di situation suppose stop.

Di slogan dey talk about di dream to create one unified Palestinian state from Jordan River to Mediterranean Sea. E dey rooted for Palestinian folklore and revolutionary songs, and di Arabic version, “min el-maiyeh lel mayieh,” mean “from water to water,” wey poetically describe di Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River.

Experts dey talk say di slogan get deep cultural meaning and e dey help shape Palestinian identity and nationalism. E dey emphasize di connection to di land, dey call for decolonization and freedom, and dey demand one inclusive state wey go give everybody equal rights.

But pro-Israel groups dey always talk say di slogan na Hamas slogan and e mean say dem wan destroy Israel. Since di conflict start for October 7, Israel don dey push dis narrative more.

For London, after plenty pro-Palestinian protests, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman warn police chiefs for di districts about people wey dey carry Palestinian flags and dey shout di slogan. She talk say di slogan dey show violent intention to destroy Israel.

Vienna police sef ban one pro-Palestinian protest wey di invitation carry di slogan. Dem talk say e dey call for violence and e mean say dem wan remove Israel from di map. Di city police chief, Gerhard Puerstl, talk say di slogan na Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) slogan wey Hamas dey use.

Dis no be di first time wey di slogan dey face criticism. For 2018, CNN sack Marc Lamont Hill because he use di slogan for United Nations General Assembly when he dey support Palestinians.

One historian, Maha Nassar, wey dey study 20th-century Arab world and Palestinian history, write one article for 2018 wey explain di history of di slogan. She talk say di slogan don dey before Hamas start and e dey connected to di history of Palestinian resistance against Zionism.

She talk say di call for freedom inside di slogan fit trace go back to di time wey dem dey try establish Jewish state for Palestinian land about 76 years ago. For November 29, 1947, United Nations vote to divide Palestine into two states—one Jewish and one Arab. Di Jews celebrate, but di Arabs oppose am because dem see Palestine as one home from river to sea.

After di UN vote, Jews and Arabs begin fight for Palestine. Zionist militants attack Palestinians, force dem comot from dia homes and land. Many Palestinians see di slogan as di hope to create one state wey dem go live as free citizens without di discrimination wey dem dey face from Israel.

When Israel become state, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians lose dia homes. As Dr. Sokolnick talk, from di 1947-1952 catastrophe to di permanent displacement of villages for West Bank, di history of mass displacement dey clear for Israel land.

She talk say Israeli politicians dey also commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. Until dem address dis crimes, di harsh treatment of pro-Palestinian protesters go look like double standard. She add say di real bias wey UK Home Secretary and Vienna police get na anti-Palestinian sentiment.