Although the slogan, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free,” has become one of the most controversial protest chants of the day , and numerous students, activists, and political figures, including Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, have been penalized and/or censured for merely uttering the slogan, university leaderships and America’s political establishment have yet to seriously engage the policies that have made this slogan a rallying call for a new protest generation. Meanwhile, last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel would retain full security control over the entire area west of Jordan did not as much illicit a single response from America’s political establishment.

Ultimately, no matter how we parse the protest slogan, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free,” or which interpretation we choose, one reality remains: Between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, not a single Palestinian is free. From Israel, to the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), to the Gaza Strip, Israel has put in place a complex system of laws, policies, and regulations that fundamentally curtail the rights and freedoms of nearly every Palestinian and Arab (approximately 7.4 million people) in this territory.

Even among its own citizens, Israel has established different tiers of citizenship, only according full citizenship to its Jewish population. Currently, 67 laws discriminate against the Palestinian and Arab citizens of Israel (Adalah), including laws that authorize Jewish-only screening committees to select land and home purchase applicants based on their “social suitability,” effectively denying applicants on the basis of race, religion, or ethnicity. In 2018, the Israeli Knesset passed the Jewish-Nation State Law which reserves the right of national self-determination to its Jewish citizens only, and advocates for the development of Jewish settlement as a national value. Effectively, the law denies the collective rights of 2.1 million Palestinian and Arab Israelis- 21% of its population. The underfunding of Palestinian towns in Israel and employment discrimination against Palestinians and Arabs is commonplace.

Of the 46 Bedouin villages in Israel, home to a population of 200,000 to 250,000 (some of which identify as Bedouin and not necessarily Palestinian), only 11 are legally recognized by the state. “Unrecognized” villages are not included in state planning or government maps, receive almost no state services such as water, sewage electricity, or health and educational services, and cannot obtain building permits to accommodate natural population growth, and are under constant threat of state demolition orders. These communities are regularly at risk of being forcibly removed from their ancestral homes.

June 2024 will mark the 57-year anniversary of Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and each year since 1967 has more or less marked a retrenchment of rights for Palestinians living under Israel’s military rule. Collective punishment measures, such as arbitrary and administrative detention (arrest without charge or trial), criminalization of peaceful protest and freedom of expression, curfews, use of tear gas, house demolitions, deportations, and routine disproportionate use of force are everyday features of Israel’s military occupation.

Although in the post-1993 Oslo era, the Palestinian Authority attained limited self-rule in the oPt, Israel has remained in control of airspace, borders, security, movement of people and goods, and registry of the population (source: 40% of terrHuman Rights Watch). Moreover, the legalization of nationalist symbols, such as the Palestinian flag and its colors, and more open political affiliation with the PLO was accompanied by a new crippling system of movement restrictions throughout the territory. In 1993, Israel put in place the first........

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