‘From the river to the sea’ chant is antisemitic, says France’s human rights envoy

Speaking to The Times of Israel from Jaffa days after deadly Sydney shooting, Isabelle Lonvis-Rome says attacking Israel’s ‘existence’ is intolerable

Some chants routinely heard at anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests around the world are antisemitic, said France’s human rights ambassador, two days after 15 people were killed in a shooting attack at a Sydney Hanukkah event.

“‘From the river to the sea.’ We consider that to have an antisemitic purpose,” Isabelle Lonvis-Rome told The Times of Israel during an interview in Jaffa. “That’s clear.”

Lonvis-Rome, whose remit includes the fight against antisemitism and perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust, was in Israel to represent France at the Jerusalem Plenary of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance at Yad Vashem, which Israel currently heads.

Antisemitism has skyrocketed worldwide, including in France, since Hamas launched its war against Israel on October 7, 2023.

Antisemitic acts in France nearly quadrupled in 2024, with 1,570 incidents recorded, or 62 percent of all religious hate crimes in the country, according to the Jewish organization Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France (CRIF).

Of these, 65% included violent aggression against people, and over 10% were physical assaults. This surge has created a climate where French Jews increasingly feel the need to hide their identity, such as by removing mezuzahs from homes or changing their names online, the report said.

Antisemitism in France increasingly targets students, with the Ministry of National Education reporting a 420% increase in antisemitic acts in schools during the 2023-2024 school year. Surveys show that 64% of the French population believes Jews have reason to fear living in France, the report noted.

The spike in antisemitism has been accompanied by frequent mass rallies against Israel, often featuring calls like “Globalize the intifada” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

“What is sure is that to attack the existence of the state of Israel is antisemitic,” said Lonvis-Rome. “When we speak about anti-Zionism, I prefer to say very clearly, it’s forbidden to attack the existence of the state of Israel.”

She argued that there must be increased efforts to combat antisemitism online as well, because it can lead to physical attacks on Jews.

“Social media has a very dramatic role and antisemitic speech, for me, is very important,” said Lonvis-Rome. “We must fight against antisemitic speech because I think that antisemitic speech is the step before antisemitic violence.”

In her previous position as France’s minister for gender equality, diversity and equal opportunities, Lonvis-Rome led the crafting of France’s latest four-year national plan to fight antisemitism and racism.

In her current post, she meets regularly with international human rights agencies, many of which Israel accuses of being biased against the Jewish state.

Lonvis-Rome disagrees with that assessment: “Personally, I don’t see this problem. I think that… the fight against antisemitism must be disconnected from politics.”

During her visit to Israel, Lonvis-Rome’s first, she visited Area C in the West Bank, met with civil rights activists fighting against the death penalty for terrorists legislation, and with groups like B’Tselem that accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

She also visited the site of the Nova music festival near the Gaza border, where Hamas murdered 378 people and kidnapped dozens more on October 7.

“It’s also a way to be close to the Jewish people and to say that France is supporting them and that France has a very specific policy to fight against antisemitism,” she said of the visit.

She insisted that the fight against antisemitism “must be unconditional and universal.”

At the same time, she stressed that “it’s not my role to fight against antisemitism in the Middle East.”

Polls consistently show that antisemitism is higher in the Middle East and North Africa than anywhere else in the world. An Anti-Defamation League survey released earlier this year found that over 75% of those in the MENA region harbor antisemitic attitudes, including 97% of Palestinians and Kuwaitis.

“The fight against antisemitism must be treated outside of politics, and that, within the context of the Middle East, it’s really hard to disconnect antisemitism from geopolitics,” she explained. “It’s a tough thing to do, and especially for France, which is outside the Middle East. It’s harder for us from outside.”

Zev Stub contributed to this report.