Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill, no stranger to anti-Israel vitriol with his embrace of the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, is under fire for calling for “a Free Palestine From the River to the Sea.”
On Thursday, Hill was relieved by CNN as a contributor.
In a speech on Wednesday at the United Nations, Lamont Hill blasted Israel for violating “citizenship rights to Palestinians just because they are not Jewish” and prohibiting “due process” to Palestinians.
Hill, 39, who later admitted on Twitter that he has never been to Israel, also endorsed BDS: “We must promote nonviolence at every opportunity, but cannot endorse narrow politics that shames Palestinians for resisting, for refusing to do nothing in ethnic cleansing.”
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Hill’s remarks were condemned by Jewish and pro-Israel groups and individuals, with some calling for him to be fired from CNN and Temple University.
Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz, who has debated Hill on CNN over Israel, told JNS: “It’s an anti-Semitic screed that should disqualify him from being taken seriously.”
“Mark Lamont Hill is a dangerous Farrakhan-loving, Israel-hating, racist propagandist who calls for Israel’s destruction to be supplanted by a Hamas-Iran terror state,” Zionist Organization of America national president Mort Klein told JNS. “Everyone should demand that he be fired by CNN and Temple University immediately. He is helping to mainstream and normalize anti-Semitism.”
“This is disgusting,” tweeted former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro. “Calling for the elimination of Israel is anti-Semitic and (being thankfully futile) does Palestinians no favors.”
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“Those calling for ‘from the river to the sea’ are calling for an end to the State of Israel,” Sharon Nazarian, senior vice president for international affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, told The Jewish Journal. “It is a shame that once again, this annual event at the United Nations does not promote constructive pathways to ‘Palestinian solidarity’ and a future of peace, but instead divisive and destructive action against Israel.”
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“The virulent anti-Semitism spewed by Marc Lamont Hill is abhorrent, and his senseless promotion of violence against Israel is repugnant,” said the National Council of Young Israel. “With his racist views and unabashed denigration of Israel, Dr. Hill does not deserve to be given any sort of platform that facilitates the dissemination of his bigotry, whether it be on Cable TV or in a classroom.”
“In light of Dr. Hill’s malevolent anti-Semitic remarks, we call upon CNN and Temple University to fire him immediately,” continued NCYI. “Neither CNN nor Temple should countenance anti-Semitism, and their failure to take swift action and terminate Dr. Hill would make them complicit in sanctioning bigotry and anti-Semitism.”
“With such hate-filled views that are antithetical to basic human decency, Marc Lamont Hill should not be rewarded by serving as a pundit or a professor, and both CNN and Temple have a duty to dismiss Dr. Hill and renounce his anti-Semitic beliefs,” added NCYI.
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“It is intolerable that Hill, who describes himself as ‘one of the leading intellectual voices in the country,’ has enjoyed important platforms to spread his ignorant and bigoted views,” said B’nai B’rith. “His association with anti-Semitic, racist and homophobic groups and figures prevents him from speaking with any moral authority on peace and justice, particularly to a global television audience and to students. He must be swiftly repudiated and replaced by CNN and by Temple University.”
On Thursday, Temple University suggested that Hill will not be terminated.
“Marc Lamont Hill has been quoted extensively over the last 24 hours,” spokesperson Brandon Lausch told JNS. “Marc Lamont Hill does not represent Temple University, and his views are his own.”
“However,” added Lausch, “we acknowledge that he has a constitutionally protected right to express his opinion as a private citizen.”