Group calls for firing of CNN contributor Marc Lamont Hill for ‘virulent anti-Semitism’

A pro-Israel group is calling for CNN contributor and Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill to be fired for comments it deemed as “virulent anti-Semitism” and “senseless promotion of violence against Israel,” an accusation he strongly denies.

 

The call from the National Council of Young Israel comes after Hill made a speech at the United Nations on Wednesday urging other countries to boycott Israel in pursuit of a “free Palestine from the river to the sea.”

 

“We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea,” Hill said at the U.N. on Wednesday afternoon. 

“From the river to the sea” is a phrase used by anti-Israel terror groups, including Hamas, that have stated it wants to replace Israel with a Palestinian state that would extend from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

 

CNN cut ties with Hill Thursday with a spokesperson saying, he “is no longer under contract with CNN.”

 

{mosads} Meanwhile, Temple University told The Hill that the professor’s views were his own.

“Marc Lamont Hill has been quoted extensively over the last 24 hours,” the university wrote in a statement. “Marc Lamont Hill does not represent Temple University and his views are his own.”

“However, we acknowledge that he has a constitutionally protected right to express his opinion as a private citizen.”

Hill did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Hill.

The Anti-Defamation League has also condemned Hill, calling the comments “divisive and destructive against Israel.”

“Those calling for ‘from the river to the sea’ are calling for an end to the State of Israel,” wrote ADL Senior Vice President Sharon Nazarian to 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.”   

In a series of tweets, Hill staunchly defended the remarks, calling the criticism “silly and inaccurate.”

“This is silly. And inaccurate. ‘River to the sea’ is a phrase that precedes Hamas by more than 50 years. It also has a variety of meanings. In my remarks, which you clearly didn’t hear, I was talking about full citizenship rights IN Israel and a redrawing of the pre-1967 borders,” he wrote.