Protestors who chant the “from the river to the sea” – the pro-Palestinian slogan coopted by Hamas – could be referred to police, the Education Secretary has said. 

The chant, frequently heard at pro-Palestinian rallies, was originally a call for a secular state in historic Palestine.

However, it can also interpreted as a call for the destruction of the state of Israel and is used by some to call for the driving out of all Jews from the region, as well as ethnic cleansing and genocide.

In November Priti Patel announced plans to make support for Hamas, the Islamist terrorist group, illegal. 

Now, Nadhim Zahawi has warned activists that the protest chant is a Hamas slogan and that those using it could face legal action as a result.

The Home Secretary said the organisation will be proscribed by the Government under the Terrorism Act. That means anyone who expresses support for Hamas, flies its flag or arranges meetings for the organisation will be in breach of the law.

‘Universities should act on it’

Speaking to the Jewish Chronicle after hosting an anti-Semitism summit on Wednesday, Mr Zahawi said that universities should clamp down following the outlawing of support for Hamas.

Asked whether universities should investigate students who join in this chant, the Education Secretary replied: “Absolutely. This is a proscribed organisation… and they should be reported to the police and authorities.”

Asked specifically about those who chant “from the river to the sea”, Mr Zahawi said: “That is the kind of, in my view, anti-Semitic, intolerant, murderous attitude of the organisation that’s proscribed.”

And asked whether those who sing this particular chant should be investigated by universities, he said: “As I said, any form of anti-Semitism, of prejudice, of promoting the murder of Jewish people, Jewish students, is, in my book, anti-Semitism and therefore universities should act on it.” 

‘Essential’ to adopt anti-Semitism definition

Mr Zahawi also told university vice-chancellors attending the summit that adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism was “essential”, not optional. 

He also welcomed the growing number of universities agreeing to adopt the definition over the last year.

The number adopting the definition has risen from 28 to 95 – and Mr Zahawi has warned the 10 universities yet to sign up that the Office for Students regulator is considering possible sanctions. 

He added that adopting the IHRA definition was not a “tick-box exercise” and urged universities to share best practice on countering the “real evil” of anti-Semitism on campuses. 

Hamas is a militant movement and one of the Palestinian territories’ two major political parties. It governs more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, but the group is best known for its armed resistance to Israel.