30 Nov, 2018
Academic Marc Lamont Hill lost his contract as a CNN contributor after a speech about Israel and Palestine that critics called anti-Semitic. His firing quickly turned into a battleground in the ongoing US political culture war
Hill teaches at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has been a frequent on-air contributor for CNN – until Thursday, when the network dropped his contract like a hot potato without further comment, following the outrage over a speech he gave.
Speaking at the UN on Wednesday, Hill accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and denying due process to Palestinians, calling for a “a Free Palestine from the River to the Sea,” meaning the Jordan to the Mediterranean.
And here it is, Marc Lamont Hill calling for a "free Palestine from the river to the sea" (video via @bennyavni) pic.twitter.com/E7ugrByKyf
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) November 28, 2018
That particular phrase is anti-Semitic, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) fired back. “Those calling for ‘from the river to the sea’ are calling for an end to the State of Israel,” Sharon Nazarian, ADL’s senior VP for international affairs, told the Jewish Journal.
“Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN,” the network said on Thursday afternoon, without further explanation. Battle lines were quickly drawn over Hill’s termination, with CNN finding itself in the crossfire.
Hill’s defenders called his firing shameful and accused CNN of kowtowing to Israeli interests.
Outraged to hear that @CNN fired Marc Lamont Hill for advocating for Palestinian rights in a speech to the UN. Calling for Palestinians to have equal rights in their ancestral lands is NOT racism or anti-Semitism. Shame on Israel’s speech suppression lobbyists and shame on CNN! https://t.co/bFCGte2lJ7
— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) November 29, 2018
CNN fired its only good commentator, Marc Lamont Hill, because he criticized Israel's violations of international law and called for "a single secular democratic state for everyone"
Opposing apartheid and supporting secular democracy is a fireable offense https://t.co/nX1hv4PDF5
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) November 29, 2018
Rick Santorum said climate change is a hoax and scientists are bought off by big government grant money on @CNN like last week and he still has a job. Marc Lamont Hill mildly criticizes Israel and he's fired immediately.
— Secular Talk (@KyleKulinski) November 29, 2018
I look forward to the outpouring of support for Hill from the freedom of speech crowdhttps://t.co/tPWDlA3SFD
— Eoin Jinglins ❄️☃️ (@EoinHiggins_) November 29, 2018
CNN should immediately re-hire @marclamonthill and apologize to the world. Here's a petition telling them that: https://t.co/RtipEds2tP
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) November 29, 2018
CNN has fired Marc Lamont Hill @marclamonthill for the crime of seeing Palestinians as human bc @CNN takes orders from Erick Erickson, who called for the U.S. to find more "Pinochets" & "invest in helicopters," to throw people to their deaths into the sea. https://t.co/EjMzgTU8d9 pic.twitter.com/EtUbr5knpy
— Katie Halper (@kthalps) November 29, 2018
Read more at https://www.rt.com/usa/445189-cnn-sacks-contributor-israel-palestine/