Jewish men in US apply to trademark ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’, in attempt to ban slogan

Two Jewish men in the United States have filed trademark applications for the popular pro-Palestine slogan ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’, in an apparent attempt to prevent its further use by pro-Palestinian protestors.

The two men, named Joel Ackerman and Oron Rosenkrantz, filed their trademark applications separately this month for their clothing companies. While Ackerman is attempting to trademark the entire chant for his company, River to the Sea LLC, Rosenkrantz is applying to use only the first half of the slogan for his company From The River To The Sea Shop LLC.

As of a few days ago, the Federal government of the United States issued trademark rights to a lawyer in Fairlawn – for the phrase: "From the river to the sea palestine will be free".

Now they can start going after every organization and seller using their trademark.

Gotta love… pic.twitter.com/aRHn6iU7ob

— Hillel Fuld (@HilzFuld) November 22, 2023

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has yet to review the applications, in a process that could take many months, especially regarding the legalities of trademarking such a politically-sensitive phrase.

It is assumed by many criticising the move that the applications are unlikely to be approved, and that even if they are, the trademarks would only be applicable to items such as t-shirts and hats rather than the phrase itself. It remains unconfirmed, however, whether the trademark applications were filed for the specific reason of restricting the slogan’s use.

In protests that have swept throughout the world over the past month and a half against Israel’s bombardment and invasion of the besieged Gaza Strip, the popular use of the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” has become the subject of heated debate.

Despite the chant’s extensive use throughout the decades, media figures and pro-Israel activists have accelerated their campaign of attempting to ban it on the grounds of ‘anti-Semitism’, claiming it insinuates that the Zionist state, its occupation and Jews in the land should be annihilated. Pro-Palestine figures, however, insist that the slogan targets the Occupation rather than Jews or civilians themselves, with no agreed-upon definition until now.

Despite the phrase not being clearly ‘anti-Semitic’, the campaign to ban it has gained some traction over the weeks, with Germany’s capital, Berlin, announcing that it is forbidden and the use of it will make one liable for prosecution. Other cities and countries have considered also banning the slogan.

The most notable ban of the slogan in the public sphere was issued this month by Elon Musk, the owner of X, formerly Twitter, when he stated on the platform that it implies genocide and that such alleged “calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension.”

READ: Debunked: ‘From the river to the sea is anti-Semitic’