WATCH: Pro-Gaza mom is stumped by DailyMail’s question on which river and sea are in the anti-Israel chant at daughter’s ‘High Schoolers for Gaza’ rally
A mother at a pro-Gaza protest outside the White House was unable to answer a question from DailyMail.com about which river and sea are mentioned in a popular anti-Israel chant.
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” has become a rallying cry for Hamas terrorists and their supporters, calling for the abolition of Israel.
However, Adrienne, mother of a sixth-grader who attended the ‘School Strike for Gaza’ protest, told DailyMail.com that the chant simply ‘points to the historic land that is Palestine’.
‘So it is not a call to violence. It is not a call for the abolition of Israel. It is only a call for the freedom of people occupied by a colonial power,” she emphasized.
But when DailyMail.com pressed whether she knew the names of the river and sea in the chant, she could not name them.
Adrienne replied “Yes, I do” before complaining about the “hostile questions” he was asked and storming off without giving an answer.
The correct answer would be the Jordan and the Mediterranean.
“Okay, it looks like you’re actually coming from a right-wing source that wants to ask hostile questions. And so there’s not much point in continuing at this point because I thought this was a journalistic interview and not an attack,” Adrienne said before storming off.
During the testy interview, a protester wearing a neon yellow traffic vest tried to intervene and stop Adrienne from answering DailyMail.com’s questions.
“Um, are you a spokesperson for the campaign?” interrupted the vest-wearing organizer.
“Basically, I’m being interviewed as a member of the community,” Adrienne shot back.
“We generally ask people who have undergone media training to actually talk to the media, if that’s okay. Would it be cool to wrap up here?’ the organizer continued.
“I actually have extensive media training,” Adrienne told the man.
“So I absolutely understand your concern. But we’re on video now. Yeah, so it’s a little tricky,” she continued.
She had cornered the vest-wearing pro-Gaza organizer and forced him to fold.
‘I can’t force you to do anything. Have a nice day,” he said before walking away.
“Sorry about that,” Adrienne told DailyMail.com.
In total, there were about 70 activists at the demonstration, which started just steps from the White House before the group marched to Joe Biden’s current home.
Palestinian flags and keffiyehs were numerous, as were activists with megaphones and protest supporters toting audio equipment, snacks, water and other common protest supplies.
There was also a sign reading “Queer Youth for Palestine,” indicating that the group had welcomed large groups of intersectional activists.
A group of high school students from the Washington DC area held a protest to demand an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. About half of those present did not appear to be of high school age
Adrienne said she knew which river and sea the protesters were singing about, but declined to say which before walking away from the interview.
A protester marched with a sign that read “Queer Youth for Palestine!”
Before marching to the White House, the event started a few blocks away in McPherson Square
A poster circulated on social media and encrypted messaging apps alerting protesters to the planned demonstration
Besides the awkward back and forth with the organizer and the claim that DailyMail.com’s questions were an ‘attack’, Adrienne provided interesting insights into the local pro-Palestinian movement.
The mother revealed she was part of a group of local protest organizers responsible for supporting demonstrations across the area, using group chats on the encrypted messaging service Signal to coordinate their actions.
“I have been part of the organization of DC residents – who are organizing in this area – to stop the genocide since this phase of the genocide began, and so I am in a number of signaling groups.”
“Right now, we’re building on the momentum of the incredible encampment movement of college students and communities right next to them, which really saw its greatest example here in DC at the GW encampments, which, as I’m sure you know, were evicted by force. the assistance of DC or DC police.”
She was referring to the large weeklong student protest at George Washington University, which was broken up by police after the university president asked local law enforcement for help.
Earlier this month, DC police were asked by the president of George Washington University to clear the pro-Gaza student camp after protesters refused to leave a school lawn for more than a week.
Local police eventually cleared the camp on May 8, leading to arrests
After the GW camp was cleared, workers removed tents, trash and leftover debris
Adrienne continued to call the police response “fascist” and compared the university student’s experiences to those of Palestinians living in Gaza during the war.
She said the cleared camp “has given the students even more determination and shown them that the fascist suppression of their activism in solidarity with the Palestinians is closely linked to the kind of oppression that Palestinians experience in their homeland.”
When pressed by DailyMail.com on whether DC police were indeed fascists, Adrienne responded, “American police officers, many forces across the country, are trained by Israelis.”
The sixth-grader’s mother also slammed Biden for his support of Israel, noting that there is an organized effort to write in “Gaza” for the upcoming DC Democratic primaries.
“He supports a genocide,” Adrienne said of the president.
“And there are many people in the United States who do not support genocide and that puts his victory and the victory for the Democrats in jeopardy.”
‘Voters have made this clear across the country with non-binding campaigns. And here in DC there is a campaign for people to vote for Gaza in the Democratic primaries.”
During the event, flyers were distributed urging DC Democrats’ primary voters not to vote for President Joe Biden, but instead write in “Gaza” as the candidate they want to support.
The flyers clearly indicated that writing in “Gaza” would not help Donald Trump
Simone, a high school student who spent weeks organizing the event, blasted Biden for promising to stop the war between Israel and Hamas but then failing to deliver on his promise.
Another protester, Simone — a local high school student who helped organize the event — also did not mince her words about Biden’s approach to the war.
“He just gave a speech at Morehouse. And it’s like, ‘We’re going to immediately put an end to the genocide that’s happening in Gaza.’ But then he came back to DC and he actually still had to send them money.”
“It’s like he’s lying to us all the time.”
Simone could not understand why Biden did not meet the protesters’ demands.
“We ask for something very simple, and you say, ‘I’ll keep funding it,’ so it keeps happening.”
“We also demand that they stop funding the genocide in general, including specifically that Biden stop funding the genocide currently taking place in Gaza,” she continued.