Sunny Hostin’s daughter Paloma has sparked backlash online after posting a controversial pro-Palestine message.
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On a selfie, Paloma wrote: “Now that I have graduated: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The phrase – which refers to the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea – is seen by many as a call for the end of the state of Israel.
Paloma, whose grandfather is Jewish, added, “And to all the MFFs who took screenshots of my stories and showed them to your parents in an attempt to get me suspended or kicked out of school: Now look at me.”
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After her pro-Palestine post appeared on X, Paloma, who will attend Cornell in the fall, posted a statement explaining her words.
“After the elation of graduating from high school, it struck me that we are living in very serious times.
‘I woke up with a heavy feeling about the humanitarian catastrophe in the Middle East. Both sides have suffered unimaginable loss and suffering. Today I pray for everyone affected by these tragedies.”
A source close to the situation told DailyMail.com that Paloma did not realize the connotation of the phrase ‘from the river to the sea’.
Students in the US have been galvanized by the war in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people have been killed after Hamas attacked Israel in October, killing more than 1,200 people.
After her pro-Palestinian post on X was released, Paloma, who will be attending Cornell in the fall, posted a statement explaining her words
Paloma Hostin and Sunny Hostin at the 2022 premiere of Hocus Pocus 2
The demonstrations raised the question of whether certain phrases – including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” – cross the line into anti-Semitism.
Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe on their campuses as activists increasingly target anyone they believe is associated with Israel.
Earlier this month, leaders of three major public school systems strongly denied accusations that they were allowing anti-Semitism to run rampant in their schools.
As part of a series of hearings on anti-Semitism, a House Education and Workforce subcommittee sought testimony from leaders of the New York City Public Schools, the Berkeley Unified School District in California and the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland.
The first of the anti-Semitism hearings targeting K-12 education comes amid a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests that have engulfed dozens of U.S. universities and a growing number of high schools.
Sunny pictured with her son Gabriel, who attends Harvard, and her daughter Paloma
Sunny’s husband Emmanuel Hostin pictured with their daughter Paloma in a post shared in February 2023
Republican lawmakers bombarded school leaders with questions about what they consider anti-Semitic. When asked whether the phrase “Palestine shall be free from the river even to the sea” is anti-Semitic, all three generally answered yes, albeit with some ambiguity.
“It’s like it’s calling for the elimination of the Jewish people in Israel,” said Berkeley Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel.
“And I will also say that I recognize that it has different meanings.”
Both New York City and Montgomery Public Schools are the subject of civil rights investigations by the Department of Education into allegations of anti-Semitism. In both cases, the issue centers on whether districts responded to student harassment in a manner consistent with Title VI, which prevents harassment based on shared ancestry.
Last year, Sonny revealed that her daughter Paloma was born with Brown syndrome – a rare condition that limits the movement of the tendon that attaches to the outside of the eye.
Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside New York University’s John A. Paulson Center on May 3, holding signs expressing their views.
Police arrest protesters during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at City College in New York
Sunny said her daughter has special devices to help her read, stating, “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Sunny, who also has a son Gabriel, 21, with her husband Emmanuel, opened up about the plight when she spoke as Paloma called her live midway through an interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
She said, “I worked for about six months to get her a place to stay so she could spend more time reading on her ACTs, she just needs the extra time.” And she just got her ACT score back and she just scored in the top ten percent in the country, so she forgot about it and texted right away.”
Sunny, who turned off her phone when it started ringing midway through the interview, confirmed that she turned it back on during the commercial break to see a text message from Paloma.
“She finally has her home!” Sunny said happily. ‘Children with certain disabilities, you know it’s nothing to be ashamed of and we’re not ashamed of it either. We stood up for her and she blew it out of the water and that’s why my phone rang!’
Sunny’s son Gabrial is studying at Harvard.