Meanings
alternative from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free
- governmentA slogan expressing support for Palestinian self-determination.
We demand your emancipation From the river to the sea! We stand with your emancipation; Your people will be free!
2023, Seth Staton Watkins, “Oh Palestine, Oh Palestine”1 more example
The way out [of this cycle of violence] remains the same: a change of regime in Israel that brings equal rights for everyone from the river to the sea and allows for the return of Palestinian refugees.
2023 November 5, Ilan Pappé, “Why Israel wants to erase context and history in the war on Gaza”, in Al Jazeera, archived from the original on 05 Nov 2023
Origin
- Hebrewבֵּין הַיָּם לַיַּרְדֵּֽן“between the [Mediterranean] Sea and the Jordan [River]”
- Arabicمِنَ ٱلنَّهْرِ إِلَى ٱلْبَحْرِ“from the [[[Jordan]]] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea”
- Englishfrom the river to the sea
A calque of Arabic مِنَ ٱلنَّهْرِ إِلَى ٱلْبَحْرِ (mina n-nahri ʔilā l-baḥri, “from the [[[Jordan]]] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea”), popularized among Palestinians by the Palestine Liberation Organization; from Hebrew בֵּין הַיָּם לַיַּרְדֵּֽן (ben ha-Yám la-Yardén, “between the [Mediterranean] Sea and the Jordan [River]”), as seen in the platform of the right-wing Zionist Likud party in 1977; both phrases refer to the geography of historic Palestine.
More words from Arabic, Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مِنَ ٱلنَّهْرِ إِلَى ٱلْبَحْرِ
- مِنَ ٱلنَّهْرِ إِلَى ٱلْبَحْرِ (mina n-nahri ʔilā l-baḥri)Translations
Bengali নদী থেকে সাগর পর্যন্ত
- নদী থেকে সাগর পর্যন্ত (nodi theke śagor porjonto)Translations
Dutch van de rivier tot aan de zee
- van de rivier tot aan de zeeTranslations
French du fleuve à la mer, de la rivière à la mer
- du fleuve à la merTranslations
- de la rivière à la merTranslations
Hebrew מֵהַנָהָר עַד לַיָּם
- מֵהַנָהָר עַד לַיָּם (me-ha-Nahár 'ad la-Yám)Translations
Indonesian dari sungai ke laut
- dari sungai ke lautTranslations
Italian dal fiume al mare
- dal fiume al mareTranslations
Japanese 川から海まで
- 川から海まで (kawa kara umi made)Translations
Korean 강에서 바다까지
- 강에서 바다까지 (gang'eseo badakkaji)Translations
Malay dari sungai ke sagara
- dari sungai ke sagaraTranslations
Norwegian Bokmål fra elven til havet
- fra elven til havetTranslations
Persian از نهر تا بحر
- از نهر تا بحر (az nahr tâ bahr)Translations
Portuguese do rio ao mar
- do rio ao marTranslations
Russian от реки́ до мо́ря
- от реки́ до мо́ря (ot rekí do mórja)Translations
Spanish desde el río hasta el mar
- desde el río hasta el marTranslations
Swedish från floden till havet
- från floden till havetTranslations
Turkish nehirden denize
- nehirden denizeTranslations
Vietnamese từ sông ra biển, từ sông đến biển
- từ sông ra biểnTranslations
- từ sông đến biểnTranslations
- từ sông tới biểnTranslations
Yiddish פֿון דער טײַך צו די ים
- פֿון דער טײַך צו די ים (fun der taykh tsu di yam)Translations
Cite this entry
from the river to the sea. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/from%20the%20river%20to%20the%20sea
“from the river to the sea.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/from%20the%20river%20to%20the%20sea. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “from the river to the sea,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/from%20the%20river%20to%20the%20sea.
Source: from the river to the sea on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.