Welsh singer Charlotte Church has said she is “in no way anti-Semitic” after participating in a controversial pro-Palestinian concert.
Church led a choir of about 100 people in a performance of “From the River to the Sea” at a concert she co-organised with a Welsh choir in order to raise money for the charity, Middle East Children's Alliance.
But the singer faced backlash after using the chant, which some supporters of Israel see as a way to call for the elimination of the Israeli state.
Some pro-Palestinian supporters reject this, saying it simply expresses the need for equality for all residents of historic Palestine.
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In an Instagram Live broadcast on Monday, Church addressed “alarming” reports regarding the Big Sing for Palestine event in Caerphilly.
“Just to make my intentions clear there, I am in no way anti-Semitic. I am fighting for the liberation of all people. I have a deep heart for all religions and all differences,” she said.
“It was a beautiful, beautiful event. But unfortunately, the powers that be cannot enjoy that. [They] “There cannot be a strong symbol of resistance like what we worked for on Saturday.”
“I would do it again 100 times”
The 38-year-old confirmed that the event ended with a chant of the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” but claimed that it was not anti-Semitic.
“Obviously, if you know the history of it all,” she said, [it is] It is not an anti-Semitic chant calling for the obliteration of Israel. This is not the case in any way, shape or form. “It calls for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Church said that “many other beautiful songs…of liberation and freedom” were performed at the event, including Arabic songs, Welsh songs and South African songs from the anti-apartheid movement, whose lyrics were “adapted to the situation in Palestine”.
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Appearing on the political show Novara Live later on Monday, Church said she supported everything they sang at the event.
“It was a deeply spiritual experience for me, and I would do it again 100 times, and I plan to,” she said.
The singer has previously been vocal about her support for Palestine.
Last month, she said she “cries daily” after watching videos coming out of the area, adding that she “will fight like a lioness to free them.”
The charity, the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, described the chant as “genocide” because it referred to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, saying it had “no meaning other than as a call for the destruction of the only Jewish state in the world”.
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“From the river to the sea,” he explained.
In response to the church, a spokesperson for the charity said: “Singing from the river to the sea does not stand for human rights.
“At worst, the Charlotte church is using the voice it has become known for to fan the flames of hate.
“You can't stoop lower than using your stardom to teach children to sing extremist lyrics at the village hall.
“We will be writing to the Charity Commission to ask them to investigate how this could be allowed to happen on the premises of a charity.”
