Sunny Hostin’s daughter Paloma has sparked backlash online after posting a controversial pro-Palestine message.
The account StopAntisemitism
In a selfie, Paloma wrote: “Now that I got my diploma: 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 considered by many to be a call for the end of the State of Israel.
Paloma, whose grandfather is Jewish, added: “And to all the mfs who captured my stories and showed them to their parents trying to get me suspended or expelled, look at me now.”
The account StopAntisemitism
After her pro-Palestine post was published in X, Paloma, who is headed to Cornell in the fall, posted a statement explaining her words.
‘After the euphoria of graduating high school, I realized that we live in very serious times.
‘I woke up feeling very heavy about the humanitarian catastrophe in the Middle East. Both sides have endured unimaginable loss and suffering. Today, my prayers are with all those 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 United States have been galvanized by the war in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people have died after Hamas attacked Israel in October, killing more than 1,200.
After her pro-Palestine post was published in X, Paloma, who is headed to Cornell in the fall, posted a statement explaining her words.
Paloma Hostin and Sunny Hostin at the premiere of Hocus Pocus 2 in 2022
Demonstrations have included the question of whether certain phrases, such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” – crossing the line into anti-Semitism.
Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe on their campuses as activists increasingly attack anyone they believe is associated with Israel.
Earlier this month, leaders of three large public school systems flatly denied accusations that they allowed 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 California Public Schools. Montgomery County in Maryland.
The first of the hearings on anti-Semitism to focus on K-12 education comes amid a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests that have swept dozens of American universities and a growing number of high schools.
Sunny pictured with her son Gabriel, who goes to Harvard, and her daughter Paloma
Sunny’s husband, Emmanuel Hostin, photographed with their daughter Paloma in a post shared in February 2023.
Republican lawmakers peppered school leaders with questions about what they consider anti-Semitic. When asked if the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is anti-Semitic, all three generally said yes, although with some ambiguity.
“It is if you call 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 Department of Education civil rights investigations into allegations of anti-Semitism. Both cases focus on whether the districts responded to student harassment in a manner consistent with Title VI, which prevents harassment based on shared ancestry.
Last year, Sonny revealed that his daughter Paloma was born with Brown syndrome, a rare disease that limits the movement of the tendon that inserts into the outside of the eye.
Pro-Palestinian protesters hold signs expressing their views outside New York University’s John A. Paulson Center on May 3.
Police arrest protesters during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at City College of New York
Sunny said her daughter has special devices to help her read, declaring, “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Sunny, who also has son Gabriel, 21, with her husband Emmanuel, opened up about the condition when discussing the time Paloma called her live mid-interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
She said: ‘I’ve been working for about six months to get him an accommodation so he can have more time on his reading ACTs, he just needs the extra time. And she just got her ACT score back and scored in the top ten percent of the country, so she forgot and immediately texted.
Sunny, who turned off her phone when it started ringing mid-interview, confirmed that she turned it back on during the commercial break to see a text message from Paloma.
‘He finally got accommodation!’ Sunny said, looking delighted. ‘Children who have certain disabilities, you know it’s nothing to be ashamed of and we’re not ashamed of it. We’ve been advocates for her and she dismissed it and that’s why my phone rang!’
Gabrial, Sunny’s son, is a student at Harvard.