Charlotte Church hits back: Welsh singer says she is ‘in no way anti-Semitic’ after facing fury for leading 100-strong choir in rendition of From The River To The Sea at pro …

Charlotte Church has insisted she is ‘in no way anti-Semitic’ after facing a backlash for leading a choir in a rendition of From The River To The Sea – and claimed the controversial song is ‘calling for peaceful coexistence’.

Footage has emerged showing how the 38-year-old star led a choir in the protest chant at a Sing For Palestine event in Caerphilly, south Wales – and she has now hit  back at widespread criticism she received.

The song is deemed anti-Semitic and a direct call for the state of Israel to be destroyed.

The Welsh singer, draped in a keffiyeh scarf in solidarity with those in Palestine, was also caught singing ‘Stop the Occupation’ as she attended the event at the Bedwas Workmen’s Hall on Saturday night.

The incident has sparked fury among people in the Jewish community, with the advocacy group the Campaign Against Antisemitism accusing her of using her ‘stardom to teach kids to sing extremist lyrics in a village hall’.

Charlotte Church has today hit back at criticism and insisted she is ‘not antisemitic’

Charlotte Church, pictured in green, led a 100-strong pro-Palestine choir featuring children in singing the ‘anti-Semitic’ song From The River to Sea

Charlotte Church was seen singing protest song ‘from the river to the sea’ at a pro-Palestine rally in Wales on Saturday

The 38-year-old was seen posing for photos after the concert, in which she sang the tune ‘Stop the Occupation’

The choir held up a sign saying ‘Let Gaza Live’ during the event held at Bedwas Workman’s Hall

What does ‘From the River to the Sea’ mean? 

The song ‘From the River to the Sea’ is protest chant sung by supporters of Palestine.

In English the full lyrics are ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’, a reference to the land between the Jordan River which borders eastern Israel and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.

The chant has become a battle cry in recent months, commonly heard at pro-Palestine rallies in Britain and across the West.

Many Jewish people see the song as a call for genocide and the abolition of the Israeli state.

The Anti-Defamation League says it is ‘fundamentally a call for a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, which would mean the dismantling of the Jewish state’.

It adds: ‘It is an antisemitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination, including through the removal of Jews from their ancestral homeland.’

However, supporters of Palestine say the chant is a call for peace and equality, and an end to the Israeli dominance over the territories of Gaza and the West Bank.

They argue it is a cry for Palestinian people to be able to live free and equally across the whole region that used to be known as British Palestine, not to dominate the region.

Church said in a video posted on her Instagram feed today: ‘Just to clarify my intentions there, I am in no way antisemitic.

‘I am fighting for the liberation of all people. I have a deep heart for all religions and all difference.

‘It was a beautiful, beautiful event. But unfortunately the powers that be can’t have that – can’t have such a powerful symbol of resistance as what we worked towards on Saturday.’

She confirmed the concert ended with a chant of the words ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’.

The singer insisted: ‘Clearly, if you know the history of it all, not an antisemitic chant calling for the obliteration of Israel.

‘It is not that in any way shape or form. It is calling for the peaceful coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians.’

And she said the event had also involved ‘lots of other beautiful songs of liberation and freedom’.

Jewish MP Andrew Percy has blasted the incident as ‘deeply concerning’, saying all who joined in Charlotte’s singalong ‘should hang their heads in shame’. 

The pop star has been outspoken in her support for the territory, having released an Instagram video in November calling for the ‘liberation of Palestine’.

During the event, which was attended by 150 people, Church told the crowd it was a ‘safe space to just breathe and sing and get it all out’, The Sun reports.

She then led a choir, which included some children, in a seven-minute rendition of the controversial song as part of her 40-minute set.

Church was given a bottle of champagne at the end of the event, which was being held to raise money for the Middle East Children’s Alliance charity.

It has sparked calls from the Campaign Against Antisemitism for an investigation by the Charity Commission.

The organisation told MailOnline: ‘The genocidal chant ‘From the River to the Sea’ refers to the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea, and only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state – and its replacement with a Palestinian state.

Footage was shared online of the performance involving many children

Charlotte Church reportedly led the choir in a seven-minute rendition of the song which many Jews see as a call for genocide

‘It is a call for the annihilation of half the world’s Jews, who live in Israel.

‘Since 7th October, when Hamas committed their barbaric terrorist acts, we have heard this chant on the streets of Britain during anti-Israel marches, accompanied by all manner of anti-Jewish racism.

‘Singing ‘From the River to the Sea’ is not standing up for human rights. At best Charlotte Church has been tone deaf, but at worst she is using the voice for which she is so well known to fan the flames of hatred. You cannot stoop lower than using your stardom to teach kids to sing extremist lyrics in a village hall.

‘We will be writing to the Charity Commission to ask them to investigate how this was allowed to take place on a charity’s premises.’

There was outrage last week after activists projected the words ‘From the River to the Sea’ on the outside of Big Ben’s tower in London during a pro-Palestine rally.

The stunt was pulled off in full view of dozens of police monitoring a protest outside Parliament on Wednesday night, with Scotland Yard saying officers could not act because it was ‘not a criminal offence’.

A spokesman from the Board of Deputies, which represents the Jewish community, said at the time: ‘From the river to the sea is seen by many Jews as a hate slogan.

‘For it to be projected on to Big Ben is a demonstration of the utter contempt these extreme campaigners have not only for the concerns of the Jewish community, but for our Parliament.’

Mr Percy, a Tory former minister who is Jewish, said: ‘For months I’ve been standing up here talking about the people on our streets demanding ‘death to Jews’, demanding jihad, demanding intifadas as the police stand by and allow that to happen.

‘A genocidal call of ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ was projected on to this building. That message says no Jew is welcome in the state of Israel or in that land. This is going to continue happening because we’re not dealing with it.’

The Welsh singer was heard telling the crowd the concert was a ‘safe space to just breathe and sing and get it all out’

Charlotte Church took part at the Sing For Palestine event in Caerphilly, south Wales

The slogan which is seen by many Jews as anti-Semitic was projected onto the Elizabeth Tower, better known as Big Ben, during a protest on Wednesday

Church has been supportive of Palestine since the war in Gaza began last Autumn following Hamas’s surprise terror attack in southern Israel which killed more than 1,000 people.

In November the popstar choked back the tears in a video posted on Instagram as she implored her followers to take up the plight of innocent Palestinians caught up in the violence.

And she posted ahead of the latest event on X, formerly Twitter, saying: ‘Hello my loves, Big sing for Gaza is today! So wonderful to sing with a generous, big hearted group of humans! Bedwas here we come!’

She faced criticism in the online responses, including one person telling her: ‘Sing for Israel, sing for those murdered in 7th Oct, sing for those raped, sing for the babies, sing for the hostages.’

Other responses offered thoughts such as ‘Start by saying you want the hostages freed and then I might respect you’ and ‘How about a sing song for the hostages? No…didn’t think so’.

A commenter also wrote: ‘I must have missed your call for Hamas to return the hostages and end the bombing.

‘As this has been Israel’s only demand for a ceasefire I am sure you have already started a choir to highlight this & condemn Hamas & their cohorts for not doing so.’

Yet she was also told: ‘Morning Charlotte, that’s great, bless you, thank you for your singing special and may you all have a great day in support of Gaza.’

Other responses included ‘Free Palestine! thank you’, ‘Love and solidarity’ and ‘Queen Charlotte’. 

Charlotte Church faced an online backlash – as well as some supportive messages

Church, who started out as a classical singer at just ten, has shifted her focus to politics in recent years, supporting the Labour party and causes such as remaining in the EU and Welsh independence

The singer said she wanted to show her support and solidarity with the Palestinian people, as she urged listeners ‘don’t look away’.

Church referred to the ‘genocide’ which has so far seen nearly 30,000 Palestinians killed, two-thirds of them women and children, according to Palestinian health authorities.

‘Go with what your heart is saying, go with what your soul knows is the right thing to do,’ she said.

Meanwhile, Church recently knocked £300,000 off the price of her family home after failing to sell it in almost six months.

She bought The Spinney for £1.3million after splitting with former rugby ace Gavin Henson in 2010.

The star put the house on the market for £2.3million in August last year – but after failing to sell the price has now been lowered to ‘offers over’ £2million.

Just before Christmas she joined AJ Odudu, Michelle Visage and Gok Wan to film an upcoming Wheel of Fortune reboot celebrity special. 

MailOnline has contacted Charlotte Church’s representatives for comment.