Many on the left and in the media are calling for CNN to re-hire Marc Lamont Hill after the commentator was fired from the network Thursday following controversy over a number of anti-Israel comments he made.

Hill was fired by CNN after he appeared at the U.N. and made a number of anti-Israel remarks. He called for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea” which implies the destruction of the state of Israel as it stands today, and he defended violence committed by Palestinians.

Though many on the right applauded Hill’s firing, many prominent voices on the left dug in and expressed their support for him.

Activist and host of CNN’s United Shades of America W. Kamau Bell said, “I know @marclamonthill. I was happy to have him on # UnitedShades. I listened to his UN speech & i don’t understand the controversy. We have to be able to discuss Israel & Palestine. & in other news… How does Rick Santorum still have a job at CNN?”

I know @marclamonthill. I was happy to have him on #UnitedShades. I listened to his UN speech & i don't understand the controversy. We have to be able to discuss Israel & Palestine. & in other news… How does Rick Santorum still have a job at CNN?https://t.co/iqwqHWE07C — W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) November 30, 2018

Left-wing activist Shaun King chimed in, saying, “@cnn needs to admit it made a real mistake firing Marc Lamont Hill today. People clearly misrepresented his speech in wild and dishonest ways. It was a speech about human rights and freedom.”

. @cnn needs to admit it made a real mistake firing Marc Lamont Hill today. People clearly misrepresented his speech in wild and dishonest ways. It was a speech about human rights and freedom. — Shaun King (@shaunking) November 30, 2018

Eddie Glaude, a professor a frequent MSNBC guest, said, “@CNN unjustly fired @marclamonthill for his speech at the UN. CODEPINK is circulating a petition demanding his immediate rehire.”

#CNN unjustly fired @marclamonthill for his speech at the UN. CODEPINK is circulating a petition demanding his immediate rehire. https://t.co/BkYlUBAJKy — Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (@esglaude) November 30, 2018

New York Times writer Charles Blow also sent a message of support to Hill, saying, “For the record: I consider @marclamonthill a friend and one of the smartest most upright people I know.”

For the record: I consider @marclamonthill a friend and one of the smartest most upright people I know — Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) November 30, 2018

Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept said, “CNN’s firing of Marc Lamont Hill over his Israel/Palestine speech is a major victory for ‘online call-out culture’ but a major defeat for the right to advocate for Palestinian rights, to freely critique Israel, and for journalism and public discourse to accommodate dissent.”

CNN's firing of Marc Lamont Hill over his Israel/Palestine speech is a major victory for “online call-out culture” but a major defeat for the right to advocate for Palestinian rights, to freely critique Israel, and for journalism and public discourse to accommodate dissent. https://t.co/FA9oOgxz3H — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 30, 2018

Check out all of the defenses for Hill:

And I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that @CNN employs Rick Santorum, who compared LGBTQ relations to beastiality, yet somehow endorsing Palestinian self-determination is a bridge too far. — Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) November 29, 2018

Send your feedback to @CNN: Let them know that firing @marclamonthill is reprehensible and he must be reinstated! #IStandWithMLH https://t.co/RgaK7e9ezO https://t.co/COXoDG4xA8 — Rebecca Vilkomerson (@RVilkomerson) November 30, 2018

THIS is what @CNN fired @marclamonthill for, calling for a free Palestine. The truth is, Israel is neither committed to a peace process nor intends to ever pull out of the territories. The transience of the occupation is a lie.#FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/7TQD9CVeh4 — Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) November 30, 2018

CNN’s firing of @marclamonthill for advicating equality for Palestinians reminded me how that network hired @DrMichaelOren – a party to Israel’s war crimes as a member of its military & a veteran propagandist for its project of apartheid – as an analyst. https://t.co/aYXR3uU7eH pic.twitter.com/qO4Ht37z7I — Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) November 30, 2018

Absolutely shameful that @CNN fired one of their most incisive commentators @marclamonthill for his comments supporting a democratic&equal country for Palestinians& Israelis. A ringing indictment of how you can’t deviate from the status quo in the mainstream on Israel. Shameful. — Hot Take Monger (@SanaSaeed) November 29, 2018

We’re already close to 1,000 signatures on a petition to urge the cowards at CNN to re-hire @marclamonthill and apologize. I think it would take about 500k to get them to rethink, which should easily be doable https://t.co/RtipEds2tP — Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) November 30, 2018

Also, @CNN is trash for firing comrade @marclamonthill. He’s never hidden his political commitments. #FreePalestine — Charlene Carruthers (@CharleneCac) November 30, 2018

Speaking up against crimes committed against the Palestinian people is a crime in of itself, even in “progressive” and “anti-Trump” spaces. Stay strong Marc Lamont Hill. https://t.co/XT0BtrfTQW — Omar Suleiman (@omarsuleiman504) November 30, 2018