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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel Is Committing Genocide In Gaza, Israeli Human Rights Groups Conclude
Two major Israeli human rights groups released separate reports on Monday concluding that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, joining a growing number of international voices that have made similar accusations against the country that has been destroying the Palestinian territory over the last 22 months. In their comprehensive reports, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights lay out how Israel, as an occupying power, has used its government and military to systematically obliterate Gaza in a way that both destroys the Palestinian people and renders the territory completely uninhabitable. 'We are seeing a combination of genocidal practices – meaning mass killing, starvation and destruction of civilian infrastructure, and you can add destruction of cultural institutions – and a policy whose aim or declared aim is ethnic cleansing, all combined with statements by many senior Israeli officials throughout the war that the goal is destruction of Gazan society as a group,' genocide researcher Shmuel Lederman said in a B'Tselem video announcing the group's report, 'Our Genocide.' As with previousallegations of genocide, the Israel Defense Forces said Monday that the reports' claims are 'unfounded' and that the Israeli military is rooting out Hamas while 'taking unprecedented measures to prevent harm to civilians.' Both human rights groups have said that wanting to take down Hamas does not justify the mass starvation and killing of Palestinians. B'Tselem explains that while decades of Israeli occupation and dehumanization of Palestinians set the stage for the current catastrophe, a genocide requires a trigger or rationale — and for the Israeli government and its Western allies, that was Hamas' attack that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and took hostage about 250 more on Oct. 7, 2023. 'The trauma fell on fertile ground for the most extreme right-wing government Israel has ever had. A messianic government that believes this is 'a miraculous time,'' said Sarit Michaeli, the group's international advocacy director. 'It's simply their chance to advance an agenda.' Both reports detail the violence by Israeli soldiers and U.S. bombs that has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians — a Gaza Health Ministry figure believed to be a gross undercount — and led to mass starvation, displacement and disease. The Israeli airstrikes, Gaza's destroyed health system, Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid and mass arrests that have essentially resulted in torture camps reveal an effort to exterminate the Palestinian people, the groups argue. 'Systemic failure became self-reinforcing: displacement led to overcrowding, overcrowding accelerated disease, and disease spread unchecked amid collapsing sanitation,' PHRI said in its report, 'A Health Analysis of the Gaza Genocide.' 'The siege deepened this collapse: medical evacuations were halted, crossings were sealed and the little remaining humanitarian aid dried up entirely,' it continued. 'Malnourishment surged – especially among children, whose bodies deteriorated rapidly in the absence of food, water and medical care.' The reports conclude that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has met at least some of the articles of the U.N.'s 1948 genocide convention, but stress that the world must also recognize the violence as genocide and stop it, even if the International Court of Justice has yet to issue a final ruling on South Africa's charge that Israel is committing genocide. PHRI warns that even if Israel stopped its offensive today, the decimation of health care and life-sustaining infrastructure has already ensured the Palestinian people in Gaza won't recover for years. B'Tselem warns that unless the world immediately puts a stop to Israel's campaign of violence, the genocide it concludes has been occurring in Gaza will also encompass the Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the State of Israel. 'Preventing genocide is not just a moral duty. It is also a legal obligation. So the leaders cooperating with Israel's policies are accomplices to this crime,' Michaeli said. 'People and governments must use every means available under international law to make the Israeli government stop the genocide in Gaza now.' Related... Past 'The Point Of No Return': Doctor Describes How Starvation In Gaza Is Driving Mass Death Senate Democrats Demand U.S. Stop Funding Deadly Aid Sites In Gaza Trump Thinks He At Least Deserves A 'Thank You' For Sending Money To Starving Gaza
India Today
21-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
"Criticising Israel is not always antisemitism" says Dr Shmuel Lederman, an Israeli genocide scholar
Dr Shmuel Lederman, a prominent Israeli genocide scholar, has publicly declared that Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide—a striking departure from academic caution that reflects a growing shift among experts studying mass atrocities. The Tipping PointLederman's position evolved throughout 2024 as destruction in Gaza mounted. "The accumulated effect of what Israel has been doing in Gaza was basically genocide in terms of the harm done to the Gazans as a group," he Initially hesitant to apply the genocide label, his assessment changed dramatically: "Until mid-2024 it was somewhat possible not to say that what Israel is doing is genocide, but over time, Gaza was simply being destroyed." By year's end, "the continued destruction—of hospitals, schools, and cultural sites—was genocide."Challenging Legal DefinitionsLederman argues that the legal definition of genocide has become an obstacle to prevention. "Genocide scholars for a long time have been engaged in a discourse that is critical of the legal definition because it's very narrow and originated partly in the political interests of the states that formulated it."The 1948 Genocide Convention requires proof of specific intent to destroy a group. Lederman contends: "Once you have this kind of destruction of a group, it should be called genocide—regardless of intent." More troubling, he suggests: "The legal definition of genocide actually serves to block us from preventing genocide when it actually takes place—like in the case of Israel and Gaza."advertisementConfronting Antisemitism AccusationsAs an Israeli Jew criticising his own country, Lederman faces unique challenges. "We need to distinguish very sharply between criticism—however harsh—of Israel, and anti-Semitism," he emphasises. "Anti-Semitism is about certain prejudices, stereotypes, generalisation, demonisation of Jews—not criticism of a sovereign state."He notes his identity provides some protection: "Me being an Israeli Jew, it's harder to criticise me as anti-Semitic... there's a certain privilege." However, he warns: "Very often, calling people anti-Semitic is simply a way of silencing them because they criticise Israel."Societal ComplicityLederman's critique extends beyond government policy to Israeli society itself. "Much of Israeli society either participated in it actively or gave it legitimacy," he observes. Even among government critics, "the majority of Israeli politicians criticising Netanyahu are not doing so on moral grounds—they're talking about hostages or tactical failures."Most concerning is the impact on Israeli youth: "The dehumanisation and demonisation of Palestinians has been ongoing for a long time in Israel—especially when it comes to Gaza." He warns: "For many young people, mocking the suffering in Gaza is almost a form of entertainment, revenge."International InactionLederman doesn't limit criticism to Israel. "Without American support, Israel could not have done what it did," he states bluntly. Regarding international justice mechanisms, he's pessimistic: "It's very likely that the ICJ would conclude there's no proof that Israel intended to destroy the group—because of the very high legal bar."As a genocide scholar breaking ranks with more cautious colleagues, Lederman represents a growing voice calling for fundamental changes in how mass atrocities are recognised and Watch
