In an article written for JewishCurrents.org, Raz Segal, a Jewish scholar of Holocaust and genocide studies, makes a powerful case that Israel's assault on Gaza constitutes a textbook example of genocide unfolding before our eyes.
Israel has explicitly stated its intent to "destroy" Palestinians in Gaza through military force, starvation tactics, and deprivation of basic necessities like water and electricity.
This genocidal language mirrors past atrocities like the German genocide of the Herero and Nama peoples. Segal compellingly argues that Israel's violence meets the UN definition of genocide through killing Palestinians, inflicting serious harm, and deliberately imposing life-destroying conditions. By October 13, 2023 when Segal wrote the article, over 1,800 Palestinian deaths, thousands injured, and 400,000 displaced, the human cost then was staggering. And now, over 8 months in to Israel’s continuous onslaught, the human cost is simply incomprehensible.
Upholding our responsibility to prevent genocide means condemning Israel's actions and pushing for immediate de-escalation to protect Palestinian lives in Gaza.
Please heed the many calls to act swiftly and decisively, because history will judge our moral stance on this indefensible catastrophe. And do not forget what Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant declared on October 9th, “We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we will act accordingly.”
So, as Raz Segal said in his article, “Israel’s goal is to destroy the Palestinians of Gaza. And those of us watching around the world are derelict in our responsibility to prevent them from doing so.”
https://jewishcurrents.org/a-textbook-case-of-genocide
▶ Created on June 22 by bluecollarjew
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