There is a genocide taking place in Palestine. The Palestinian people are being destroyed — and their basic human rights taken away from them — by the Israeli authorities and armed forces.
The question of Palestinian statehood and liberation has always been an urgent one. In 2024, however, it is more urgent than ever. With ongoing Israeli actions in Gaza and elsewhere across the region, Palestinian peoples are being systematically wiped from the face of the Earth.
This is not, nor has it ever been, a case of taking one side over the other. Opponents of Israeli action are not simply picking the Arab cause over the Jewish cause. There is no anti-semitism, or prejudice of any kind, at the heart of Palestinian liberation. Instead, there is the irrefutable evidence of genocide that is unfolding right before our eyes. And there is a clear need to prevent this genocide.
Table of Contents:
What Is Genocide?
The United Nations describes genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group." Specifically:
Killing members of the group in question.
Inflicting serious harm to members of this group, either physically or mentally.
Creating life conditions that are designed to physically destroy the group, either wholly or partly.
Implementing measures designed to prevent births and the creation of a new generation within the group.
Forcibly taking children from the group in question, and transferring them to another group.
With this clear definition, it is difficult to place any other label on what is happening in Gaza and across Palestine. The effects of genocide are already visible in these locations.
Understanding Zionism — The Differences Between Judaism and Zionist Ideology
One of the common criticisms of opposition to the Israeli government, and a common obstacle to Palestinian liberation, is that these positions are anti-semitic. But this is simply not the case.
As we have seen in the history of genocide, and indeed in the history of the world, anti-semitism is a real and abhorrent problem. Jews have experienced horrific prejudices and hardships, and this has led to the growth of Zionism — a nationalist ideology focused on creating a Jewish state in the ancestral homeland of Israel.
The struggle for the survival of Palestine is not inherently anti-semitic — it is not anti-Jewish. But it is inherently anti-Zionist, as it is this ideology that took land from Palestine in 1947, 1948, and in the years since. And it is this ideology that continues to squeeze Palestinian territories to this day.
When Theodor Herzl established the World Zionist Organization in 1897, he failed to recognize a fundamental fact. The lands of the Middle East were not empty and devoid of life — they were already settled and home to millions of people. By taking land from Palestinians, and by subjugating and exterminating the people living there, Zionist actions mirrored those of other European colonialists who decided they had a right to claim and settle other parts of the world.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and his war-mongering government have gone against international law, gone against Jewish law, and tortured and murdered innocent people.
Jewish Support for Peace in Palestine
To underline the fact that support for Palestine is not anti-semitic, significant numbers of Jewish people, from respected Rabbis to Hollywood actors to grandmas from all over the world have voiced their opposition to the genocide. The Jewish Voice for Peace is one of the groups highly active on social media and elsewhere, calling for an end to the slaughter taking place in Palestine.
Statistics suggest that 42% of American Jews aged from 18 to 34 say that Israel's response to the October 7th attack is "unacceptable." This is a significant number, and they support the work of groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow in calling for a ceasefire and a two state solution.
What Is the Nakba?
The Nakba simply means "The Catastrophe" in Arabic, and it refers to the events that followed the displacement in 1948.
Palestine had been partitioned by the UN General Assembly in 1947, forming a Jewish state and an Arab state of roughly equal size. Arab peoples living in Palestine were unhappy with this, and protested. When Israeli militias attacked Palestinian villages in response, thousands became refugees.
These specific attacks emblazoned the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which was preceded by several massacres and soon evolved into the Arab-Israeli War in 1948. At this time, the number of Palestinian refugees ran into the millions, and huge swathes of Palestinian land were captured and subsumed into Israel.
The effects of the Nakba, and the ongoing physical and mental persecutions of the Palestinians, are still being felt to this day. It remains an example of how Zionism took legitimate concerns over the suppression and discrimination of Jewish people, used this messaging to their economic advantage, and applied those same inhumane tactics to another people.
Palestine and the Principles of Human Rights
In 1948, right about the time the Arab-Israeli War was getting underway, the UN General Assembly set out their Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or UDHR. This document, the first of its kind, covers 30 articles. Each one is designed to protect the life, well-being, and dignity of all humans.
All of us have a right to:
Freedom and equality
Freedom from discrimination
Freedom from slavery
Freedom from torture
Right to Trial everywhere
Equality before the law
Access to Justice
A fair trial
Presumption of innocence
Privacy
Nationality
Marriage and family
Freedom of religion
Freedom of expression
Assembly
Participation in public affairs
Social security
Work
Leisure and Rest
Education
Cultural, artistic, and scientific life
Duty to your community
Rights are inalienable
These rights are supposedly inalienable, written into the declaration as article 30 in order to ensure the enforceability of this international agreement. All of us have them, from the day we are born until the day we die. And yet, in Palestine, all of these rights are systematically taken away. And not only in Gaza and the West Bank but internationally, Palestinian refugees are routinely treated differently from other refugees due to structures of white supremacy and racism.
Ongoing Israeli actions in Gaza have brought this issue to the fore, but in fact it's nothing new. For the last 75 years and even before, these basic human rights have been denied in Palestine, and human rights violations occur each and every day.
Palestine and the 10 Stages of Genocide
Not only are Palestinian human rights being taken away — the situation is progressing rapidly through the 10 stages of genocide outlined by Gregory Stanton, founder of genocide watch.
It is worth noting this is a complex and ongoing issue. The examples included below are simply intended to illustrate how the situation in Palestine meets the definition of genocide, under the UN's genocide convention.
Stage One — Classification
Since the founding of Israel in 1947, there have been clear classifications that divide Israelis from Palestinians, and even Arab Israeli citizens outside of Gaza and the West Bank have experienced "othering."
Stage Two — Symbolization
Palestinians are issued with colour-coded ID cards by the Israeli authorities, according to their status and origin.
Stage Three — Discrimination
Palestinians are routinely denied their basic human rights by Israeli forces. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs records 1,128 demolitions of property without miltiary justification, and the forcible displacement of 2,249 Palestinians in the West Bank in 2023, on top of the displacement of 1.9 million in Gaza.
Stage Four — Dehumanization
Israeli leaders consistently use dehumanizing language to make their crimes seem less severe. A report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found numerous examples of dehumanization and brutal treatment of detainees following kidnappings of innocent people in the West Bank during the latest Israel vs Palestine conflict. Prisoners were found to have been stripped, spat on, beaten, starved, and handcuffed for long periods of time.
Stage Five — Organization
Israel maintains strict control over the land and maritime borders of Gaza, and has shown itself able to prevent vital resources from entering the region. This includes medicines and aid. Israel also has a large military — with more than 2,200 tanks and 169,500 active personnel — ready to prosecute an assault on Gaza.
Stage Six — Polarization
The language used by the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government has served to polarize Israelis and Palestinians. “This is not a clash of civilizations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilization,” Netanyahu said in 2024. “It’s a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life." While it could be argued Netanyahu's words and policies are aimed at Hamas rather than all Palestinians, his statements reinforce the othering and dehumanization that is already taking place.
Stage Seven — Preparation
Settlers on the West Bank have been encroaching into designated Palestinian territories for decades, and Israel has an already-mobilized armed forces. The preparations for genocide have been long in the making.
Stage Eight — Persecution
Human Rights Watch has outlined numerous acts of persecution, in many different forms, over the last decades. This has intensified during the most recent operation in Gaza.
Stage Nine — Extermination
As of October 1st, 2024, more than 41,615 Palestinians have been killed by just under a year of Israeli actions in Gaza, with more than 10,000 missing and 96,000 injured, and these atrocities continue as you read this.
Stage Ten — Denial
Israeli authorities have repeatedly rejected claims they are committing genocide, citing the need to defend the country against Hamas.
Palestine Statehood and Liberation: Key Questions to Ask
Which countries support Palestine?
The most recent UN intervention has demanded that Israel end its occupation in Palestine and return peace, freedom and the stolen lands back to the Palestinian people. In a clear international display, the world wants a free Palestine without Israeli force and destruction.
As of June 2024, 146 of 193 UN member states recognize Palestinian sovereignty. The question to ask is why are Canada, USA, UK, France, Germany, and Australia among the quarter of states that do not recognize this sovereignty?
What are the principles of the Nuremberg Trials?
Anyone who commits a crime under international law is liable to punishment.
Internal domestic law does not protect a person from prosecution under international law.
Heads of state, government officials, or those following government orders can be prosecuted under international law.
Anyone prosecuted under international law has the right to a fair trial.
Crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity are all punishable.
Complicity in any of the above is also a crime under international law.
How does Judaism view human rights?
Judaism views all human beings as "born free and equal in dignity and rights," and these rights are extended to all "without distinction." The actions of the Israeli government directly contravene this.
What Can You Do to End Genocide in Palestine?
You can make a difference in Palestine. You can help bring an end to genocide. Here are a few ways to get involved:
In the US, call your senator with Jewish Voice for Peace and demand the halt of arms exports to Israel.
Donate to the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development's Palestine appeal.
Donate to Gaza Relief and Recovery.
In Canada, register an event with Canada's Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) as part of the International Week of Action, October 4th to 13th, 2024, and endorse the coalition.
Even though you may not be on the ground, and it may seem a complete world away, if a foreign government can go into another country and commit such heinous crimes against humanity and the international community not be able to stop them, none of us are protected. We are all human beings deserving of our human rights. Period.
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