Genocide?

They Call It Genocide

Tom Gilbreath

Is Israel committing genocide against the people of Gaza? Few accusations have ever been stated with more repetition or greater volume. Merriam-Webster defines “genocide” as “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.” We call the Holocaust “genocide” because the Nazis were trying to destroy the Jewish people. They succeeded in killing two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population — two-thirds! 

 

Israel’s critics have been accusing it of genocide against the Palestinian people — Arabs living in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza — for years. Just 13 days after October 7, Zohran Mamdani, now mayor of New York City, stood with a bullhorn in his hand accusing Israel of genocide. But Israel’s ground offensive hadn’t even begun yet.

 

Was there genocide against Palestinians before October 7, 2023, as is commonly claimed? Look at the numbers. Before Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948, and the other events Palestinians call the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” 1.4 million Arabs lived in Gaza, the West Bank, and what soon became Israel. By 2023, after the “catastrophe” and decades of accusations of genocide, the Arab population in those areas had risen from 1.4 million to 7 million. During the same years, the US population a little more than doubled — while the Palestinian population quintupled. It grew to five times its former size. As Pastor Tom Hughes has said, “That’s not a genocide; that’s a baby boom.”

 

But what about Israel’s actions after October 7, 2023? We’ve seen the horrible pictures of dead or dying children. We’ve seen the bombed out-buildings. But civilian deaths and destruction, however terrible, do not by themselves establish genocide. In just one night of World War II, U.S. firebombing of Tokyo killed a hundred thousand people. The U.S. and its allies carpet bombed Berlin. That was war — and war is horrible. But sometimes, war is necessary. 

 

Hamas brutally attacked Israel. Its leaders publicly said that they would continue such attacks. Their goal, stated repeatedly, is not a two-state solution, but Israel’s complete destruction. To this day, they and their allies repeat their genocidal goal every time they chant, “From the river to the sea,” or “Death to Israel,” or “Gas the Jews.”

 

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said, “Israel has an inherent and inalienable right to defend itself.” To me it seems self-evident that all nations have, not just the right, but the obligation to defend their people. For years, Hamas has been firing rockets into Israel. After October 7, they fired thousands of such rockets from residential buildings, mosques, schools, and even hospitals. Their actions made those areas legitimate military targets. They do this knowing that civilian deaths in high numbers help their cause. 

 

Yahya Sinwar was the leader of Hamas in Gaza until his death. On June 10, 2024, The Wall Street Journal paraphrased Sinwar telling his comrades that “high civilian casualties would create worldwide pressure on Israel.” Sinwar called civilian casualties “necessary sacrifices.” 

 

Israel, on the other hand, has taken extensive measures to limit civilian casualties. John Spencer is chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point and a retired U.S. Army Major. He wrote, “In the Gaza war, Israel has demonstrated a historically low combatant-to-civilian casualty ratio (1:1.5 or 1:1) when compared to any urban warfare history with even remotely similar conditions.”

 

When you see photos of bombed out buildings in Gaza, weep for the children. But remember that Hamas placed weapons and combatants inside such buildings and built miles of tunnels beneath them. Hamas is not the innocent victim of Israel. The people of Gaza are the victims of Hamas.