The "Gaza genocide" libel has become the left-wing equivalent of the "stolen election" hoax on the right. It's a completely baseless and obscene accusation that serves as a signal for ideological allegiance precisely 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 it is absurd and defies both logic and common sense.

Despite some despicable pronouncements by some far-right Israeli ministers without any military decision-making power, the IDF's official policy is to avoid civilian casualties as much as possible and allow civilians to evacuate out of harm’s way. It's perfectly reasonable to question whether the IDF is making sufficient efforts towards that goal, but it is absurd to pretend that it is pursuing the opposite goal.

A genocide, let’s recall, is the deliberate and systematic destruction of an entire racial, national, or ethnic, or religious group. If the Israeli actions in Gaza constitute a “genocide,” it must be the most poorly executed one in history. In what kind of genocide has the perpetrator ever distributed millions of flyers, text messages, voice mails and military maps – thereby suffering clear military disadvantage – to warn and evacuate citizens of impending attacks? In which genocide does the perpetrator collaborate with the UN to deliver 25,000 trucks with food, water and medical equipment, and even organize the delivery of food aid itself, at the risk of their own soldiers? Even the provisional verdict of the ICJ in The Hague admits that Israel is providing water, food and medical aid in Gaza, without realizing the blatant contradiction with the “genocide” charge it is investigating.

The only genocidal party in this conflict is Hamas, which in its official 1988 charter fantasizes that the throat of the last Jew on earth will be slit, and which even in its later manifesto calls for the complete destruction of the only Jewish state in the world. Yes, this is a horrible war with many tragic civilian deaths, but it could be ended in five minutes if Hamas just surrendered and released the hostages. What kind of “genocide” is that?

The main reason for the horrifying civilian death toll is that Hamas is a jihadist death cult that deliberately sacrifices its own civilians to manipulate world opinion and turn it against Israel, building hundreds of kilometers of tunnels for its own combatants but not a single shelter for its own women and children. To call the Gaza war a “genocide” is an offense to every ethnic or religious group that has ever been the victim of a real genocide.

Here’s a great article by Norman Goda documenting how Israel has been accused of genocide throughout its history: “Israel, unlike other states, has been charged with genocide throughout its existence. The genocide accusation is tied to charges of racism, colonialism, and other accusations leveled against Israel since the 1960s.”

See also my own essay: maartenboudry.substack.…