"Our Genocide" - first Israeli NGO to label government's actions as 'genocide' : B'Tselem

Report shared by Anis Salem

Comment by Tom McDermott

B’Tselem is a leading Israeli human rights NGO that has long advocated for the rights of Palestinians and has been a valued partner of UNICEF. During my time as RD in MENA in the early 2000s, we often relied on B’Tselem as an ally in advocating for Palestinian children caught up in the Israeli military court system. At that time, B’Tselem operated largely within the mainstream of Israeli civil society.

That changed in 2021, when B’Tselem formally declared that Israel was operating a unified system of apartheid across all areas under its control — a position later echoed by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. This marked a decisive shift away from following specific cases to naming the overarching structure that enables them.

This latest report, "Our Genocide", (linked below) is groundbreaking in that it is the first major Israeli organization to label genocide as 'genocide'. It asserts that Israel's intent is not merely military but aimed at the systematic destruction of Palestinian society. It will have an impact on the international scale, and will almost certainly be quoted at the ICC in Israel's case on genocide. The report relies in good part on the writings of Raphael Lemkin, the Polish lawyer who defined genocide after WWII and helped craft the UN Convention on Genocide.

It will be interesting to see the degree of backlash to the report within Israel or to which it is just ignored. Either way it however will not be alone. See today's NY Times "‘Revenge Is Not a Policy’: Israelis Voice Dissent Against the War in Gaza" which reports that "After a long silence, prominent Israelis and activists are increasingly raising alarms about potential war crimes being carried out by the government."

Tom

Click here for the report "Our Genocide"
Click here for the NYTimes article "Revenge is not a Policy"

Summary of "Our Genocide" B'Tselem

B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, presents a sweeping indictment of Israeli actions in Gaza and other Palestinian territories since October 2023, concluding that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, particularly in Gaza. Drawing on the UN Convention definition and the writings of Raphael Lemkin, the report outlines acts including mass killings, starvation, forced displacement, and destruction of infrastructure and cultural life. It asserts that Israel's intent is not merely military but aimed at the systemic destruction of Palestinian society. The report draws on over 20 months of documentation, including testimonies, health statistics, and satellite imagery, and warns that the violence in Gaza is part of a broader regime of apartheid and settler-colonial domination that extends across all areas under Israeli control.

Summary of "Revenge is not a Policy" NYTimes

A growing number of Israelis — including academics, authors, former military leaders, and grassroots activists — are voicing moral opposition to the war in Gaza, which has killed about 60,000 Palestinians, including more than 10,000 children.. Antiwar protests, silent vigils, and open letters by university faculty, retired officers, and public intellectuals reflect a shift in discourse, despite the broader public’s apathy toward Gaza’s suffering. Prominent voices now accuse the Israeli government of war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and even genocide. While the government denies wrongdoing, critics argue the war is politically motivated and morally indefensible. Activists warn that the dominant public narrative is suppressing dissent, but insist that “a different voice is trying to penetrate the almost unified public discourse.”

Quotes from "Our Genocide" 


“Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”“The Israeli genocide is taking place in the Gaza Strip, where the regime’s violence against Palestinians is being implemented in its most extreme and lethal form.”


“This perception is manifest in Israel's conduct of warfare... starvation of more than two million people as a method of warfare... systematic destruction of hospitals... and the unprecedented killing of medical personnel, aid workers... and journalists.”



“Genocide always occurs within a context: there are conditions that enable it, catalyzing events, and a guiding ideology.”“It is our duty to name the reality we are witnessing and living through, to recount it, and to stand with the victims.