September 3, 2025
STAY INFORMED – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS TO CONSIDER – STORIES MAKING NEWS
The accusation of genocide against the Jewish state is being used as a moral weapon. It is not just a false legal claim – the explosive yet deceptive charge is being used to stigmatize Jews everywhere. By branding Israel as a “genocidal state,” anti-Israel activists provide cover for those who threaten or attack Jews in America and around the world. Even some activists admit that Israel does not meet the accepted legal standard of genocide, which is why they argue the definition must be “revised” or “broadened” to apply to Israel.
Accusing Jews – the very people who suffered in the Holocaust – of committing genocide turns history on its head. Yet recently, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) passed a resolution declaring that Israel is committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza. These dubious claims distort international law – and put Jews everywhere in greater danger. A group of 20 young men recently violently attacked a Jewish man speaking Hebrew in Santa Monica, CA, and “tore my Star of David necklace of my neck.”
Israel’s Real Intent: Defeating Hamas, Not Destroying a People
The UN Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts committed “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.” The critical element is intent. Israel’s official goal is to dismantle Hamas – the Iran-backed terror group responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre. While tragically, Palestinian civilian lives have been lost, they were never Israel’s target. Nearly two years ago, Hamas murdered more than 1,200 people, including teens and young adults at a music festival in Israel and forcibly kidnapped more than 250 Israelis and foreign nationals while openly declaring its long-time goals of destroying Israel and killing all Jews worldwide.
The Israeli government recently announced a new budget of $473 million for Gaza humanitarian aid – while cutting 3% of Israel’s budget for education, healthcare and the environment. West Point scholar John Spencer emphasized that “Israel has delivered more humanitarian aid – 2 million tons – to Gaza than any military in history has provided to an enemy population during wartime.” Israel also has helped the World Health Organization vaccinate 600,000 Gazan children against Polio, repaired water pipelines and helped nearly 40,000 patients leave Gaza for treatment abroad.
Israel’s actions throughout the war clearly contradict the charge of genocide.
Hamas Strategy: Palestinian Suffering as a Weapon
Palestinian civilians in Gaza are truly suffering and the tragedy is real. The genocide scholars’ resolution listed destruction, displacement and hunger, but suffering in war is not proof of genocide. The resolution fails to acknowledge Hamas’ attack and warfare tactics including launching barrages of missiles against Israeli civilians.
The Palestinian terror group exploits the suffering of Gazans to achieve its militant goals. This is why Hamas embeds its fighters and weapons in homes, UN schools, hospitals, mosques and other civilian infrastructure. Nasser Hospital’s nursing director, Mohammed Saqer, revealed that Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists threatened him for treating wounded Palestinian civilians.
Experts proved that Hamas deliberately engineered civilian suffering. As one British military officer wrote, “When hospitals become battlefields, it is Hamas who has turned protected spaces into command centers and armories, leaving Israel with impossible choices.” Hamas shows the same disregard for its own civilians as it does for Israeli hostages – still held in captivity without Red Cross access.
This war could end immediately if Hamas released all hostages, laid down its arms and allowed new leadership in Gaza. Civilian suffering is tragic, but it is not evidence of genocide.
Echo Chamber: UN, Academics and NGOs Amplify False Consensus
One of the most misleading parts of the genocide accusation is the claim of consensus. The IAGS resolution relied on reports by officials and organizations with documented records of anti-Israel bias. In some cases, these officials have made comments condemned as antisemitic, yet their words are recycled as authoritative evidence.
IAGS member and genocide scholar Sara Brown: “The content of the resolution and the way it was forced through without the usual transparency speak to an embarrassing absence of professionalism. It favored activists seeking to advance a false narrative about Israel.”
Only 140 members – less than 30% – voted, and the IAGS resolution was pushed through without its traditional debate. Still, media headlines portrayed it like a unanimous declaration from “the world’s leading genocide experts.”
The same UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activist academics often cite each other in a closed loop creating the illusion of a consensus. This “incestuous cycle” amplifies recycled claims until they sound like fact.
Legal Malpractice: Redefining Words to Target Israel
Accusations of genocide against Israel rest not on evidence, but on the manipulation of language. Amnesty International and other activist organizations have admitted that the accepted legal definition of genocide is “too narrow” to apply to Israel – so they call for “revising” or “broadening” it. The same pattern has been used with other terms: “apartheid” stretched beyond recognition, “refugee” status redefined for generations and “statehood” applied differently for political purposes. Rewriting important terms for political objectives does not create truth and undermines international law.
Everyone has a role to play in pushing back against the false genocide smear and standing up for Jewish safety.
Stories Impacting American Jews
Stories Impacting the U.S. and Israel
Stories From Around the World
Stay Informed | Speak Up | Take Action
Want to Read More of Our Talking Points? Did you miss a recent edition of The Focus Project? No need to search your inbox. Our most recently published editions are available on our website.
This content is developed by The Focus Project in partnership with MERCAZ USA. The Focus Project distributes weekly news and talking points on timely issues concerning Israel and the Jewish people, including antisemitism, anti-Zionism and the delegitimization of Israel. It represents a consensus view across a spectrum of major American Jewish organizations. MERCAZ USA recognizes and respects the diversity of views on these issues among its readers and the community at large.