New York, MINA – A leading expert in Holocaust and genocide studies, Professor Omer Bartov has declared that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
In a 3,500-word op-ed published Tuesday in The New York Times, Bartov wrote, “My inescapable conclusion has become that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. I have been teaching classes on genocide for a quarter of a century. I can recognize one when I see one.”
Bartov, who teaches at Brown University in the United States and has spent most of his career researching war crimes and the Holocaust, said that while he initially believed Israel’s actions constituted war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity, the continued pattern of operations and statements from Israeli leaders have convinced him otherwise.
He cited military orders displacing about one million Palestinians to areas with no shelter, the destruction of much of Rafah by August 2024, and statements from Israeli leaders invoking biblical calls to annihilate enemies.
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Bartov argued that Israel’s campaign aims to force Palestinians to leave Gaza or make life unlivable through bombings and severe shortages of food, water, and medical care, preventing them from maintaining their existence as a group.
He emphasized that both the expressed intent and operational patterns meet the legal definition of genocide, warning that continued denial threatens the foundations of international law established after the Holocaust.
Bartov also referred to similar assessments from other genocide experts, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, Amnesty International, and South Africa’s ongoing genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Since October 2023, Israel’s offensive on Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, wounded more than 137,000, and left over 14,000 missing. Despite international condemnation, little concrete action has been taken to hold Israel accountable. []
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