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lemkin institute for genocide prevention
Genocide Prevention Group Says 'Israel Must Be Stopped Now'
"Even if there were legitimate doubts about Israel's genocide, there is no doubt that Israel is committing atrocity crimes of the most barbaric kind," the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention said.
May 28, 2024
A U.S.-based group dedicated to preventing genocide blasted what it called "the cynical lies and propaganda" from Israeli and U.S. leaders who deny that Israel's obliteration of Gaza is genocidal, while imploring humanity to stop the slaughter.
In a statement published Monday on social media, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention (LIGP) argued that "one can have different views about the definition of genocide, but one may not use definitional disputes to deny genocide."
"If a genocide may be occurring, every nation is compelled by customary law to try to stop it," asserted the Philadelphia-based group named after Raphael Lemkin, the 20th-century Polish lawyer who is credited with coining the word genocide in the 1940s.
"Let us be clear: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The U.S. is complicit in genocide," LIGP said. "These are not political statements. They are statements that are made from knowledge and experience."
"Nevertheless, you do not need a Ph.D. , a law degree, or X-ray vision to see the genocidal dimensions of Israel's carnage in Gaza. It is clear in the behavior of the state and its military, on full display in yesterday's horrific bombardment of a Rafah camp," the group added, referring to the attack on a refugee encampment in the southern city's Tal al-Sultan neighborhood that killed at least 45 people and wounded hundreds of others, including many women and children.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the strike a "tragic mistake." Two days later, at least 21 more Palestinians were killed in another Israel Defense Forces attack on a different refugee camp in southern Gaza.
LIGP said that "even if there were legitimate doubts about Israel's genocide, there is no doubt that Israel is committing atrocity crimes of the most barbaric kind."
"Israel must be stopped," the group stressed. "Israel must be stopped now."
LIGP continued:
We are disgusted by Western leaders, especially in the USA, Germany, and the U.K. They have demonstrated not only that they don't care one bit about genocide prevention and human rights, but also that they are willing to allow an ally to commit atrocity crimes while they offer material and diplomatic support. It is reprehensible and the individuals involved in this gaslighting campaign should be deeply ashamed. They should also be put on trial.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan last week formally applied for warrants to arrest Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for alleged crimes including extermination committed on and after October 7.
Israeli and U.S. leaders deny there is genocide in Gaza. U.S. President Joe Biden said in October that he had "no confidence" in Palestinian health officials' Gaza casualty reports—figures deemed reliable by United Nations agencies, human rights groups, international and Israeli mainstream media, and even the U.S. State Department.
Biden, who early in the war declared his "unwavering" support for Israel, has approved billions of dollars of new U.S. military aid for the key Middle Eastern ally. His administration has repeatedly sidestepped Congress to expedite weapons transfers to Israel. The U.S. has also provided diplomatic cover for Netanyahu's far-right government by vetoing several United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolutions.
The International Court of Justice is currently determining whether Israel is committing genocide, as alleged by South Africa and over 30 countries and regional blocs supporting the case. The ICJ recently ordered Israel to immediately halt its invasion of Rafah. Israel has ignored the legally binding order, prompting calls for punitive action including sanctions.
According to Palestinian officials and international human rights defenders, at least 36,096 Palestinians—mostly women and children—have been killed during Israel's 235-day assault on Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attack that left more than 1,100 people dead and over 240 others taken prisoner. At least 81,136 Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli bombs and bullets. Upward of 11,000 other Gazans are missing and presumed dead and buried beneath the rubble of bombed-out buildings.
Meanwhile, famine in the north and widespread starvation throughout Gaza have been exacerbated by Israel's blockade of the besieged coastal enclave, where around 90% of the population have been forcibly displaced.
"Humanity has a choice: Either we decide that our children can all be killed whenever a superior force alleges that 'terrorists' are among us, or we decide that under no circumstances will we allow these superior forces to lay waste to our world any longer," LIGP said. "We each must choose and act accordingly. The watershed moment is now."
At least hundreds of legal and human rights experts around the world—including Israelis—accuse Israel of genocide. In March, the United Nations Human Rights Council published a draft report that found "reasonable grounds to believe" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
On Sunday, Human Rights Watch co-founder Aryeh Neier—a Jewish Holocaust survivor—reiterated his earlier assertion that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Neier explained how his assessment of Israel's conduct has evolved during the war.
"I thought Israel had a right to retaliate against Hamas, and I thought Israel had a right to try to incapacitate Hamas so that it would never be able to do anything like that again," Neier said. "But I was disturbed by some of the actions of Israel, by the use of very large weapons, 2,000-pound bombs, which are utterly inappropriate in a crowded urban area."
Is Israel committing humanitarian crimes in Gaza? The Israeli gov’t strenuously denies it.
Aryeh Neier, a giant in the world of human rights who escaped Nazi Germany and later cofounder Human Rights Watch, says the answer is yes.
Our conversation from today’s GPS: pic.twitter.com/dQC20WDywO
— Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) May 26, 2024
Neier also condemned Israeli and U.S. officials' efforts to equate criticism of Israel's policies and practices with antisemitism.
"Antisemitism has been a great scourge," he said, "but it doesn't insulate the Israeli government from being held to the same standards as other governments have to be held to around the world."
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Genocide Prevention Group Issues 'Urgent SOS Warning' as Israel Takes Aim at Rafah
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention said that if U.S. President Joe Biden "fails to act on his own words" to prevent genocide in Gaza, "his betrayal of humanity will be remembered by the world forever."
Apr 02, 2024
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, an organization named after the Polish lawyer who
coined the term genocide, issued what it called an "urgent SOS warning" on Tuesday for Palestinians in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of the enclave's population is currently sheltering with nowhere else to go.
The group
said Israel's flurry of airstrikes on Rafah last week "could be the opening salvo to Israel's promised ground invasion of the town, which is home to the critical crossing to Egypt." Reutersreported that one of the Israeli strikes killed 11 members of a single family.
"This bombing is a genocidal act conducted by Israel against a trapped civilian population," the Lemkin Institute said.
The @LemkinInstitute is issuing an urgent SOS warning for the imminent genocide of Palestinians in #Rafah. On Wednesday, 27 March, Israel launched several bombing strikes on the city where nearly 1.4 million people are sheltering. These attacks could be the opening salvo to… pic.twitter.com/QpKEB8s9xm
— Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention (@LemkinInstitute) April 2, 2024
The group's statement came after U.S. and Israeli officials met virtually on Monday to discuss the Biden administration's proposed "alternatives" to a large-scale ground invasion of Rafah, which is currently home to more than 1.5 million people—most of them displaced from other parts of the enclave.
The meeting came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled earlier plans for bilateral Rafah talks following the U.S. decision last week not to veto a cease-fire resolution at the United Nations Security Council.
Instead of launching a full-scale ground assault on the city, the Biden White House pushed Israel during the meeting "to take more targeted actions to kill or capture Hamas leaders while limiting civilian impacts," according toThe Associated Press.
The White House said in a statement following Monday's virtual meeting that "the two sides over the course of two hours had a constructive engagement on Rafah."
"They agreed that they share the objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah," the statement reads. "The U.S. side expressed its concerns with various courses of action in Rafah. The Israeli side agreed to take these concerns into account and to have follow-up discussions between experts."
In its statement on Tuesday, the Lemkin Institute noted that U.S. President Joe Biden has described an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah as a "red line" for his administration. Politicoreported last month that Biden would "consider" placing conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel if it goes ahead with an invasion of Rafah.
Echoing a growing number of U.S. lawmakers from both chambers of Congress, the Lemkin Institute urged Biden to comply with U.S. laws prohibiting weapons transfers to countries violating human rights and obstructing the delivery of American humanitarian aid—both of which Israel has done repeatedly since October.
"If the U.S. president fails to act on his own words to prevent the further genocide of the people of Gaza and to behave in accordance with the rules-based international order he purports to prize," said the Lemkin Institute, "his betrayal of humanity will be remembered by the world forever."
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Genocide Experts Say Israeli Legal Arguments 'Ring Hollow' at ICJ
"The court only needs to look at the statements in South Africa's submission—with the ranking and authority of those making them—and ask whether they plausibly reach the level of intent required for genocide," said one expert on state crime.
Jan 12, 2024
Faced with a detailed documentation of statements made by top-level Israeli officials about their intent to "destroy" Gaza residents and "flatten" the enclave, legal experts observed that attorneys representing Israel on Friday at the International Court of Justice appeared to simply ignore the mounting evidence that the government is committing a genocide.
Thomas MacManus, a state crime lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, said the ICJ, which has held two hearings this week regarding South Africa's lawsuit accusing Israel of genocidal violence and intent in Gaza since it began its bombardment in October, likely noticed a "massive disconnect" between Israel's claim that it is trying to protect civilian lives with the reality on the ground.
The hearing on Friday was underway as Al Jazeera reported that nine Palestinians, including children and at least one infant, were killed in an Israeli strike on a home in Rafah—just a few of the 23,708 who have been confirmed dead in Israel's assault.
Yet Malcolm Shaw, a British professor of international law who helped defend Israel, focused his remarks on the country's claim that it goes to great lengths to protect civilians and asserted that the numerous statements of genocidal intent catalogued by South Africa were taken out of context.
"I think the court will find it very difficult to add these two things," MacManus told Al Jazeera, referring to the statements compiled by South Africa and Shaw's claim that Israel has the "most moral army in the world" and "does everything to avoid harming the uninvolved."
"The court only needs to look at the statements in South Africa's submission—with the ranking and authority of those making them—and ask whether they plausibly reach the level of intent required for genocide," said MacManus. "I think the court will have to do that."
Independent journalist Sam Husseini noted that Taj Becker, legal adviser to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, opened his remarks with a reference to Raphael Lemkin, the Polish lawyer who coined the term "genocide" in the 1940s and helped establish it as an international crime.
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention has for three months called on the International Criminal Court to indict Israeli Prime Minister for genocidal acts, and said Friday that Becker's words rang "hollow" considering "the overwhelming evidence" documented by South Africa.
South Africa's 84-page complaint to the ICJ includes direct quotes from officials including Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who said "an entire nation," not just Hamas, was responsible for the group's attack on southern Israel on October 7, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who said the Israel Defense Forces "will eliminate everything" in Gaza.
Yet as Step Vaessen of Al Jazeera reported, "the argument by Israel was that [genocidal intent] was clearly not government policy."
On Democracy Now!, Center for Constitutional Rights staff attorney Diala Shamas pointed out that the Israeli defense team also focused largely on the question of whether the ICJ, the top judicial body of the United Nations, has the authority to rule on South Africa's case and to grant the country's request for an binding injunction that would force Israel to stop its bombardment.
Israel's arguments, said Shamas, boiled down to, "'You can't be here and you can't do anything about it, and... Everything we do is self-defense [against Hamas.]'"
The defense amounted to "a complete deflection, never at any point addressing the incredibly powerful arguments laid out yesterday at a hearing for three hours by the South Africa legal team," added Shamas.
Ammar Hijazi, a Palestinian Foreign Ministry official, told reporters outside the court that Israel was not "able to provide any solid arguments on the basis of fact and law."
"What Israel has provided today are many of the already debunked lies," said Hijazi, noting that the legal team repeated false claims that Hamas has used hospitals in Gaza as military bases, making them legitimate targets for Israel. "We think that what the Israeli team today has [provided] is the exact thing that South Africa came to the court for—and that is, nothing at all justifies genocide."
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