The largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide says that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The determination by the International Association of Genocide Scholars could serve to further isolate Israel.
The largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide said Monday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
The determination by the International Association of Genocide Scholars — which has around 500 members worldwide, including a number of Holocaust experts — could serve to further isolate Israel in global public opinion and adds to a growing chorus of organizations that have used the term for Israel’s actions in Gaza. Israel rejects the accusation and called the resolution an “embarrassment to the legal profession.”
“Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide,” according to group’s resolution.
“People who are experts in the study of genocide can see this situation for what it is,” Melanie O’Brien, the organization’s president and a professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told The Associated Press.
The resolution was supported by 86% of those who voted. O’Brien said 28% of members participated — a rate that’s typical for the group’s resolutions. Voting is held by email, according to the group’s bylaws, and members have 30 days to reply.
In the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza, around 20 of whom Israel believes are alive. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
