US President Joe Biden strongly defended Israel on Monday, saying Israeli forces are not committing genocide in their military campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza.
  • Carrolade@lemmy.worldEnglish
    275·
    6 months ago

    Hey, a semantic argument. Yay.

    This is why I think the term ethnic cleansing is underused. It’s much simpler and has less history.

    • retrospectology@lemmy.world
      172·
      6 months ago

      Yeah on one hand I understand the argument that the term used to describe what’s being done to the populace in Gaza doesn’t really materially matter in terms of the moral argument and that “genocide” is exploited to bog down discussion into semantics, but I also see the value in expanding people’s understanding of what genocide is and how it can manifest.

      Up to this point it’s kind of had this aura about it that if it’s not literally the Holocaust and the perpetrators aren’t explicitly saying “We want to kill every single member of X ethnicity” it’s not genocide. But that’s not true, and if the general public comes to understand that I think it gives less rhetorical cover for genocidal regimes to hide behind.

      • FlowVoid@lemmy.worldEnglish
        67·
        6 months ago

        Genocide applies to more than literally the Holocaust, but that doesn’t mean it applies to every brutal war.

        The ICC is responsible for prosecuting genocide. They charged the leaders of Sudan with genocide, but not the leaders of Israel. That suggests that what happened in the Holocaust and Sudan is not the same as what is happening in Gaza.

        • Melkath@kbin.social
          31·
          6 months ago

          Alright, I must be missing something here.

          Didn’t they just charge Bibi? Is he not the leader of Israel?

          • FlowVoid@lemmy.worldEnglish
            51·
            6 months ago

            The ICC has three general categories of charges. The most serious is Article 6, “Genocide”. This is how the leader of Sudan was charged.

            The leaders of Israel and Hamas were all charged under Articles 7 and 8, which are less serious. Article 7 is “Crimes against humanity”. Article 8 is “War crimes”.

  • Tinidril@midwest.socialEnglish
    21·
    6 months ago

    The official goal of defeating Hamas is not genocide. The actual goal, as described by multiple Israeli officials and demonstrated by IDF strategies, is genocide. Israel is intentionally and systematically destroying anything that binds the Palestinian people to the land of Palestine, including homes, schools, hospitals, universities, religious institutions, cultural centers, and even cemeteries. They want nothing left for people to return to.