Yes, What Israel Is Doing To Palestinians Is Actually Genocide

This is vital to know and share. I am struck again and again by how misled, uninformed, unaware, and apathetic we are here in America about the larger picture, the actual truth, of what is happening to the Palestinian people and their long standing unbearable suffering. We need to care about these human beings! We need to not collude in the madness of justifying cruelty, heartlessness, hatred, oppression, and violence - all of which is being funded by our tax dollars. This is wrong! What is happening to these people is criminal and indeed provides continued support for the largest open air prison in the world. We must stand up strongly and say NO! to the occupation and NO! to the violence, slaughter, and toxic oppression of Palestinians. ― Molly

Drone footage- the destruction of Gaza, 2014

By BENJAMIN L. COREY

In the Israel/Palestine conflict, is Israel guilty of genocide against the Palestinians?

Yes– absolutely.

The other day I wrote a short piece on why the Bible does not command us to blindly stand with the modern state of Israel, and one of the points I made is that Israel is guilty of genocide. There were no shortage of internet commenters who objected to my use of this word and felt it was over the top. However, I stand by my assertion that Israel is guilty of genocide, so allow me to expand upon that.

I believe the main reason many push back on the idea that Israel is guilty of genocide is because of a lack of understanding of the full nuance of the word, and what genocide can look like in a modern context. While rounding up people for mass executions would be obvious evidence of genocide, the reality is that genocide can take place in ways that are more subtle– making it palatable for the masses, and even seem justified at times.

Some scholars have referred to the Israel/Palestine conflict as “incremental genocide” and I would agree with that term. Instead of an overt, blatant attempt to eradicate a people group, incremental genocide involves actions and policies that are designed to slowly erode, break up, and destroy a specific population. Think for example of early American history and the genocide of Native Americans. While it wasn’t always mass killings, genocide occurred by military conflict, expanding land holdings, resettlements, and creating conditions that were destructive for the indigenous population. While it took many years to complete, and while it took many forms, what early Americans did to the indigenous people of North America was nothing short of genocide.

The same holds true for Israel.

The legal definition of genocide includes the following:

“Acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group such as:

(a)        Killing members of the group;

(b)        Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c)        Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

While A and B are both elements we find present in Israel’s approach to Palestinians, the key aspect of genocide being waged by Israel is found in C: the deliberate infliction of conditions that in part or as a whole will destroy a people group. Arab Christians and Muslims known as Palestinians have been undoubtedly the target of Israel and a desire to eradicate them from the land.

When Israel was created it resulted in an instant crisis for the Christians and Muslims who had lived together quite peacefully for hundreds and hundreds of years. Even today there are somewhere around 3.5 to 4 million Palestinian refugees who wish to have the right to return to their homes and land– a request that will never be granted by Israel.

For those who remain in Palestinian territory, they might as well be living in a massive open-air prison, because they live under the occupation of a foreign army. Children are routinely tear gassed on the way to school. Imports are severely restricted, with even basics like water being tightly controlled. Their rights of passage are severely curtailed– families have been broken up and people have died at military checkpoints because they were delayed or denied passage to access critical medical care.

To top it all off, what little land Palestinians have left is under systematic erosion by Israeli policy. Illegal Israeli settlements continue to crop up in Palestinian territory, in violation of international law. These illegal settlements, in addition to literally confiscating land from indigenous people, often bring violence to the Palestinians who live there. Even just a brief youtube search will bring up countless examples of women and children being assaulted by illegal settlers, or examples like Palestinian farms being attacked and destroyed at harvest time.

Let’s not be dishonest in the ultimate goal here: it is to rid the land of Palestinians.

Please continue this article here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/yes-israel-palestinians-actually-genocide/