There’s a reason the Journal published a 10,000-word cover story last week making the case that Hamas was guilty of genocide on Oct. 7.
A few weeks earlier, the writer, investigative journalist Gerald Posner, showed in another cover story, “Genocide for Dummies,” why accusing Israel of genocide was not just wrong but also absurd.
In the face of a global onslaught, however, saying Israel is not guilty is not enough. It’s weak. It’s playing defense. We can’t afford to not go on the offense. If we can show, in other words, that Hamas committed genocide on Oct. 7, then why are we defending ourselves instead of attacking?
That is why we published all 10,000 words, our longest-ever cover story. We wanted readers to see the full argument that pins the genocide label on Hamas. The way Posner weaves his case is not just credible; it’s comprehensive and masterful.
It revolves around this question: “If the 1948 Genocide Convention’s list of prohibited acts and ‘special intent’ requirement were applied to Oct. 7, 2023, did Hamas commit a genocidal act on that day?”
Posner takes international bodies to task for never asking that question, one they routinely ask about Israel.
“A legal standard is only worth the name if it is applied to every party whose conduct plausibly triggers it,” he writes. “When an institution runs the Genocide Convention against one belligerent and declines to run it against the other, it is a choice that matters because the incendiary charge of genocide has become the moral center of gravity for anti-Israel activists, shaping campus debates, arms embargoes and court filings.”
Posner does what no legal body dared to do: he judges Hamas using the legal standards of these same international bodies, and he finds the goods. So, while the world recklessly screams “genocide” at Israel, Posner carefully and methodically turns the tables on the real culprit. He punches huge holes in the case against Israel—a nation that defended itself against a barbaric invasion– and uncovers boulders of evidence against the invaders.
“Applying the same standard I did to Israel,” he concludes, “the case that Oct. 7 was a genocidal act is much stronger than the case against Israel.” This is a case, he reminds us, that “has never been examined by the institutions that were most eager to use the word.”
The stakes in this fight are enormous. Genocide is the most evil of crimes. It now rolls off the tongues of Hollywood celebrities, mayoral candidates, leaders of NGOs and international bodies, the mainstream media, even last week’s Nobel Prize winner.
For those predisposed to hating Jews and Israel, the word is a handy piece of poison. Simply put, if you want to isolate Israel and malign Jews, there’s no better weapon than genocide.
Meanwhile, the pro-Israel community seems to have fallen asleep. We’re investing huge resources and spending untold millions “fighting Jew-hatred” and yet, Jew-hatred keeps growing exponentially.
Our mistake is a lack of focus. Jew-hatred is too general. The major driver of Jew-hatred right now is the genocide lie. For Jew-haters, it’s their weapon of mass destruction. For Jews, it must become our target of maximum attention.
We need an “all-hands-on-deck” mentality. Every organization that cares about Israel— ADL, AJC, JNF, AIPAC, ZOA, Federations, activist groups, Christian Zionists, everyone– must mobilize for the fight.
This fight has nothing to do with left or right. You can despise the Israeli government and hate its war policies and still agree that the genocide accusation is a sinister lie that is endangering Jews.
We’ve already seen several initiatives debunking the lie. Those are necessary but hardly sufficient. Now we must double down and go after Hamas. Set up emergency task forces. Invite our top creative and legal minds. In short, we must do whatever it takes to put Hamas and its millions of shameless supporters on the defensive.
We have a bunker buster: 10,000 words of evidence that Hamas committed genocide on Oct. 7.
What are we going to do with it?
