Raphael Lemkin (1900–59), a Polish-Jewish jurist, coined the term “genocide” and popularized it in a global context. International law clearly defines genocide in Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948.
The stages of genocide do not necessarily have to occur step-by-step. If some of these elements systematically exist, it would be enough to consider it a genocide. Upon analyzing Israeli aggression in Gaza, it becomes clear that Israel is deliberately using the recent attack by Hamas as a scapegoat to indiscriminately kill innocent Palestinians including thousands of children. Many of the stages of genocide such as discrimination (cutting off electricity, water, and internet.), dehumanization (labeling Palestinians as human animals and children of darkness), preparation (ground invasion), persecution (bombardments and rocket firing), extermination (ethnic cleansing and genocide), and denial (lies, propaganda, and disinformation) are underway and a cause for grave concern. Continue reading Genocide in Palestine and Western Support