Roger Pressman

Today is the most important day to clearly state that the “Israeli genocide” lie is both a deliberate, appalling, ahistorical, anti-factual smear — and also textbook antisemitism. Let me explain The Hamas-run “Gaza health ministry’s” own data debunks this lie. Of the ~73,000 deaths in Gaza since the onset of the war, which was started by Hamas in a shockingly vicious terrorist attack, launched with genuinely genocidal intent, tens of thousands have been combatants/military aged men. This strikingly low combatant-to-civilian ratio is an achievement by Israel, which took pains to warn civilians to get out of the way of bombs in advance, paused fighting to inoculate Gazan children, and sent gargantuan shipments of food and other aid into the territory during the war. These are not the actions of a genocidal force. They are the opposite. This achievement is particularly laudable given the enemy’s evil policy of launching terrorist operations from civilian neighborhoods, schools, mosques and hospitals. Hamas puts its own civilians in grave danger, on purpose, as a strategy. And it’s fairly successful because they know — despite the slanderous talking point pioneered by their stooges around the world (even starting while the Jews were still counting their dead) — that Israel is NOT willing to purposefully commit mass atrocities, let alone genocide. That word, “genocide,” has been utterly abused and obliterated of meaning, as a propaganda weapon against Israel. It does not apply to this conflict, certainly not to the Israeli side. But accuracy isn’t the point. Inaccuracy is the point. The word is wielded as a justification for every despicable act of the sick “pro Palestine” movement (which almost entirely ignores the brutal mistreatment of Palestinians by Hamas; a tell). Every time a Jew is spat on, a synagogue protested or attacked, a hostage poster ripped down, a Hebrew-speaking person berated, a soccer team shunned, an event disrupted, a Hanukkah celebration shot up, etc. it’s excused or rationalized or minimized by the “genocide” lie. It’s an anti-moral permission slip, and it’s been revealing who’s taken full advantage of it. They’re almost always people who can’t even feign concern about far worse treatment of various populations around the world. Including Muslim ones. Which brings us to the antisemitism, which is undeniable and obvious to so many of us. But because countless, gross 10/7 statements issued by terror sympathizers, cowards, and ignoramuses insist on repeating the “genocide” lie, while also insisting it’s not about Jews (but rather “Zionists,” the other side of the anti-moral permission slip coin), it must be spelled out: One of the core, black-and-white definitions of antisemitism is the erection of double standards exclusively against Jews (and yes, this includes the one tiny Jewish state—the only country in the world over which there’s a constant and loud debate over the legitimacy of its very existence…even though it’s been firmly established for many decades & was enshrined in international law, for those who at least pretend to care about such things). Lying about “genocide” and applying a novel/changed/invented quasi-definition of it (“look at these buildings!”) *only* to the Jewish state, for the purpose of demonizing/isolating/delegitimizing the Jewish state is straight-up antisemitism. On top of being a lie—things that so often go hand in hand. Reject the lies and reject bigotry. Or at a minimum, have the decency to stop flattering yourself as a good, brave person who’s on the “right side of history.” You’re actually on the wrong side of history, a modern-day heir of dark and ancient rituals of ugliness, scapegoating and deceit.