The Genocide Lie BY: Boaz Michael
(a lengthy read but worthwhile)
(images of the Rwandan genocide)
If you repeat a lie often enough and loud enough, people start to believe it. Popular dogma claims Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Is it true?
It has become a mantra for the Free Palestine crowd. Protestors in Washington DC named President Biden “Genocide Joe” because of his support for Israel. In the popular consciousness, the terms Zionism and genocide are beginning to conflate. More broadly speaking, anti-Semites now claim that all Jews are complicit in genocide—guilty by association with the State of Israel. Like the infamous blood libel of the Middle Ages, these baseless claims are designed to stoke hatred, distort reality, and manipulate public opinion.
The Difference between War and Genocide
Ironically, the modern State of Israel was born, in part, out of a real genocide— not a genocide against Palestinian Arabs but a genocide of European Jews.
For that reason, Jews know better than most people on planet earth the real meaning of the word genocide. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum defines genocide as “an internationally recognized crime where acts are committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.” To commit genocide, there must be a deliberate effort to annihilate a specific people group on a large scale. Is that what’s happening in Gaza? Is the IDF attempting to eradicate a whole people group?
What’s actually happening in Gaza is not an attempt to commit genocide; it’s a war against a hostile terrorist organization, military, and government. Hamas-run Gaza started the war by invading Israel on October 7, 2023, perpetrating a massacre of civilians, taking civilian hostages, and launching thousands of rockets against civilian targets. It’s a war that Hamas has the power to end today by surrendering, laying down their guns, and releasing the hostages. The international attempt to rebrand Israel’s response as a ruthless genocide is simply perverse propaganda. It’s not true. Israel is not committing genocide; we are at war.
In war, unfortunately, people suffer and people die. That’s what war is. If you don’t want your people to suffer or die, don’t start a war. But Hamas does want their people to suffer and die. It’s to their advantage when they do. That’s why they use civilians as human shields, embed their soldiers in civilian populations disguised as civilians, and that’s why they place their headquarters in hospitals and schools. They crave civilian casualties so that they can perpetuate the myth of genocide, inflaming international outrage against Israel, garnering sympathy from donor nations, and winning universal condemnation of the Jewish state and the Jewish people. That’s their strategy. And it’s working. The world is falling for it.
The Genocide Myth Before and After October 7
If anyone in this conflict should be charged with attempted genocide, it’s Hamas, who openly calls for the elimination of the Jewish people “from the river to the sea”—meaning the elimination of Jewish people from our ancestral homeland. The destruction of the Jewish state is part of the terrorist organization’s founding charter, and for them, it’s considered a matter of religious obligation. All their actions on October 7, including the intentional slaughter of civilians, indicate genocidal goals.
There’s an old Jewish adage that says, “What you feel in your heart for your neighbor is what you assume he feels toward you.” Doubtlessly, the roots of the genocide libel can be traced to Palestinian fantasies about committing a Jewish genocide. The seeds of that genocidal dream were actually planted among the Arab population of British Mandate Palestine by Adolph Hitler and the Nazis during the build-up to World War II. On October 7, they bore fruit in the worst genocidal massacre perpetrated against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Preparations to push a false narrative of genocide were already well underway months before the assault on October 7. For example, in April 2023, one scholar of anti-Semitism pointed out that, in the academic world, “the groundwork is being laid to accuse Israel of genocide.” This was months before the attack.
The false allegation of a genocide quickly moved to the spotlight as the war progressed, but the propaganda machine was already in full swing before the conflict even erupted. A simple search on X (formerly Twitter) reveals posts from the very day of the attack accusing Israel of genocide. This claim was already posted while Hamas terrorists were still rampaging inside Israel.
Preparations to push a false narrative of genocide were already well underway months before the assault on October 7.
Once the war began, as Israel responded to Hamas, the false accusations intensified. It became a point of dogma among progressive leftists and pro-Palestinian voices at the U.N. and in the media. Influencers on social media exaggerated casualty numbers to imply an indiscriminate slaughter of civilians was taking place, while others distorted the definition of genocide to include things like the destruction of neighborhoods, thereby shifting the focus away from actual loss of life to loss of property.
Counting Up the Casualties and Padding the Numbers
In war, there are always casualties. Lots of casualties. That’s what makes war so awful. However, throughout this conflict, the casualty figures reported by Hamas have been consistently unreliable and often inflated. The Hamas-run health ministry makes no distinction between combatants and civilians, frequently inflating the number of women and children killed to support their narrative. Despite this, mainstream media typically reports these figures as factual evidence, with little to no scrutiny.
Chart 1: A U.N. fatalities report showing high numbers of women and children. (Image: United Nations via The Jerusalem Post, accessed September 5, 2024)
Remarkably, Hamas has admitted multiple times that they are uncertain how many hostages remain alive. Yet, they claim to report, within minutes, the exact number of casualties from any given Israeli strike, even from their own malfunctioning weapons—conveniently blaming those incidents on Israel. This glaring inconsistency has not gone unnoticed, with various memes circulating to underscore the absurdity and lack of logical coherence in their claims.
Chart 2: A U.N. fatalities report several days later with 40% fewer women and children deaths but the same overall death toll. (Image: United Nations via The Jerusalem Post, accessed September 5, 2024)
Political cartoon lampooning statistics from Hamas. (Image: Elder of Ziyon)
The “fog of war” is an unavoidable reality in any conflict, making it difficult to obtain accurate numbers. Verifying details and conducting thorough research often involves significant risks, further complicating the situation. However, by analyzing data from both sides and comparing it with figures from other conflicts and publicly available sources, we can start to cut through the uncertainty and expose the flaws in the genocide libel claims.
The U.N.’s casualty numbers are primarily sourced from the Hamas Ministry of Health, raising serious doubts about their accuracy. Hamas has a well-documented history of using propaganda to manipulate public perception, and this conflict is no different. These numbers have been broadcast without proper analysis, allowing them to serve Hamas’s broader narrative.
Beyond any doubt, many lives have been lost in this war, some of them civilians, many of them women and children. Hamas revels in those deaths and exaggerates their numbers to play on international sympathies. One example of Hamas propaganda appears in videos showing the same individuals “dying” or “recovering” multiple times. One man, dubbed “Mr. Pallywood,” was filmed “dying,” changing roles, and reappearing in various scenes throughout the conflict.
Mr. Pallywood is just one example of how Hamas propaganda intentionally exaggerates casualties and human suffering in the Gaza conflict. Anti-Israel protestors rightly express concern for Gazan children supposedly killed in the conflict. The reality is that no one truly knows how many children may have died because the numbers are clearly falsified. These inflated figures are paraded across screens, sometimes even in the form of painted dolls staged to appear as dead and bloody victims.
Woman painting baby dolls to look bloody. (Video: Daily ISRAEL 24 on Telegram)
Occasionally, we even catch glimpses of the same individuals repeatedly holding up the same “dead” infants. Yet, these plastic dolls continue to be counted, even when it’s clear that the same person is reappearing in different locations, following the same script.
Multiple propaganda videos with the same man reenacting the same scene with a fake baby in different locales. (Video: Amir Tsarfati on Telegram)
Beyond counting plastic dolls as casualties, video evidence has surfaced showing “corpses” moving inside their burial sheets—some shifting their feet, others adjusting their heads, and even children unable to remain still on their bier. Yet, these movements do not disqualify them from being included in the tally of Gaza’s supposed genocide.
Someone pretending to be dead but fidgeting in the burial wrap. (Video: Daily ISRAEL 24 on Telegram)
Complicit Deception
While these fabricated reports highlight Hamas’ willingness to manipulate the narrative, they are not acting alone. Hamas has inflated numbers through its propaganda campaigns, and the international community appears complicit in amplifying these exaggerations. The U.N. continues to report questionable casualty figures sourced directly from Hamas. These numbers, much like the dolls smeared with ketchup and paraded as supposed fatalities, raise serious doubts about the credibility of the reported figures.
One notable instance occurred when the U.N. initially reported high numbers of women and children among the dead. Just two days later, those figures mysteriously dropped by 40%. The report acknowledged that approximately 10,000 individuals were “unaccounted for.” Despite this substantial adjustment, the overall death toll remained unchanged.
Several other questionable practices cast further doubt on the reported death toll:
The Hamas Ministry of Health has allegedly stopped reporting deaths from natural causes.
Hamas has been documented taking lethal action to prevent civilians from leaving evacuation zones.
Video evidence shows Hamas shooting civilians attempting to access humanitarian aid while stealing it for themselves.
Reports have surfaced of Hamas enforcers lynching individuals accused of stealing.
Some suspect that these incidents are being used to inflate the casualty figures attributed to Israel. By including deaths from natural causes and internal violence, Hamas is believed to be artificially inflating the death toll to bolster its accusations of genocide. These stories, often circulated in real-time on social media, rarely reach major media outlets, allowing the official death toll to go largely unchallenged and accepted with minimal scrutiny.
The Real Facts
As of this writing, the official death toll stands at over 40,000. While I’ve already outlined why this figure is highly suspect, it remains the official count. Accusations of genocide continue to echo across college campuses, social media, and from numerous media personalities. These are the numbers being reported, and therefore, they are the numbers we must address.
It’s time to let the facts from Israel’s side speak for themselves. By examining what Israel has accomplished during this war, we can assess—through the fog of war—whether the accusation of genocide holds any legitimate ground.
Israel has consistently provided operational updates throughout the war during live interviews and intermittent press releases. One of the most frequently cited figures suggests that Israel believes it has eliminated approximately 15,000 terrorists in the Gaza arena since the conflict began—a number based on direct field observations.
It’s important to note that Hamas does not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties in their reports. As a result, the fatality figure provided by the U.N. includes both groups. Based on this, we can reasonably break down the numbers as follows:
Enemy Combatants: 15,000
Civilian Casualties: 25,000
Total Fatalities: 40,000
Even if we take the Hamas Ministry of Health’s numbers at face value, the math reveals astonishing results regarding Israel’s military operations. The ratio of civilian to combatant deaths, according to these official figures, is less than 2:1—a statistic that is unheard of in urban warfare.
The U.N. has stated that 90 percent of all wartime casualties are typically civilians.1 A Red Cross article quoted an eight-to-one ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in Iraq and Syria.2 In previous discussions of Israel’s military achievements, average estimates of civilian to combatant fatalities in urban warfare have ranged from 12:1 to as high as 16:1.
Multiple analysts have noted that Israel has set an unprecedented standard for protecting civilian lives during this conflict3—one that no military on the planet is likely to surpass if they can even come close. Israel’s caution has been so effective that anyone informed and not driven by baseless hatred would recognize how remarkably few civilians have been killed, even using the inflated numbers provided by Hamas.
This is not to diminish the tragedy of any loss of life, as every death is a sorrowful reality of war. We mourn with every family who loses loved ones to accidents or enemy fire. Yet, Israel’s commitment to minimizing civilian casualties remains unmatched, and this dedication is most evident in its approach to precision warfare. Israel has achieved what no other military has: minimizing innocent casualties in the midst of war.
A Better Approach: Precision in Warfare
It seems nearly every government publicly criticizes Israel and its military actions, despite the fact that Israel is setting a global standard for protecting civilians during conflict. While Hamas embeds its terror infrastructure beneath hospitals, schools, and other civilian locations, Israel goes to great lengths to minimize civilian casualties, even when targeting such entrenched threats.
Israel’s approach to warfare is unique in that it actively alerts civilians before strikes. Unlike other militaries that drop bombs without concern for civilian casualties, Israel employs a tactic known as “roof knocking.”
This involves dropping a small, non-lethal explosive on the roof of a targeted building as a warning, giving residents time to evacuate before a more destructive strike. Naturally, this also allows many terrorists to escape, as evidenced by videos where cameras are positioned in advance to capture the moment of impact. While international media often claim these strikes kill civilians, the preemptive warnings clearly demonstrate Israel’s efforts to avoid such outcomes.
When Israel strikes without first calling for an evacuation, they rely on precision munitions guided by impeccable intelligence. Numerous photos and videos demonstrate their ability to destroy a single room or car in a crowded area with remarkable accuracy. In one recent strike, Israel targeted a school being used as a terror base. The world was quick to condemn Israel, claiming children had been harmed and reporting a large number of casualties. However, Israel promptly admitted to the strike as the names of the deceased terrorists began to surface, leading to yet another embarrassing moment for Israel’s detractors.
Israel also takes further measures by directly contacting civilians in the vicinity of an expected attack. Numerous recordings have been released showing Israeli military personnel urging Gaza residents to evacuate, often engaging in lengthy conversations. In one notable case, a man refused to leave, welcoming the death of himself and his family despite the soldier’s repeated pleas for him to evacuate due to an imminent strike.
Another method Israel uses is issuing warnings to entire sectors of Gaza, advising residents to evacuate before military operations begin. Maps are distributed, instructing them to leave specific areas that are about to become active battle zones. Despite these efforts, Hamas continues to launch rockets from humanitarian zones adjacent to civilian tents, forcing the IDF to clear these areas to protect civilians and dismantle the threat.
Israel diligently works to save lives through evacuations, yet Hamas takes extreme measures to prevent civilians from leaving, including shooting their own people. Hamas prefers using human shields who will die as a result of the conflict, all to further their propaganda. Israel’s unwavering commitment to preserving innocent lives, even at the expense of military success, sets them apart in modern warfare.
Heaping Coals on the Enemy
Those accusing Israel of committing genocide claim that the IDF has blocked international aid in an attempt to starve the population to death. That’s not true either. Contrary to false reports of mass famine in Gaza, Israel has granted access to a steady stream of aid convoys that have made food more abundant in Gaza than it was before the conflict began. It is true that Hamas gunmen routinely hijack those trucks and steal the aid supplies for their own purposes, thereby creating pockets of scarcity. But that’s not the same thing as genocide.
As Israel extends compassion even to its enemies, many Gazan residents respond with open hostility. Images and videos from October 7 show crowds celebrating the terror attacks against Jews. Though they may not have personally participated in the violence, their jubilant reactions reflect a troubling sense of approval. It’s difficult to claim that every resident in Gaza is an enemy of Israel, but the widespread celebration of such acts suggests that a significant portion of the population harbors deep animosity.
For Israel, however, this animosity is not a deterrent. In fact, for the Jewish people, it is a mitzvah—a command from God—to serve those who hate them. As commanded in Exodus 23:4–5: “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.”
The Jewish people consistently show compassion, even toward those who despise them. In the face of danger, Israeli soldiers risk their lives by stepping out of armored vehicles to assist the elderly and sick during evacuations.
Moreover, Israel’s compassion extends beyond helping Gazan residents evacuate; they also provide abundant food and medical assistance. While the world accuses the IDF of genocide, the reality is that they are following the teachings of Scripture, “heaping coals” on the heads of their enemies by feeding them and quenching their thirst. As Proverbs 25:21–22 states: “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”
Terrible at Getting the Job Done
This moral duty to treat enemies with compassion is in stark contrast to the accusations leveled against Israel.
If Israel were attempting to commit genocide, they would be remarkably inept. In fact, they would be the worst possible example of such an atrocity. If the wholesale destruction of life were truly their goal, they wouldn’t be warning civilians ahead of strikes or urging evacuations. They wouldn’t be assisting civilians in safely leaving conflict zones, nor would they be helping the elderly navigate in their wheelchairs. And let’s face it, 40,000 casualties, tragic as that number is, pales in comparison to the numbers of dead in real genocides committed in the world.
We have seen real examples of genocide throughout history and even today in parts of the world. The Nazis killed six million Jews. Turkey killed over one million Armenians and now wages a genocidal war against the Kurds. According to some estimates, the Japanese killed over 200,000 Chinese civilians in the rape of Nanjing alone. The Khmer Rouge was responsible for the slaughter of three million in Cambodia. In Bangladesh, Pakistani militias killed hundreds of thousands of Bengalis, and that seems to be getting underway again. The Rwandan Genocide claimed 800,000 lives. More recently, the genocidal Syrian civil war has killed over 600,000. Despite the very real atrocities unfolding in the Middle East, in Bangladesh, in Sudan, in Nigeria, and under certain regimes in Asia, the world’s attention remains riveted on falsely accusing Israel. No one protests the real genocides occurring in the world.
The genocide libel is merely the latest effort to vilify the Jewish people and perpetuate a never-ending cycle of baseless hatred. Colleges and social media have amplified these accusations, but the evidence against the allegations clearly exonerates Israel of the charge, even through the fog of war.
There is no genocide in Gaza. What is happening is called a war. It’s terrible. It’s tragic. And not one single Israeli wanted it to happen. It is a campaign to liberate hostages and dismantle terrorist infrastructure aimed at protecting the broader Israeli public in the future. The very integrity of the Jewish people—rooted in our faith and moral duty—forces our enemies to resort to lies and deceit. In the absence of truth, falsehood becomes their only weapon.
Yet we do not lose hope. Instead, we watch for Messiah, awaiting him every day. When he comes, he will administer justice in truth and righteousness, settling disputes for the nations and cutting through all the lies. Until then, we must continue to rely upon the God of Israel to defend us, even if the whole world turns against us. During this season, we recite Psalm 27 twice every day as we prepare for the fall holy days. We recite the psalm daily all the way through Sukkot, concluding on Simchat Torah, which happens to be the anniversary of the October 7 massacre.
Psalm 27 concludes with an emotional petition to God against the false accusations of our enemies and an appeal to the power of faith in the God of Israel:
Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (Psalm 27:12–14, emphasis mine)
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Security Council 9045th Meeting – Press Release (SC/14775), United Nations, October 2022. Available at: https://press.un.org/en/2022/sc14775.doc.htm
“New Research Shows Urban Warfare Eight Times More Deadly for Civilians in Syria and Iraq,” International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), June 2022. Available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/new-research-shows-urban-warfare-eight-times-more-deadly-civilians-syria-iraq
Israel’s war against Hamas posts lower civilian-to-terrorist casualty ratio than any in history, The Washington Times, April 18, 2024, https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/apr/18/israels-war-against-hamas-posts-lower-civilian-to-/
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