RSS
Answering the Genocide Charges: The World Is Not Listening
Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid make their way to the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, May 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The mainstreaming of the propaganda that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza is seemingly everywhere on the political, media, and academic spectra. The loud chorus of pro-Hamas demonstrators, who began this circus of hatred, have friends in high places.
Hardly a day passes without the charge of genocide against Israel being leveled by this foreign minister or that UN official, by media pundits and “strategic affairs experts,” or by a range of professors on hundreds of campuses. Now, even the Pope is suggesting that genocide charges should be “carefully investigated.” South Africa is doing the bidding of Hamas and its friends and supporters by bringing the charge to the International Court of Justice.
Beyond the mindless chatter of fellow travelers of the Palestinian narrative, the intention of Hamas and its Iranian handlers is clear: be loud and consistent enough to flip the switch on Israel by making it the victimizer, and not the Oct. 7 victim. Say it enough times and the general public, students at universities, leftist organizations of all stripes, and others will join the ranks — all the better to conceal the actual genocidal intentions of Hamas, the terrorist organization backed by Tehran.
Earlier this month, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on a powerful response to the blood libelers: in one week, 231 Gazans were evacuated to Israel’s Ramon International Airport, near Eilat, to board flights to the United Arab Emirates for medical treatment.
Among the evacuees were children and adults with chronic diseases. Several countries are now involved in this program.
The easiest, and most logical response to the genocide charge is to state what should be obvious: if Israel were seeking to commit genocide, it would have deployed its Air Force to do so. My guess is that in two or three days, that goal would have been accomplished. But Israel has not committed genocide, nor does it intend to. Israel does not commit genocide.
And “intent” is the key word, which is included in the UN’s own definition of genocide. There is no wish to destroy, or to use another frequently used charge, “ethnically cleanse,” Gaza or the West Bank. The objective is to eliminate Hamas as the actual genocidal enemy it is. Hamas’ venal war objective is to cause as many Palestinian civilian casualties as possible by using its own people as human shields. Many are surely there under the penalty of death by Hamas itself.
Raphael Lemkin, an international lawyer specializing in human rights, coined the term “genocide.” He was born in Poland and lucky enough to make it to the United States before the Holocaust. Lemkin lost 49 family members in the Holocaust. He labored for years to bring about an international convention on genocide, knocking on doors and lobbying incessantly to have the UN adopt such a document.
Journalist Ira Stoll, writing in The Algemeiner, broke a vitally important story last week on how an anti-Israel group, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, has appropriated the name and is now, among other things, calling for the indictment of Israel’s prime minister “for the crime of genocide” and “expressions of genocidal intent.”
Stoll interviewed members of Lemkin’s family, who are outraged over the institute’s charges against the Jewish State, and the cynical misuse of Lemkin’s name to achieve its objectives.
Beyond that, the basic answers to the genocide charge remain the same: the Israel Defense Forces’ use of text messages, e-mails, personal phone calls, leafleting, and the “knock on the roof” explosives to warn civilians to leave a building or neighborhood, in advance of military action is, according to a report issued after Oct. 7 by the Lieber Institute at West Point, “the gold standard” of warnings practice.
The report states: “…as a matter of policy, the IDF typically exceeds what the law requires.”
The Lieber Institute report echoes what West Point’s Chair of Urban Warfare Studies, John Spencer, has been saying from day one. It was Spencer who early on, called out those who promote inflated and unsubstantiated Gaza (Hamas) Health Ministry figures on civilian casualties in the war in Gaza.
Spencer, acknowledged as perhaps the world’s leading authority on urban warfare, has said from the outset: “Under no definition is Israel committing genocide.” He’s further stated, “…there is no targeting of civilians.” Indeed, the West Point expert, now lecturing on the topic in the public sphere, titles his talks: “The Myth of Genocide in Gaza.”
No doubt, the IDF’s exemplary efforts to warn civilians have led to its loss of the element of surprise on many occasions. Last month, I met a former IDF military judge and prosecutor, and we discussed the issue. He has been “in the room” when split-second decisions needed to be made whether or not to carry out a military strike on terrorists, if harm to civilians might be a consequence of military action. He confirmed the “abort” option that is often used when non-combatants might be unintended victims.
Yet, the genocide blood libel persists — and grows. As do its companion charges, that famine, starvation, and thirst among Gazans is widespread. Each time the issue is raised, it seems, Israel needs to bring out the charts and tables to show that hundreds of relief trucks carrying aid are entering Gaza, but that Hamas corruption — and especially, its heavy skimming of goods intended for civilians, often at the point of a gun — invariably winds up diverting the assistance away from the civilian population.
Indeed, many thought this issue had been dealt with months ago on two tracks. The Famine Review Committee (an international organization comprised of nutrition and food experts), after having first suggested that a famine was “imminent” in Gaza, later said that the charge was “not plausible.” And the chief economist of the UN’s World Food Program, Arif Husain, also reversed himself, saying simply that there was no data to support the famine allegation.
So we are left with the facts. Israel and the IDF have borne the brunt of a modern-day blood libel punctuated and trumpeted by diplomats, news analysts, ideologically myopic academics, and social media users, 24/7.
Ferrying your enemy’s sick — in the midst of an existential war — to receive medical attention in friendly countries ought to be commended by peace-loving people everywhere.
It is not, and that is an unforgivable shame.
Daniel S. Mariaschin is the CEO of B’nai B’rith International. As the organization’s top executive officer, Mariaschin directs and supervises B’nai B’rith programs, activities and staff around the world.
The post Answering the Genocide Charges: The World Is Not Listening first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
UN Data: Nearly 90 Percent of Gaza Aid ‘Intercepted’ Before Reaching Intended Recipients
Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The vast majority of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is intercepted before reaching its intended civilian recipients, newly released data from the United Nations shows, fueling growing concerns among Israeli officials and international observers about systemic aid diversion by armed groups in the enclave.
According to figures tracking humanitarian assistance for Gaza from May 19 to Aug. 1 of this year, out of the 2,010 UN trucks (carrying 27,434 tons of aid) collected from any of the crossings along Gaza’s perimeter, only 260 trucks (4,111 tons) reached their intended destination. That equates to a staggering 87 percent of all trucks and 85 percent of all tonnage of aid being stolen and not getting into the hands of civilians at the intended destination.
The UN’s own data, posted on the website of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) as part of the “UN2720 Monitoring & Tracking Dashboard,” reveals that almost all the aid — 1,753 trucks (23,353 tons) — has been “intercepted, either peacefully by hungry people or forcefully by armed actors” while being transported inside Gaza over the past few months.
No breakdown is provided of how much aid has been seized by armed groups versus civilians.
The data also shows that much of the UN aid offloaded at any of the crossings along Gaza’s perimeter has not been collected to enter the war-torn enclave during this period. Out of 40,012 tons of aid (2,134 trucks) being delivered to the crossings, just 27,434 tons (2010 trucks) have been picked up. It’s unclear what exactly led to this discrepancy, with issues such as poor internal coordination and security concerns potentially delaying aid shipments.
The UN2720 mechanism, created earlier this year, was intended to boost transparency by verifying and tracking aid shipments via QR codes at key checkpoints. The system monitors each pallet from offloading to delivery and flags any discrepancies in a centralized database.
Israel has facilitated the entry of thousands of aid trucks into Gaza, with Israeli officials condemning the UN and other international aid agencies for their alleged failure to distribute supplies, noting much of the humanitarian assistance has been stalled at border crossings or stolen by the ruling Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
On Sunday, Israel announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Arab and European countries began airdropping supplies into the enclave.
However, the UN and several Western governments have increased pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, blaming the Jewish state for what they described as a hunger crisis and insufficient amounts of aid reaching civilians.
Israeli officials have said that claims of mass starvation in Gaza are false and being amplified by not only Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, but also international humanitarian organizations and media organizations to manipulate global opinion.
RSS
Dutch Nurse Under Police Investigation for Alleged Threats Against Israeli Patients
Pro-Hamas demonstrators march in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. Photo: Reuters/Romy Arroyo Fernandez
A Muslim nurse in the Netherlands is under police investigation after allegedly threatening to administer lethal injections to Israeli patients — an incident that has sparked public outrage and intensified fears over rising antisemitism and patient safety in Europe’s health-care systems.
The comments were widely circulated by Israeli influencer Max Veifer, who also exposed a recent case in Australia where two nurses were suspended for two years over antisemitic threats and remarks.
In a video shared on social media, Veifer denounced Dutch-Muslim nurse Batisma Chayat Sa’id’s remarks as a serious violation of medical ethics.
“Someone like that should be prosecuted and barred from treating patients. Imagine your grandparents being cared for by someone so hateful,” the Israeli influencer said.
Zorgwekkende dreiging op Instagram: Nederlandse verpleegkundige is bereid om “zionisten een extra spuitje te geven” en bereid “zionisten te laten sterven binnen de gezondheidszorg.” pic.twitter.com/xTnXNi1wH5
— CIDI
(@CIDI_nieuws) July 29, 2025
The incident was sparked when an Israeli-Dutch woman living in the Netherlands commented on a social media post by far-right politician Geert Wilders, who cautioned about what he called the country’s looming radical Islamization by 2050.
A social media account belonging to the Muslim nurse also commented on the post, claiming it would happen by 2027, to which the Israeli woman responded, “Your dream is our nightmare. But people wake up from nightmares. Our Netherlands, our Israel.”
“Nothing belongs to you! My grandparents built the Netherlands. I was born and raised here, and I will do everything in my power to help this country get rid of the Zionist cancer,” the nurse further replied.
“You know what I’m doing with Zionists — giving an extra injection as a nurse specialist. Letting them go to heaven!” Sa’id continued.
When the Israeli woman threatened to report her, Sa’id replied: “Haha, try your best! I don’t have a boss — I’m the boss! All Zionists can die, inside healthcare and beyond, and I’m happy to help with that!”
Shortly after her posts gained widespread attention, Sa’id deleted all her social media accounts, insisting that her identity had been stolen and that she was not responsible for such comments.
On Wednesday, local police detained Sa’id for questioning, but she denied the allegations, asserting that someone had impersonated her online.
“It seems someone is pretending to be me, posting false and defamatory statements,” the nurse said. “I want to make it clear — I hold no hatred toward Jews or any people, race, religion, or identity.”
Even after announcing plans to file an identity theft complaint, she faces skepticism from authorities, who have assigned a digital forensics expert to scrutinize her online accounts.
Last year, an account under her name also posted threatening messages aimed at Jewish people, including “Your time will come — don’t spare anyone,” and another in which she described the burial of Israelis in Gaza as “a dream come true.”
Earlier this year, two Australian nurses — Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh — gained international attention after they were seen in an online video posing as doctors and making inflammatory statements during a night-shift conversation with Veifer.
The widely circulated footage, which sparked international outrage and condemnation, showed Abu Lebdeh declaring she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and instead kill them, while Nadir made a throat-slitting gesture and claimed he had already killed many.
Following the incident, New South Wales authorities in Australia suspended their nursing registrations and banned them from working as nurses nationwide.
They were also charged with federal offenses, including threatening violence against a group and using a carriage service to threaten, menace, and harass. If convicted, they face up to 22 years in prison.
RSS
French Authorities Halt Gaza Evacuations After Palestinian Student Expelled Over Viral Antisemitic Posts
Anti-Israel demonstration supporting the BDS movement, Paris France, June 8, 2024. Photo: Claire Serie / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
French authorities have halted evacuations from Gaza after a Palestinian student was expelled from the prestigious Sciences Po Lille and placed under investigation, following the viral circulation of hundreds of antisemitic posts praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and calling for the murder of Jews.
The incident drew widespread condemnation and public outrage, prompting French ministers to demand answers and call for an investigation into how the Gazan student was allowed into the country in the first place.
On Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that all further evacuations from Gaza would be suspended pending the completion of the investigation into the student’s background.
After receiving a scholarship, 25-year-old Nour Atalla, a Palestinian from Gaza, arrived in the country in early July to begin her master’s degree in law and communications this fall at the Institute of Political Science in Lille, northern France.
Barrot confirmed that discussions are ongoing about the student’s possible return to Gaza, making clear that she must leave the country pending the investigation’s outcome.
“She has no place at Sciences Po, nor in France,” the top French diplomat said.
On Thursday, local authorities reported that a criminal investigation is underway into Atalla, with the public prosecutor in Lille confirming the case was opened for “apology of terrorism, apology of crimes against humanity using an online public communication service.”
Barrot admitted lapses in the screening process that allowed her entry and has mandated a comprehensive review of everyone evacuated from Gaza to France.
“The security checks, carried out by the French services and Israeli authorities, did not detect the antisemitic content,” the French diplomat said.
Atalla is one of 292 Gazans admitted to the country following a court ruling that opened the door for Gazans to seek refugee status based on their nationality.
She was offered a place at Sciences Po Lille University based on “academic excellence” and following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem.
On Wednesday, the university announced it had revoked Atalla’s enrollment after hundreds of her past antisemitic and violent social media posts went viral, sparking widespread condemnation from political leaders and members of the local Jewish community.
In several of these posts, she glorified Hitler, praised Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, called for the execution of Israeli hostages and the killing of Jews, and expressed support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
In one post, Atalla shared a video of Hitler giving a speech about Jews, writing, “Kill their young and their old. Show them no mercy … And kill them everywhere.”
In another post shared on Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, she wrote, “We must do everything we can to match the bloodshed — as much as possible.”