How to Counter Accusations of Genocide Against Israel

Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy and a vice-president of the Coalition for Jewish Values, writes that accusations of genocide against Israel are rooted in deep-seated Jew hatred and a desire to delegitimize the state. He notes that the charge appeared before Israel’s October offensive, suggesting it is a pre-emptive propaganda tool. Pruzansky highlights Hamas’s practice of embedding weapons among civilians, using human shields, and restricting aid, arguing these actions blur the line between combatants and non-combatants.

He dismisses statistical defenses such as civilian-to-combatant ratios as ineffective in the emotional battlefield of public opinion. To refute the libel, he proposes exposing the logical flaw of equating any civilian death in war with genocide, pointing to historical genocides and other conflicts. The piece concludes with a Psalm quotation pleading for divine protection from deceitful speech.