Hidden Warning Signs: A Genocide Scholar Speaks Out on Gaza

[Credit...Photo illustration by Kristie Bailey/The New York Times; source images from Iryna Veklich, Anadolu/Getty Images]

In an earnest and powerful opinion piece for The New York Times, renowned genocide scholar Omer Bartov shares a chilling realisation: after a lifetime studying genocide, he’s seen one unfolding in Gaza—and it matches the unmistakable signs he’s always taught to look for Reddit+14Democracy Now!+14Facebook+14.

Bartov, who spent his career examining the Holocaust and other mass atrocities, explains how Israel’s actions escalated beyond warfare. By May 2024, what began with forced evacuations in Rafah transformed into a systematic demolition of entire neighbourhoods. With around 70% of Gaza’s buildings destroyed and roughly one million people displaced to the démographically devastated Mawasi area, Bartov concluded the intent was beyond military strategy—it struck him as “a consistent implementation of genocidal intent” Democracy Now!Common Dreams.

He draws attention to alarming official rhetoric: leaders comparing Gazans to Amalekites—biblical enemies who “must be destroyed”—and calls for turning parts of Gaza “into rubble.” Add to this targeted starvation, forced displacement, destruction of vital infrastructure, and mass death among children, and Bartov asserts that this crosses the threshold into genocide Common DreamsWikipediaFinancial Times.

In short, genocide isn’t merely killing—it's the deliberate act of destroying a people as a group, using tactics intended to break their social and cultural existence Wikipedia+7Common Dreams+7Financial Times+7.

[Credit...Jehad Alshrafi/Associated Press]

Critics—like Holocaust historian Norman Goda and Alan Dershowitz—warn against labeling Israel’s actions genocide, arguing it dilutes the term and may fuel antisemitism Common Dreams+1New York Post+1. But a growing chorus of genocide experts—such as Shmuel Lederman, Raz Segal, Martin Shaw, Melanie O’Brien—and major human rights organisations all now echo Bartov's conclusion Democracy Now!+14Reddit+14Wikipedia+14.

What makes Bartov’s perspective especially poignant is his background: a lifelong student of genocide, a Holocaust educator, and once a Zionist who served in the IDF. His acknowledgement isn't ideological—it’s academic, rooted in historical lessons and shaped by first-hand study YouTube+12Wikipedia+12Common Dreams+12.

He also raises a concerning consequence: the refusal of Holocaust scholars and Western governments to name the current crisis as genocide could set back the field itself. If this atrocity goes unnamed, it threatens the “Never Again” vow at the heart of Holocaust remembrance, potentially hollowing the very moral guardrails it created Common Dreams.

[Credit...Mahmoud Issa/Reuters]

This is no longer simply theoretical. Facts on the ground are stark: over 58,000 Palestinians killed, nearly a third of whom were children; more than 174,000 buildings destroyed; hundreds of thousands displaced; and basic services wiped out—Water. Schools. Hospitals. Cultural life. Gone Common DreamsWikipediaFinancial Times.

Bartov warns that if Gaza is to remain uninhabitable, with no territory left for Palestinians to rebuild, the crime becomes irreversible—and calling it genocide is the only way to activate international responsibility to prevent and punish, under the Genocide Convention.

[Credit...Saher Alghorra for The New York Times]

Poll:
Do you believe identifying the Gaza crisis as genocide would help the international community act more decisively?

Yes, naming it matters
No, it clouds conflict resolution
Neutral—depends on coordinated action
Unsure

Read also: “Seeking bulldozer drivers to demolish Gaza: how a genocide is being outsourced” explores this pattern of destruction in more depth and context on our blog.

This isn’t just words—it’s a warning from the world’s experts. For me, hearing a genocide scholar sound this alarm marks a breaking point. We must listen—if not for Gaza today, then for humanity’s promise of “Never Again.”

Tags: #GazaGenocide #OmerBartov #NeverAgain #HumanRights #DailySouthAfricanPulse

Sources: