By Marek Zabriskie
Israeli-American historian Omer Bartov, the Dean’s Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University, has publicly stated that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.[1] It is a stark assertion, but one he describes as supported by the facts on the ground.
Professor Bartov, who was born in Israel, served in the IDF, and spent the first half of his life there, has said that arriving at the conclusion that Israel is committing genocide was painful but unavoidable.[1]
He cites Israel’s order for over a million Palestinians to evacuate the city of Rafah and relocate to an area lacking basic infrastructure, followed by the complete destruction of Rafah by the IDF.[8]
The Israeli government stated that the objective was to combat Hamas and free hostages, but Bartov said he found little evidence to support this explanation. Instead, he documented widespread destruction of civilian homes and infrastructure.
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has killed 59,000 Palestinians, including 17,000 children.[2] Another 115,000 Palestinians have been wounded, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.
Gaza now has more people missing limbs than any other country in the world, a situation that humanitarian groups have described as both devastating and immoral.[3]
The IDF has also killed 1,400 aid workers, including 237 United Nations employees. In addition 186 journalists have been killed.[4] At the same time, severe restrictions on aid have left hundreds of thousands of Palestinians — including infants — facing hunger and malnutrition.
Reports describe Palestinians being moved from one designated “safe zone” to another, only to face attacks when they attempt to secure food for their families at aid stations.[5] More than 100 Palestinians were reportedly shot in a single day last weekend. Observers say incidents like this defy the established rules of war.
Israeli off icials have acknowledged civilian casualties and promised investigations, but outcomes have rarely been made public. Humanitarian organizations and human rights groups continue to call for accountability and an end to the high civilian death toll.
American taxpayers provide over $3 billion annually in aid to Israel. Since October 7, 2023, additional emergency military assistance has totaled $18 billion. [6] Meanwhile, U.S. military support for Ukraine — which faces a full-scale invasion by Russia — has been essentially eliminated.[7]
During World War II, much of the Holocaust remained hidden from the Allies until the liberation of concentration camps. By contrast, what is occurring in Gaza is widely visible, despite significant restrictions on journalists and aid groups. Bartov and others argue that the scale of destruction and civilian impact conflicts with the principles on which both Judaism and Israel were founded.
Bartov also notes that the most widely accepted definition of genocide comes from the 1948 United Nations Convention, which identifies the intent to destroy a particular group — and actions taken to achieve that destruction — as constituting genocide.[9]
Hamas’ charter calls for the eradication of the state of Israel. This is evil. Hamas must be stopped, but treating every Palestinian as a Hamas terrorist is equally evil and immoral.
Few question Israel’s need and right to respond to Hamas’ horrific October 7th attack. Hamas slaughtered 1,250 innocent Israelis and kidnapped 251 more.[10] But the response of the Netanyahu government has been completely disproportionate.
Many would argue that what the IDF has done is far worse than what Hamas did. Since the war broke out, Israel has destroyed over 90 percent of Gaza’s residential buildings and virtually every school, university, museum, hospital, mosque, and church in Gaza.[11]
Much of this is not about attacking Hamas or freeing hostages. It’s an effort to erase the culture, religion, and history of Palestinians who have lived here for thousands of years. Some Israeli and American Jews claim that the Palestinians are an imaginary group, who do not exist as a people.
One Israeli living in Greenwich told me that one of his closest Israeli friends spoke often about the need for a two state solution. “Now he says, ‘Kill every Palestinian. Kill them all!’”
This is a cancer that spreads on both sides as they demonize each other and view the other as the enemy and as subhuman, which makes it easier to slaughter one another.
President Trump speaks about acquiring Gaza and turning it into a Mediterranean resort. This is like Putin suggesting that Kiev be leveled and transformed into Disney World for Russians, Chinese, and North Koreans.
Unfortunately, those who speak out are incorrectly deemed antisemitic. Since October 7th, the IDF and settlers have killed 940 Palestinians in the West Bank.[12]
The Netanyahu government permitted Qatar to donate $400 million to Hamas, a decision that critics argue helped prevent the Palestinian Authority from governing the West Bank and Gaza.[13] This policy, combined with ongoing settlement expansion in the West Bank, has deepened divisions among Palestinian leadership and created a patchwork of territories often described as resembling Swiss cheese — a landscape that many believe cannot sustain a viable state. These actions have drawn serious moral and legal criticism.
There are historic reasons for Palestinian anger. The 1948 Nakba, or Catastrophe, during which numerous Palestinian villages were depopulated, left enduring resentment and grief. [14] Many Palestinians were forcibly displaced — an estimated 750,000 people — to make way for incoming Jewish refugees. This event remains one of the central grievances in the conflict today.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has pledged to spend millions of dollars to support candidates in U.S. primaries who vote consistently in Israel’s favor, and to oppose those who do not.[15] This level of influence has led to criticism that American policy debates on Israel lack diversity of viewpoint; such influence from any foreign government would provoke concern if applied elsewhere.
Consequently, U.S. politicians sometimes compete to demonstrate their support for Israel. At the same time, Israeli settlement growth in the West Bank and ongoing military actions in Gaza have intensified scrutiny and moral debate, both domestically and internationally.
A rabbi friend of mine has suggested that those who oppose Israeli actions should also call attention to injustices in Yemen, Syria, and Sudan. Yet Israel holds unique significance: it is the land sacred to the three Abrahamic faiths — Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
In 1900, more than 10 percent of the population of Palestine was Christian. Today, that number has fallen to about 1 percent, as Palestinian Christians face displacement, property seizures, and the hardships of checkpoints and restricted movement.[16] Many describe feeling like second- or third-class citizens in their own homeland.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, reflecting on his visits, once said that the conditions faced by Palestinians under Israeli control were worse than what he experienced under apartheid in South Africa.[17]
The remaining Christians in the Holy Land are almost all Palestinian. For us in the Anglican tradition, they are part of our spiritual family. I have led three pilgrimages to Israel and listened to both Palestinians and Israelis describe their struggles and hopes. Both peoples have powerful stories to tell.
For two billion Christians worldwide, Israel is the Holy Land — the most sacred place on earth. It is where Jesus was born, ministered, died, and was resurrected. On my last pilgrimage, our group had a private audience with Archbishop Hosam Naoum, who oversees the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. He is a kind, gentle, articulate and impressive leader.
Christ Church Greenwich hosted him at our church in April of 2024. He preached and spoke in our Sunday Forum. Israel is sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It must be shared.
What can be done? Speak out. Read, learn, and write your congressmen and senators and to the White House now. Demand that this ghastly war end. Insist that the Palestinian people be fed, given water, health care treatment, and that their homes be rebuilt. Demand that the United States stop funding Israel.
If this war continues, it will only create generations of terrorists on both sides. Israel will become a pariah state, and the genocide that is being committed will go down in history as Israel’s worst hour.
As always, we can pray. We can pray for the children in Gaza and the children in Israel, for families who mourn and for those who live in fear. We can pray for leaders to find the courage to seek peace rather than vengeance, and for the wisdom of nations to choose compassion over indifference. Above all, we can pray that the Holy Land — sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike — may one day be a place where all its people can live in safety and dignity.
Editor’s Footnotes: 1 Public statements by Omer Bartov, July 2025, reported in New York Times Opinion and academic interviews. 2 Gaza Health Ministry figures reported by Associated Press and The Guardian, July 2025. 3 TIME Magazine reporting on Gaza amputee crisis, July 2025. 4 United Nations and Committee to Protect Journalists casualty data, June–July 2025. 5 The Guardian and ABC News reports on civilians killed near aid zones, July 2025. 6 Council on Foreign Relations analysis of U.S. military aid to Israel, 2025. 7 U.S. Congressional budget allocations for Israel vs. Ukraine, 2023–2025, reported by AP and NPR. 8 Reporting on Rafah evacuations and destruction, The Guardian, July 2025. 9 United Nations Genocide Convention (1948) definition of genocide. 10 Figures on October 7 attacks and hostages, multiple international news agencies, 2023–2025. 11 The Guardian reporting on destruction of residential and cultural sites in Gaza, 2025. 12 West Bank casualty figurespost‑October 7, reported by UN OCHA, July 2025. 13 Qatar donations to Hamas and Israeli policy decisions, reported by Haaretz and Times of Israel. 14 Historical accounts of the 1948 Nakba, documented in UN archives and scholarly works. 15 Reporting on AIPAC campaign spending and influence in U.S. elections, 2025. 16 Christian population data in Palestine and Holy Land demographics, multiple studies 1900–2025. 17 Statements by Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Israeli policies, 2014 and later.
