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Israel's Conduct in Gaza Does Not Resemble Genocide

David Bernstein | 5.11.2026 9:16 AM

Frankly, I find the charge of genocide against Israel to be obviously absurd, one of those claims that true believers insist upon precisely because the claim is so implausible that promoting it is valuable to show you are a true believer. Hence the pressure by anti-Israel activists for everyone who purports to be "pro-Palestinian" to accept the genocide claim, or be excluded from the club.

Nevertheless, because the genocide lie is so common in public discourse over Gaza, I thought it would be useful to write a piece debunking the claim, though I wasn't sure where I would place it. Serendipitously, Skeptic Magazine solicited an article for me, giving me the opportunity to present my case in about four thousand words, with footnotes.

I also wrote a much shorter version for my Times of Israel blog. And an even shorter synopsis follows below:

The accusation that Israel is committing "genocide" in Gaza has become commonplace in protests, university activism, social media campaigns, and international legal rhetoric. But one striking feature of the debate........

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