Every generation tells itself the same story: We have learned the lessons of history. We are wiser than those who came before us. That could never happen here.

History tells a different story.

Violence rarely begins with violence. It begins with words. Before people are attacked, they are vilified. Before they are excluded, they are portrayed as dangerous or uniquely evil. Long before the first blow is struck, language prepares the ground.

That is why New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s video last week accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of genocide demands a clear response.

Genocide is not a synonym for a brutal war, civilian suffering, or even grave errors in the conduct of war. It requires the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The accusation therefore turns not simply on the tragic consequences of war, but on an intent to destroy a people.

Critics cite inflammatory remarks by individual Israeli officials, some stripped of context, as proof of genocidal intent. They are not proof of the policy or intent of the State of Israel.

The broader evidence does not establish such an intent. Israel entered the war after Hamas massacred civilians, took hostages, and promised further attacks. It has consistently identified the defeat of Hamas and the return of the hostages as its objectives, while stating that its war is not against the Palestinian people. It has issued evacuation warnings and agreed to humanitarian pauses that enabled mass polio-vaccination campaigns for children in........

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