It matters what language we use. It matters when it comes to the truth, to the news, and to the legal repercussions that should be there.
It matters what language we use. It matters when it comes to the truth, to the news, and to the legal repercussions that should be there.
Don’t get me wrong – there is a humanitarian crisis, however it is the direct result of an orchestrated ethnic cleansing. The humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in Gaza is purely because of the genocide being conducted by the Israeli state against the Palestinian people.
As we watch world leaders and politicians spinelessly call for aid amid a “humanitarian crisis” unfolding in Gaza, the connotations of this phrase are deeply troubling.
By only speaking of a humanitarian crisis, we are made to think as if there is a natural disaster in Gaza, or some sickness or disease, or some vague crisis that needs thoughts and prayers, instead of stating what it is: a catastrophe caused by an oppressive state conducting war without limits.
Gaza is facing a concentrated, strategic, organized ethnic cleansing. This is a genocide.
The standard, Oxford Dictionary definition of genocide is as follows: “The deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race.”
The United Nations defines genocide as: “Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: a) Killing members of the group; b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
Genocide is classified as a crime under international law – and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) also states “that whether or not States have ratified the Genocide Convention, they are all bound as a matter of law by the principle that genocide is a crime prohibited under international law”.
By looking at these definitions, it becomes clear that the state of Israel is – by definition – conducting a genocidal war against the Palestinians. And as world leaders and states continue to back Israel and offer weapons and support, it becomes even more clear that it is not just Israel conducting genocide. Nations across the world should be tried alongside Israel in equal measure for their part in participating in a genocide.
It matters what language we use. It matters when it comes to the truth, to the news, and to the legal repercussions that should be there.
We need to call out our leaders and politicians when neutral language like “humanitarian crisis” is used in isolation to describe Gaza and Palestine. Because while humanitarian aid must be upheld and urgently distributed in Gaza, we mustn’t forget why this aid is needed in the first place.
It is because of a genocide.
While we often say history is written by the victors – let us hope that history will remember this genocide in all of its truth. And let us hope that in its truth, the future will turn towards hope and freedom for Palestine.
