J’accuse, Ms. Davidova

On August 18, VRT NWS (Belgian Flemish public broadcaster) published an interview with Amnesty staff member Eva Davidova (Amnesty Flanders). In it, she repeated several points, including three key claims: that Israel is “starving” the population of Gaza, that a “red line” has been crossed, and that 17 testimonies from Gaza prove the situation. Her statements deserve a response. Not because the facts she presents are convincing, but because they perfectly illustrate how Amnesty International has operated for years: with slogans, half-truths, and an obsessive fixation on Israel. A response is therefore warranted. 

Dear Ms. Davidova, 

In your interview with VRT NWS, you reiterated three slogans: starvation, a “red line,” and the use of 17 testimonies from Gaza. Allow me to respond, point by point. The title of my reply will make sense to you—I think Émile Zola would have approved. 

You speak of starvation. But do you hear yourself? That same refrain has been repeated since the start of the war, constantly echoed by Hamas and its mouthpieces. Is daily life in Gaza difficult? Undoubtedly. But starvation? While cars still drive, smartphones are charged, social media functions, cigarettes circulate on the black market? While Hamas hoards tons of food for itself and engages in plundering? While the images of allegedly starving Gazans are nowhere near comparable to the visuals of freed Israelis, who were genuinely starved by that same Hamas? Why are you presenting Hamas propaganda as “facts”? Why does Amnesty consistently prefer exaggeration and caricature over numbers and verification? 

Furthermore, you dare to claim that Israel has crossed a red line. No, Ms. Davidova. The only red line that has truly and unmistakably been crossed was the horrific pogrom of Hamas on October 7. The mass slaughter of innocent Israelis, the murder of women and babies, the grotesque sexual violence, the torture, the abduction of hundreds of civilians who have now been trapped in Gaza’s tunnels for almost two years. That is where humanity itself was torn apart. Why do you remain silent on this? Why do you dismiss this crime—the largest outburst of antisemitic violence since the Holocaust—so easily? Is that Amnesty’s “human rights” lens? 

Next comes the 17 testimonies from Gaza. Seventeen, Ms. Davidova?! Out of a population of over 2 million. Do you really think this is representative? Or do you hope no one will ask that question? Every scientist, every researcher knows this is meaningless. These testimonies could easily have been selected by Hamas, or even chosen by Amnesty itself to serve a pre-determined narrative. Why present anecdotes as evidence? Is that your idea of human rights work, or is it the propaganda machine of Hamas that Amnesty eagerly amplifies? 

But in a way, it is consistent. Your statements fit a pattern we have observed for decades: Amnesty obsessively targets Israel while simultaneously ignoring or minimizing Hamas atrocities. Where is your outrage over billions in aid that disappeared into tunnels and weapons rather than schools and hospitals? Where is your report on Hamas using its own population as human shields? Where is your investigation into the torture and executions of Palestinians by Hamas itself? Or does a Palestinian human right only count if Israel can be blamed? 

My Accusation 

Ms. Davidova, you claim to speak in the name of human rights, yet you abuse the term. You spread propaganda, you repeat slogans, and you select stories that fit your anti-Israel—though I hesitate to say antisemitic—narrative. You ignore or minimize the October 7 pogrom. You remain silent on the hostages. You remain silent on Hamas. And yet, you dare to accuse Israel of crossing a “red line.” 

I turn the question around: which red line are you crossing, Ms. Davidova, when you ignore the greatest antisemitic bloodbath of our century, and prefer to spread the propaganda of a terrorist organization? 

Human rights, you say? No. This is not human rights work. This is an attack on the truth. This is an attack on Israel. This is an attack on the Jewish people. 

It is time for Amnesty International to return to basics: objectivity, numbers, verification, and honesty. Allow me to provide some examples, which you will likely dismiss because they do not come from your usual sources: between August 10 and 17, 1,981 trucks of aid entered the Gaza Strip. On August 17 alone, 319 trucks arrived. How many of these aid deliveries, do you think, Ms. Davidova, reached the remaining hostages? Likely very few, and not because of raids on aid convoys, such as recent incidents by Hamas fighters disguised as World Central Kitchen staff. No, because they are the ones crossing the red line, day after day. 

Of course, you may wish to bring up the case of Marah Zohry, but you know very well that this young woman, unfortunately, was already ill beforehand. You also know that, at Italy’s request, she—like many other genuinely sick Gazans—is repatriated to third countries, with the full support of Israel. And this is just one example where real figures actually make a difference. 

It is not my place to explain Israel’s efforts to maintain water supply as effectively as possible. Nor is it my role to instruct you to request official figures from COGAT. I am, for example, referring to the Al-Mawasi pipeline, facilitated by Israel (yes, it is in Egypt; yes, Qatar mediated, but that is irrelevant, Ms. Davidova). There are countless such examples, but perhaps you and Amnesty International should take the effort to consult COGAT—and scrutinize their figures. Likewise, you should examine the numbers Hamas feeds you. 

Do not forget that Hamas leaders collectively possess assets far exceeding international aid to Gaza—yet they choose to let their people suffer in tunnels and starve, while diverting international funds to weapons, tunnels, and terror. Do you still dare to speak of “Israeli starvation,” while the true culprits live in luxury above their own population? 

In any case, figures or no figures, anyone truly concerned about the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis must dare to name Hamas as the primary culprit of this suffering. As long as Amnesty refuses, it is not a defender of human rights—it is a promoter of propaganda. 

J’accuse. 

(article on VRT NWS: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2025/08/18/amnesty-international-israel-hongert-palestijnen-in-gaza-doelb/ , consulted 18/08/2025)