The Gaza genocide lie isn’t just wrong—it’s deadly

As I scrolled through some of the most popular pro-Palestinian Twitter profiles, seeing their ecstasy at images of residential neighborhoods in Tel Aviv being bombed, I realized the true danger and malicious intent behind the greatest blood libel of the 21st century: the so-called “Genocide in Gaza.”

Accusing Israelis of committing genocide is clearly absurd to anyone honest enough to adhere to the actual definition of genocide and to confront the realities of the war in Gaza. Therefore, I will spare you the details—it’s a straightforward rebuttal. The most concerning aspect of this libel is not its factual incorrectness; the architects of this deception have a far more insidious goal. Labeling Israel as genocidal isn’t meant to end an actual genocide—they are fully aware that no genocide exists. Instead, the intent is to systematically dehumanize Israelis and delegitimize Zionism, the Jewish liberation and de-colonization movement, ensuring the world has no qualms about targeting Jews or Israeli Jews specifically.

Why not simply call this an unjust war and argue that Israel should find alternative means to rescue its hostages and deal with the threat posed by Hamas? Why is it necessary to resort to such demonic rhetoric, using the term “genocide”—as terrible as the war undoubtedly is? The deliberate choice of such inflammatory language serves a purpose far beyond mere criticism of Israel’s actions; it sets the stage for moral outrage that justifies further violence and hatred against Israelis.

What does this dangerous rhetoric yield? The same people accusing Israel of genocide when civilians tragically die in the complexities of war are the very individuals who openly celebrate Iranian rockets targeting residential buildings and applaud the murder of two Israeli diplomats outside the Jewish museum in Washington, D.C.

The pro-Palestinian movement, much like the Palestinian leadership itself, is not genuinely invested in Palestinian independence but rather fixated on the destruction of the Jewish state—a goal impossible without the annihilation of Israeli Jews. History repeatedly demonstrates that moral groundwork must first be laid to enable such atrocities. The genocide libel serves as this foundational justification.

This accusation is arguably the most potent and dangerous blood libel in the anti-Israel movement. It is intended as the ultimate justification for violence against Jews worldwide, particularly those who dare to believe that the Jewish people deserve a state of their own in their historic homeland.

It’s not surprising to me that alt-right figures like Candace Owens, Ian Carroll, and many others have wholeheartedly adopted the genocide blood libel. After all, the far-right has always looked for a way to demonize Jews. Demonizing Israeli Jews mirrors precisely the propaganda that was widely disseminated across Europe in the years leading up to the Holocaust. Just as the Nazis sought to portray Jews as a moral defect, an illness infecting humanity—today’s accusations of genocide against Israel similarly seek to cast Israelis as a uniquely evil human mutation. This portrayal serves one sinister purpose: to justify future atrocities against the eight million Jews living in Israel and countless other Jews worldwide.

Therefore, we must never back down in confronting the genocide accusations leveled against Israel regarding Gaza. Even if the term is innocently repeated by individuals who genuinely believe it, their participation unwittingly supports the most dangerous blood libel of our era. Even if we are actually opposed to the continuous war in Gaza, we must combat the blanket “genocide” language relentlessly—not merely because it’s a lie (there are countless lies about Israelis and Jews), but because its creation is steeped in malicious intent whose end goal is to justify raining hundreds of ballistic missiles onto civilians and gunning down Jews in the streets.