A Toxic Cocktail of Antisemitism and Hamas Propaganda
Accusing a country of genocide — the gravest crime humanity has defined — has real-world consequences. This isn’t just rhetoric; it’s jet fuel for a global surge in Jew-hate.
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This is a guest essay written by Lucy Tabrizi, who writes about politics, philosophy, religion, ethics, and history.
You can also listen to the podcast version of this essay on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, YouTube, and Spotify.
The other night, while watching one of my favourite science communicators on YouTube, he casually dropped the phrase “genocide in Gaza” — as if it were as obvious as gravity or the sky being blue.
I respect this guy — he’s all about evidence and logic — so, I paused. Had I missed something? Was a genocide actually unfolding?
I consider myself someone who follows evidence, challenges biases, and adjusts my views when the facts demand it. So, I’ve revisited this claim more times than I can count — especially now, with renewed determination, after a beloved YouTuber joined the list of believers. If the evidence were there, it would make life easier; the outrage would seem justified, and hey, I’d probably have more friends.
And yet, here I am — still unconvinced.
Here’s what I do understand.
Words matter. Accusing a country of genocide — the gravest crime humanity has defined — has real-world consequences. This isn’t just rhetoric; it’s jet fuel for a global surge in antisemitism, now reaching levels unseen since the darkest chapters of the 20th century.
Before jumping on the bandwagon for moral brownie points, maybe we should be damn sure the accusation holds up. Otherwise, it’s not activism; it’s reckless libel, masquerading as righteousness while inciting the very violence it pretends to oppose. And if I’m going to take a stand, I’d like to be able to look myself in the mirror.
Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined “genocide” during World War II to define the deliberate, systematic extermination of a people, like Nazi Germany’s slaughter of two-thirds of Europe’s Jews.
Less than a century later, accusing the world’s only Jewish state of the same crime isn’t just perverse; it’s a flashing red flag. Israel isn’t above scrutiny, but turning genocide’s victims into its perpetrators follows a pattern of antisemitism too familiar to ignore. But that’s a discussion for another time.
Genocide hinges on intent. Yes, some Israeli politicians have made outrageously stupid statements, sometimes even toeing the line of genocidal rhetoric. But words aren’t policy — a distinction Israel’s critics conveniently ignore. Politicians lie to push agendas; it comes with the job. But only Israel is held to an impossible moral standard, where one reckless remark becomes “proof” of genocide. No nuance, just ready-made villainy.
South Africa’s International Court of Justice case against Israel is basically a highlight reel of the most inflammatory quotes from Israeli politicians, while conveniently ignoring what actually matters: policies, actions, and the small detail of Hamas’ existence. If reckless rhetoric alone qualified as genocide, half the world’s leaders would already be en route to The Hague.
Unlike much of the world, the International Court of Justice has — so far — resisted corruption, ruling that Israel is not committing genocide. In April, former International Court of Justice president Joan Donoghue went on the BBC to set the record straight:
“I’m correcting what’s often said in the media — it (the International Court of Justice) didn’t decide that the claim of genocide was plausible.”
But that wasn’t satisfactory for the Irish government, who petitioned the International Court of Justice to expand the legal definition of genocide to include Israel. Retroactively redefining a crime to fit a political agenda? Remind me, isn’t that something dictators do?
Ireland isn’t alone. From the streets to the International Criminal Court, from Amnesty International to every comment section in existence, “genocide” is the accusation du jour.
The irony? Israel’s actions tell a very different story.
Israel’s campaign isn’t about erasing a people. It’s not driven by identity at all. How do we know? Two million Israeli Arabs with Palestinian roots live, work, and vote freely within its borders. Israel has signed peace deals and coexisted with Arab neighbours like Egypt and Jordan — so long as they’re not actively trying to kill Jews (a small ask, really).
Israel has one of the world’s most advanced militaries, capable of wiping out hundreds of thousands in mere days. But they haven’t. Either Israel lacks the intent, or this is the most incompetent genocide in history.
Does that mean Israel is above accountability? Of course not. Any soldier who deviates from protocol should be prosecuted — just like in any military. But isolated violations don’t equal genocide. Inventing a policy of wholesale civilian slaughter where none exists doesn’t make it real, no matter how loudly your local “Free Palestine” rally insists.
To my Gen-Z activist friends wrapped snugly in your keffiyehs — because accessorising is apparently step one in dismantling imperialism — let’s have a reality check. Watching TikTok tragedy reels doesn’t make you a genocide expert any more than binge-watching “Grey’s Anatomy” qualifies you to perform surgery.
You’re not military strategists, and you’re certainly not trained to spot propaganda. Yet somehow, scrolling from your conflict-free life and waving a protest sign has made you think you know more than actual military experts. That’s up there with lecturing a Navy SEAL on survival tactics because you once assembled an IKEA tent.
You swear you’ve seen “proof” of genocide, but all you’ve really done is shove the legal definition through a shredder. And where does this so-called proof come from? A well-oiled disinformation campaign, courtesy of Iran, with Russia and China happily footing the bill. Judging by the chorus of outrage echoing their exact talking points, their strategy isn’t just working; you’re practically running their PR.
Let’s get back to reality: For 16 months, while genocide accusations have flooded our public squares and newsfeeds, Israel has faced relentless terror — over 18,000 attacks in 2024 alone — plus tens of thousands of rockets and drone strikes from Iran’s proxies. Yet, barely a blip in the news. Why? Media bias plays a role, but so does Israel’s ability to defend itself.
Gaza’s leaders could do the same; after all, they’ve received more aid per capita than any other region on Earth. Yet in 20 years, not a single bomb shelter has been built. That money went underground, literally, into tunnels for smuggling weapons, launching attacks, and hiding terrorists while civilians take the hits.
Hamas may be barbaric, but they’re also master propagandists, expertly manipulating Western media by weaponising its sacred ideals: victimhood, indigenous rights, and anti-racism. Their deadliest weapon isn’t firepower — though they rarely pass up an opportunity. It’s perception. Their propaganda is so slick, they could rebrand terrorism as life-saving work — and land a UN grant for it. Oh wait, they already have.
Hamas’ propaganda finds an eager audience, thanks to the deep-rooted antisemitism still festering in Western society. That’s why they openly use civilians as human shields without consequence; every filmed death fuels their global PR machine. And when reality doesn’t provide enough tragedy? No problem, they’ll just dust off old war footage from Syria or Yemen, slap a “Gaza” label on it, and let it go viral, often with a boost from influencers with platforms the size of Bella Hadid.
Their loyal foot soldiers in the West point to the endlessly publicised destruction and inflated death tolls as “proof” of genocide — without realising they’re just unpaid extras in Hamas’ PR machine. Far from helping Palestinians, they’re just ensuring Hamas orchestrates more carnage. Why stop when every death (real or staged) earns Hamas global sympathy, funding, and another outrage campaign to weaponise against Israel?
Their playbook for framing Israel as guilty of “genocide” is as predictable as it is shameless. A report by the Henry Jackson Society lays it all out: Hamas’ Ministry of Health inflates casualty figures by counting terrorists as civilians, listing adults as children, and even throwing in pre-war deaths, including cancer fatalities. Civilians killed by Hamas — whether by misfired rockets, execution-style killings, or buildings rigged to collapse — are, of course, blamed on Israel.
Conspiracy theory? Hardly. Hamas outlined this strategy in black and white, posting the instructions to their own social media as far back as 2014. When a terrorist group literally tweets its propaganda manual, it’s not exactly a “deep state” mystery.
War — not genocide — has always included:
Civilian casualties, including women and children
Resource shortages
Lopsided death tolls
Destroyed infrastructure
War crimes and rogue military actions
A stronger military fighting a weaker one
Tragic? Yes. Genocide? No.
Otherwise, every war in history would qualify. And if “genocide” is just another word for “war,” why does the word exist at all?
Let’s compare the Gaza “genocide” to a real one: Rwanda, in 1994. In under 100 days, 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered, often by machete, and up to 500,000 women raped. The Hutu militias lacked Israel’s military capabilities but had something more crucial: intent. Killing Tutsis wasn’t a deviation from policy; it was the policy.
If Israel’s goal was extermination, why send aid trucks, issue evacuation warnings, and offer hefty cash incentives for hostage returns? Pro tip: Genocide doesn’t come with a cash reward program — or efforts to minimise civilian casualties. Targeting civilians gains Israel nothing, except unmatched global outrage and scrutiny.
Far from committing genocide, Israel has repeatedly held back military operations to avoid international backlash, delaying critical offensives for months. Take Rafah, one of Hamas’ key strongholds, where global pressure kept it off-limits for half a year.
And yes, I remember the viral “All Eyes on Rafah” meme. It was less a plea for peace and more a PR shield for terrorists. If only we could get “All Eyes on Reality” — because saying “All Eyes on Rafah” would be akin to demanding “All Eyes on Dresden” while the Allies closed in on Nazi Germany.
Even that comparison gives too much credit. Dresden was the site of an indiscriminate offensive on a densely populated area full of refugees. Rafah, on the other hand, was one of Hamas’ central operations hubs, where Israeli hostages were executed at close range and where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was found. That global pressure didn’t just shield Hamas; it let them rearm, regroup, and prolong the war, ultimately worsening Palestinian suffering.
Bravo, everyone.
Top military experts — including Colonel Richard Kemp, historian Lord Andrew Roberts, and urban warfare specialist John Spencer — agree that Israel’s civilian-to-combatant casualty ratio is likely the lowest in modern warfare. If this is genocide, it’s the most cautious one in history. No military has taken greater measures to spare civilians. And that’s while navigating an urban minefield, where half the buildings are rigged to explode and the other half moonlight as weapons depots.
These same experts also agree that eliminating Hamas isn’t just in Israel’s best interest; it’s Gaza’s best shot at a safer future. Israel’s military campaign isn’t about targeting Palestinians; it’s about dismantling the group that keeps them trapped in misery. If anything, it’s the only path to ending the cycle of war. You want to support Palestinians? Then you should be backing Zionism, too.
The same voices demanding “proportionality” expect Israel to eliminate Hamas without a single civilian casualty — a fantasy war where terrorists hide behind human shields, and somehow, Israel is to blame for not playing along. The real brutality here isn’t in how Israel fights; it’s in how Hamas wages war.
I have serious doubts that the “Free Palestine” crowd — or much of the global community — actually cares about Gaza’s future. Their vision of a “Free Palestine” isn’t one of peace or democracy; it’s a Jew-free Islamist theocracy. Salman Rushdie, renowned author and survivor of an Islamist knife attack by an assailant who twice declared “Free Palestine” in court this month, put it bluntly:
“… if there were a Palestinian state now, it would be run by Hamas and we would have a Taliban-like state. A satellite state of Iran. Is this what the progressive movements of the Western Left want to create?”
Yes, that’s exactly what they want. The Western Left show little objection to despotic regimes like the Taliban or Iran brutally repressing their own people; that’s just cultural sensitivity. The same “freedom fighters” who flood the streets for “Palestine” conveniently ignore that most of the region is already ruled by oppressive, authoritarian regimes.
But when it comes to Israel? Suddenly, they’re the morality police.
Pro-Palestine rhetoric often sounds suspiciously pro-Hamas, with little real concern for Palestinian suffering — unless Israel can be blamed. Since when does the world, or the media, take casualty figures at face value, especially from a single source?
And not just any source, but a terrorist group that inflates death tolls for PR while treating its own civilians as expendable props. Yet suddenly, war propaganda is being swallowed whole — by the millions and by our most trusted human rights organisations — no questions asked.
If these voices actually cared about Palestinian lives, they’d call out Hamas for choosing war over its own people — because without Hamas, Gaza’s death toll would be far lower. You can’t be truly pro-Palestinian without being anti-Hamas.
If anything could have shattered the “genocide” narrative, the hostage release footage should have done it in minutes — faster than Soviet disinformation goes viral. This war could have ended at any time with a surrender, or never started if civilians hadn’t been abducted.
Instead, Israeli hostages, some barely clinging to life, were paraded like trophies. Babies and children came back in coffins after 500 days as bargaining chips for living murderers. Meanwhile, their captors conveniently swapped their press vests and “journalist” credentials for Hamas uniforms overnight.
These so-called “resistance fighters” appeared heavily armed, well-fed, and staging a primetime spectacle with high-end video gear, a festival-style setup, and even parting gifts. Not bad for a population supposedly recovering from “genocide” — which, apparently, you can win.
And then came the victory celebrations. Just days earlier, they were “on the brink of starvation.” Now they’re parading with weapons, firing rounds, and vowing to rearm. Nothing screams “we were nearly wiped out” like breaking the ceasefire and gearing up for the next attack.
Strange. I don’t recall Holocaust survivors celebrating with rocket fire and victory parades. I also don’t recall them having the power to end their suffering at any moment and choosing not to.
The claim that Israel is committing genocide comes with two glaring ironies. First, real genocides — ones that far better fit the definition — are unfolding in Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and China.
Yet, with global outrage locked onto Gaza like a rabid seagull on an abandoned french fry, these atrocities barely register. They’re ignored, eclipsed, and forgotten. And pro-Palestine activists? Too busy flogging the same tired narrative to care — no marches, no hashtags, no performative outrage to spare.
The second — and far darker — irony? This conflict did see an attempted genocide, and it happened on October 7th. Hamas’ massacre wasn’t just brutal; it met the textbook definition of genocide, with their charter explicitly calling for the extermination of all Jews. The only thing that stopped them? A lack of firepower, not a lack of will.
The irony runs deep when the same crowd shrieking about “genocide” marches under banners calling for one. “From the River to the Sea” isn’t a plea for coexistence; it’s a demand for Israel’s erasure. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have made it clear: A future Palestinian state will be Judenrein (German for “Jew-free”).
Meanwhile, “Intifada” isn’t some noble call for resistance; it’s a rallying cry for global terrorism against Jews. The last one left 2,700 Palestinians dead, including pregnant women and suicide bombers as young as 14, not to mention the very checkpoints they now claim to be victims of. But sure, keep lecturing me on how Israel is the real terrorist state — because irony is well and truly dead.
I can’t square what I’ve seen with cries of “genocide” — whether from the UN, NGOs, or that unhinged Facebook rant wedged between cat memes. War is horrific, and from our cushy, secure lives, watching one unfold in real time is jarring. I get that. But slapping “genocide” on it doesn’t just collapse under scrutiny, it drains the word of all meaning. What’s really being consumed is a toxic cocktail of antisemitism and Hamas propaganda — shaken, stirred, and fed to the gullible in bite-sized reels.
History won’t be kind to those who bought into Hamas’ propaganda or amplified it without question. The world knows real genocides — meticulously planned, systematically executed, and shamefully ignored. Gaza is many things — tragic, brutal, devastating — but it’s not genocide.
I’ve seen the so-called “irrefutable proof,” and honestly, life would be easier if I just nodded along. Being called a “genocide supporter” isn’t exactly great for one’s social standing — even when the accusation comes from activists decked out in made-in-China merch, likely stitched together by Uyghur Muslims in an actual genocide.
But words have meaning. And no matter how often a lie is screamed, plastered on banners, or hash-tagged into social media scripture, it doesn’t make it true.
Amazing article! If only you could turn it into some catchy TikTok videos for the useful idiots out there!
Extremely well written!