NAMING GENOCIDE: THE LEADERS

AND INSTITUTIONS POINTING TO GAZA

Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, the charge of genocide has gained traction across governments, human rights organizations, and academic circles. The 1948 Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts such as killing, causing serious harm, or deliberately inflicting destructive living conditions with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Proving this specific intent is the highest legal bar.

Those who say Israel's actions amount to genocide point to tens of thousands of civilian deaths, widespread destruction of homes, hospitals, and schools, and severe shortages caused by restrictions on humanitarian aid. They also cite inflammatory statements by Israeli officials and a consistent pattern of military conduct that suggests deliberate targeting of civilian life. Reports by Amnesty International and the UN Commission of Inquiry have gone further, explicitly concluding that genocide is being carried out against Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel and its supporters reject the charge, arguing that civilian deaths result from combat with Hamas in dense urban areas, not from a campaign to destroy a people. They emphasize that genocide requires proof of "special intent," which they argue has not been established. Many governments condemn Israel's conduct as unlawful or disproportionate, but stop short of applying the genocide label.

If Israel's actions are judged to be genocide, states will have obligations under international law to act, ranging from sanctions to prosecutions. The label also carries enormous political and moral weight, shaping public opinion and diplomatic alignments.

Here's a list of the US politicians, nations, and organizations that have identified Israel's genocide as a "genocide":
(List Source: Zeteo)

US Politicians

Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)

Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)

Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)

Summer Lee (D-Pa.)

Al Green (D-Tex.)

Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.)

Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.)

John Garamendi (D-Calif.)

Betty McCollum (D-Minn.)

Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)

Hank Johnson (D-Ga.)

Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)

Mark Pocan (D-Wis.)

Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.)

Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.)

Greg Casar (D-Tex.)

Veronica Escobar (D-Tex.)

Becca Balint (D-Vt.)

Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.)

Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)

Jim McGovern (D-Mass.)

Note: Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) initially used the term

"genocide" but later walked back her comments.

Nations

Afghanistan

Algeria

Bangladesh

Belize

Bolivia

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Comoros

Cuba

Djibouti

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

Jordan

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Lebanon

Libya

Malaysia

Maldives

Namibia

Nicaragua

Oman

Palestine

Pakistan

Qatar

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saudi Arabia

Slovenia

South Africa

Spain

Syria

Tunisia

Turkey

Venezuela

Yemen

Organizations

Al-Haq

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)

University Network for Human Rights

B'Tselem

Physicians for Human Rights - Israel

United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Genocide Scholars and Experts

The International Association of Genocide Scholars

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Omer Bartov, Israeli-American professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University

Amos Goldberg, Israeli professor in the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a fellow of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute

Raz Segal, Israeli historian and associate professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and endowed professor in the Study of Modern Genocide at Stockton University

Shmuel Lederman, professor specializing in political theory and genocide studies at the Open University of Israel

Martin Shaw, emeritus professor of International Relations and Politics at the University of Sussex, research professor at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals, and author of War and Genocide, What is Genocide, Genocide in International Relations

William Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, professor of international human law and human rights at Leiden University in the Netherlands, and author of several books on international law, including Genocide in International Law: The Crimes of Crimes

Dirk Moses, international relations professor at the City College of New York and author of The Problems of Genocide

Daniel Blatman, an Israeli historian specializing in the history of the Holocaust and head of the Institute for Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Lee Mordechai, Israeli historian and associate professor at Hebrew University

Melanie O'Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars

Uğur Ümit Üngör, professor of Genocide Studies at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies and the University of Amsterdam

John Quigley, professor of law emeritus at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law and the author of The Genocide Convention: An International Law Analysis and several books on Israel and Palestine.

Other Notable Figures

Martin Griffiths, former UN aid chief

David Grossman, award-winning Israeli author and former TV anchor

Dov Waxman, Gilbert Foundation chair of Israel Studies and professor at UCLA

Amiram Levin, retired major general in the Israeli military and former deputy chief of the Mossad intelligence agency

Avi Shlaim, emeritus fellow of St Antony's College, emeritus professor of international relations at the University of Oxford, and author of Genocide in Gaza: Israel's Long War on Palestine

Note: This list is not necessarily complete and may be updated at a later time.

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Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, leading scholars’ association says (The Washington Post, 9-1-25)

Smotrich Proposes Annexing Gaza and Carrying Out Trump Ethnic Cleansing Plan (Common Dreams, 8-28-25)

Entire UN Security Council Except US Says Gaza Famine 'Man-Made' as 10 More People Starve to Death (Common Dreams, 8-27-25)

Genocide accusations against Israel: a comprehensive list (The Canary, 8-1-25)

Leading genocide scholars see a genocide happening in Gaza (The Washington Post, 7-30-25)

Who Says Israel Is Committing a Genocide in Gaza? Everyone on This List (Zeteo, 7-29-25)