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Swords of Iron: sources IIIIII (view source)

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President Donald Trump has once again withdrawn the United States from UNESCO, accusing the UN’s science and cultural organization of an anti-Israel bias and a “globalist” agenda.
 
President Donald Trump has once again withdrawn the United States from UNESCO, accusing the UN’s science and cultural organization of an anti-Israel bias and a “globalist” agenda.
 
[https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-862038 JPost]
 
[https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-862038 JPost]
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"I’m a Genocide Scholar"… And I’ve Been Prepping My NYT Genocide Case Against Israel for Years.
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Rachel O’Donoghue. HR, July 17, 2025
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“I’m a genocide scholar,” proclaims the headline of Omer Bartov’s recent guest essay in The New York Times. And therefore, he assures us, “I know it when I see it.”
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Except this isn’t the first time Bartov, a professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University, has thought he saw genocide, or something like it, in Israel’s actions toward the Palestinians. In fact, it’s not even the first time since last year.
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Although Bartov opens the piece by saying that “a month after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023,” the situation “did not seem to me to rise to the crime of genocide,” a quick review of his public record suggests he had been laying the groundwork for this accusation long before the war in Gaza began.
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July 2025 wasn’t some dramatic moral epiphany revealed to readers of The New York Times. Bartov had already publicly declared Israel’s actions a genocide back in December 2024 in an interview with fringe website Democracy Now! His NYT op-ed is simply a polished retread of that declaration.
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In the NYT piece, Bartov writes:
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“By May 2024, the Israel Defense Forces had ordered about one million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah […] to move to the beach area of the Mawasi, where there was little to no shelter. The army then proceeded to destroy much of Rafah, a feat mostly accomplished by August.”
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He concludes that at this point, “it appeared no longer possible to deny” that Israeli operations matched what he calls statements “denoting genocidal intent.”
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But Bartov’s definition of genocide has always been suspiciously elastic, at least when it comes to Israel. And his eagerness to draw Holocaust analogies long predates this war.
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In 2019, Bartov signed an open letter in The New York Review of Books attacking the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum for criticizing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s use of the phrase “concentration camps” to describe U.S. immigration detention centers. The Museum had objected to invoking Holocaust-era language for partisan ends. Bartov disagreed, calling the Museum’s stance “fundamentally ahistorical” and claiming it undermined Holocaust memory and education.
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In other words, Bartov has a habit of defending far-fetched analogies, so long as they point in the direction he favors.
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This pattern continues in his commentary on Israel. In May 2021, during a short war triggered by a Hamas rocket barrage on Israeli civilians, Bartov wasn’t focused on terrorism, incitement, or Hamas’s genocidal charter. Instead, he urged American universities to “teach about Israeli state violence against Palestinians” and to feature “Palestinian scholars and activists” in conferences on genocide and mass violence. He has used the term “Nakba” (catastrophe in Arabic) to describe modern Israel’s founding in 1948, when it was attacked by a coalition of neighboring Arab armies.
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When the New York Times Needs a (Jewish-Israeli) Genocide Scholar
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When The New York Times wants to amplify accusations of genocide against Israel, it doesn’t turn to fringe activists or anonymous social media accounts. It finds a Jewish Israeli professor willing to say it in their pages. Bonus points if he’s spent years blurring the definition of genocide and repurposing “Never Again” for unrelated political causes.
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Let’s also be honest. Identity politics plays a role here. The Times knows that featuring a Jewish Israeli lends the accusation a veneer of credibility and “internal dissent.” It’s not subtle. It’s strategic.
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But if we’re going to talk about genocidal intent, we have to look at the actual statements Bartov cites. HonestReporting board member Salo Aizenberg has done just that, and found Bartov’s examples either wildly out of context or plainly misrepresented. Phrases like “the enemy will pay a huge price” or “turning Hamas strongholds into rubble” are spun as genocidal, despite clearly referring to Hamas. Warnings for civilians to evacuate are presented as evidence of extermination. Even Netanyahu’s use of the biblical phrase “Amalek,” found on memorials at Yad Vashem and The Hague, is treated as uniquely sinister. Bartov’s case, in short, relies on selective quoting and distortion. (Full breakdown embedded below.)
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And when the main Israeli leadership fails to meet even the loosest standard for genocidal intent, Bartov simply pivots to fringe figures with no operational control, like Smotrich or Nissim Vaturi. That move alone concedes how weak his central thesis really is.
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The New York Times wants readers to see Bartov’s genocide declaration as a bold moral stand. But it isn’t. It’s the culmination of years of unfair and unfounded accusations against the Jewish state, now rebranded as expert opinion.
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What else is new?
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[https://honestreporting.com/im-a-genocide-scholar-and-ive-been-prepping-my-nyt-genocide-case-against-israel-for-years/ HonestReporting]
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I’m a War Scholar. There Is No Genocide in Gaza.
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John Spencer.
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Jul 23, 2025
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In his New York Times op-ed titled “I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It,” Omer Bartov accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. As a professor of genocide studies, he should know better. Genocide is not defined by a few comments taken out of context, by estimates of casualties or destruction, or by how war looks in headlines or on social media. It is defined by specific intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group in whole or in part. That is a high legal bar. Bartov did not meet it. He did not even try.
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I am not a lawyer or a political activist. I am a war expert. I have led soldiers in combat. I have trained military units in urban warfare for decades and studied and taught military history, strategy, and the laws of war for years. Since October 7, I have been to Gaza four times embedded with the Israel Defense Forces. I have interviewed the Prime Minister of Israel, the Defense Minister, the IDF Chief of Staff, Southern Command leadership, and dozens of commanders and soldiers on the front lines. I have reviewed their orders, watched their targeting process, and seen soldiers take real risks to avoid harming civilians. Nothing I have seen or studied resembles genocide or genocidal intent.
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Bartov claims that five statements by Israeli leaders prove genocidal intent. He begins with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s comment on October 7 that Hamas would “pay a huge price.” That is not a call for genocide. It is what any leader would say after the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history. He also cites Netanyahu’s statements that Hamas would be destroyed and that civilians should evacuate combat zones. That is not evidence of a desire to destroy a people. It is what professional militaries do when fighting an enemy that hides among civilians.
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Bartov presents Netanyahu’s reference to “remember Amalek” as a smoking gun. But this is a phrase from Jewish history and tradition. It is engraved at Israel’s Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, and also appears on the Holocaust memorial in The Hague. In both places, it serves as a warning to remain vigilant against threats, not as a call for mass killing.
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He also highlights Defense Minister Gallant’s use of the term “human animals” to describe Hamas fighters. That is not a war crime. After the slaughter, rape, and kidnapping of civilians on October 7, many would understand or even share that reaction.
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Unable to find intent among those actually directing the war, Bartov turns to far-right politicians like Bezalel Smotrich and Nissim Vaturi. These individuals do not command troops, issue orders, or shape battlefield decisions. I have studied the actual orders. They focus on destroying Hamas, rescuing hostages, and protecting civilians whenever possible. Their rhetoric is irrelevant to the legal case.
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Israel has taken extraordinary steps to limit civilian harm. It warns before attacks using text messages, phone calls, leaflets, and broadcasts. It opens safe corridors and pauses operations so civilians can leave combat areas. It tracks civilian presence down to the building level. I have seen missions delayed or canceled because children were nearby. I have seen Israeli troops come under fire and still be ordered not to shoot back because civilians might be harmed.
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Israel has delivered more humanitarian aid to Gaza than any military in history has provided to an enemy population during wartime. More than 94,000 trucks carrying over 1.8 million tons of aid have entered the territory. Israel has supported hospitals, repaired water pipelines, increased access to clean water, and enabled over 36,000 patients to leave Gaza for treatment abroad.
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The IDF has coordinated millions of vaccine doses, supplied fuel for hospitals and infrastructure, and facilitated the flow of food and medicine through the UN, aid groups, and private partners. The U.S.–Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation alone has delivered more than 82 million meals—one to two million a day—while weakening Hamas’s control over aid. This is not genocide. It is responsible and historic mid-war humanitarian policy.
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Bartov cites death tolls from Hamas health authorities without question. He says 58,000 have been killed, including 17,000 children. But these numbers come from a terrorist organization. They mix civilians and fighters and count anyone under 18 as a child, even though Hamas uses teenagers and younger children as combatants. The figures are not independently verified and have been shown to contain false details, including names, ages, and sex. Civilian deaths are tragic, but in Gaza, they are also part of Hamas’s strategy.
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No military operation is judged solely by body counts or destruction figures. If we used Bartov’s logic, every major war would be called genocide. Two million civilians died in the Korean War, an average of 54,000 per month. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars killed hundreds of thousands. The fight against ISIS leveled multiple cities and killed tens of thousands. None of those wars were considered genocidal. Gaza is not either. War is evaluated based on the actions of commanders, the goals set by leaders, and how well the military follows the laws of war, not by statistics taken out of context.
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War is hell. It is inhumane, destructive, and ugly. But it is not automatically a crime. Nations must not target civilians. They must follow the rules of distinction, proportionality, and take all possible care to avoid civilian harm. Israel is doing that. I have seen it.
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In Rafah this summer, Israel spent weeks preparing evacuations. It opened new safe areas and waited until civilians had moved before striking Hamas targets. That operation killed Hamas’s top commander, recovered hostages, and kept civilian deaths very low. It was a clear example of Israel’s extraordinary intent and actions to protect civilians while targeting only Hamas, a part of the story ignored by those who reduce war to headlines and numbers.
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What is happening in Gaza is tragic. But it is not genocide. And it is not illegal.
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Genocide requires clear, provable intent to destroy a people through sustained, deliberate actions. That burden of proof has not been met. Bartov and others have not even tried.
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Likewise, the laws of war do not prohibit war itself. They require that military operations distinguish between combatants and noncombatants, that force be proportional to the objective, and that commanders take all feasible precautions to protect civilian life. I have watched the IDF do exactly that. I have seen restraint, humanitarian aid, and deliberate compliance with legal standards, often at tactical cost.
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This is not a campaign of extermination. It is a war against Hamas, a terrorist army embedded in civilian areas by design.
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The law matters. So does precision. And above all, truth matters.
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John Spencer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute and host of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast. He served twenty-five years as an infantry soldier, which included two combat tours in Iraq. He is the coauthor of the book Understanding Urban Warfare.
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[https://spencerguard.substack.com/p/im-a-war-scholar-there-is-no-genocide JohnSpencer - Substack]
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Israeli delegation will return to Qatar only when deal is feasible - Israeli officials.
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“This is not the collapse of the negotiations,” the official stressed. “This delegation stayed in Doha for over two and a half weeks – longer than any previous Israeli team."
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By Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff,
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July 23, 2025 16:52
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Updated: July 24, 2025 21:43
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[https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-862011 JPost]
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Three ISIS terrorists arrested, Jerusalem terror attack thwarted.
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Police, Shin Bet, thwart ISIS terror attack in Jerusalem, arresting three Jerusalem Arab terrorists.
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Israel National News.
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Jul 24, 2025, 1:03 PM (GMT+3)
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[https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/412188 INN]
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IDF eliminates Hamas official who oversaw arms smuggling.
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Israel National News.
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Jul 24, 2025, 6:55 PM
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[https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/412206 INN]
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Moving video.
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Severely wounded officer prays after hospital release.
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Israel National News.
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Jul 24, 2025, 7:36 PM
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[https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/412208 INN]
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Deputy Minister calls to label ‘Brothers in Arms’ a terror organization.
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Deputy Minister Almog Cohen urges the government to designate "Brothers in Arms" as a terror organization after a member was arrested for plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister.
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Israel National News.
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Published: Jul 24, 2025, 10:20 PM (GMT+3)
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[...]
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Cohen mentioned a series of incidents that the organization was involved in, and claimed that its operations threaten the country's stability.
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[https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/412213 INN]
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Witkoff pulls team from ceasefire talks, says Hamas 'not acting in good faith'.
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Itamar Eichmer, News Agencies|07.24.25
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[https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1ydcjgwlg YNet]
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Historic agreement
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Columbia University to Pay $220 Million to Regain Federal Funding Amid Antisemitism Scandal.
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Columbia University agrees to pay $220 million in penalties and implement major policy changes following federal investigation into campus antisemitism and discrimination claims.
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Jfeed Staff
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JUL 24, 2025 11:25
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[https://www.jfeed.com/antisemitism/columbia-antisemitism-settlement JFeed]
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Neo-Nazi’s Vile Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals Land Him 5 Years in Prison.
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A Portland man was sentenced to five years for making antisemitic bomb threats against Jewish hospitals in New York, causing evacuations and fear. The case, fueled by his neo-Nazi ideology, highlights the growing threat of antisemitic swatting and online extremism.
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Eliana Fleming.
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Jul 25, 2025 00:03
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A federal judge in Brooklyn has sentenced 31-year-old Domagoj Patkovic of Portland, Oregon, to five years in prison for orchestrating a series of antisemitic bomb threats targeting Jewish hospitals across New York City and Long Island. Patkovic, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to make threats and conveying false information about explosives, forced evacuations and diverted emergency resources from at least six medical facilities starting in May 2021. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. condemned the acts, stating, “The defendant endangered patients and diverted precious law enforcement resources to advance his hateful agenda against people of the Jewish faith. His actions fed a rising tide of antisemitism in America.”
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https://www.jfeed.com/antisemitism/neo-nazi-hospital-threats-sentence JFeed]
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Massive Manhunt for Tayibe Terrorist
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This is the Terrorist Behind Today's Car-Ramming Attack That Injured 8 IDF Soldiers.
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Israeli security forces are pursuing Arkan Khaled, a 27-year-old Tayibe resident, for a car-ramming attack near Kfar Yona that injured eight soldiers, escalating regional tensions. The incident, marked by chaos and inadequate infrastructure, has spurred a massive manhunt and public safety concerns.
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Eliana Fleming.
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Jul 24, 2025 23:40
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[https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/szx83u JFeed]
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Josh Shapiro accuses Zohran Mamdani of condoning ‘blatantly antisemitic’ supporters
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Shapiro said Mamdani’s campaign “left open far too much space for extremists to either use his words or for him to not condemn the words of extremists that said some blatantly antisemitic things.”
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By Shira Li Bartov/JTA
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July 24, 2025 23:16
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One of the most prominent Jewish politicians in the United States said Zohran Mamdani, New York’s Democratic mayoral nominee, should curb “blatantly antisemitic” language among his supporters.
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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is among the establishment Democrats who have hesitated to embrace Mamdani, a democratic socialist and vocal critic of Israel. Mamdani also has yet to win the endorsements of Jewish Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, though both congratulated him on his primary win.
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[https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-862176 JPost]
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'A Palestinian state would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel'.
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Netanyahu condemns French President's decision to recognize a Palestinian state: “Palestinians don’t want a state beside Israel—they want one instead of it.” Sa’ar: "A Palestinian state will be a Hamas state."
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Elad Benari.
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Jul 24, 2025, 11:45 PM
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[https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/412218 INN]
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Netanyahu condemns Macron for recognizing Palestinian State.
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Prime Minister says the French president was giving Hamas a gift, says a Palestinian state would be the staging ground for the destruction of Israel and that the Palestinians do not want a state alongside Israel but one to replace it.
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Itamar Eichner, AFP|07.25.25
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[https://www.ynetnews.com/article/2hcllyuei YNet]
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Hamas Congratulates Macron's Recognition of Palestine.
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The Hamas terrorist movement openly welcomed French President Macron's decision to recognize a Palestinian state in September.
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Avi Woolf.
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Jul 25, 2025 00:06
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[https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/hamas-macron-palestine-recognition JFeed]
    
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