It's Not a Tumor

Remember the 1990 classic Kindergarten Cop? Arnold Schwarzenegger has a headache and the kid who always thinks about death says, “It might be a tumor.” Schwarzenegger replies, “It’s not a tumor. It’s not a tumor. At all.”

Well that’s what I’m reminded of when I tell you from the bottom of my heart and soul that what is happening in Gaza right now is not a genocide: It’s not a genocide. It’s not a genocide. At all.

If you don’t know the definition of genocide, you’re an idiot. But let’s clarify anyway. As defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment on the Crime of Genocide and adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1948, genocide is “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.”

The first key clause, if I may, is “intent to destroy.” Genocide, in its most simple form, is when one group of people intends to utterly destroy another group. To completely fuck them up. To kill as many of them as possible. To wipe them off the face of the earth.

The Nazis wanted to kill every last Jew. Hutu extremists wanted to kill every last Tutsi. Their intent was clear and the destruction they wrought was severe.

So let’s start with Israel’s intent. Is it the intent of those in power in Israel to destroy Palestinians? To completely fuck them up? To kill as many of them as possible? To wipe them off the face of the earth?

Absolutely not.

How do we know this? Because, quite simply, if Israel wanted to kill every Palestinian, it could. Are you familiar with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF)? It is one of the best (per capita, arguably the best) militaries in the world. It won in 1948. It won in 1967. It won in 1973. It’s taken its lumps for sure but the IDF is one of the most formidable armies in the world and trust me when I tell you that if the IDF intended to commit a genocide against the Palestinian people, it could.

Before I go any further, let me be clear that I am not celebrating the IDF or militarism or war or anything else associated with people dying. I lament the fact that Israel has been in a near constant state of war since its founding. I lament the fact that Palestinians have bore the brunt of the IDF’s victories. I lament the fact that all Israelis (including the ultra-orthodox schmucks, inshallah) have to serve in the IDF. I lament the fact that the IDF even exists. I wish Israel could be like Costa Rica and not have an army, and that Israelis could walk around super chill saying pura vida rather than super upset saying kus emek (Arabic for “your mother’s pussy”).

But, unfortunately, Israel has and needs a military. And, unfortunately, Israel’s military is so strong that if it wanted to commit a genocide, it could. But, fortunately, it does not want to.

So how do I know it doesn’t want to? How can I, with any certainty, speak to the intent of the IDF? Well let’s start with numbers.

The Nazis killed approximately 11 million people in the Holocaust, 6 million of whom were Jews. Hutu extremists killed approximately 800,000 people during the Rwandan genocide, most of whom were Tutsis. As of June 26, 2024, Israelis have killed approximately 35,000 Palestinians. Not for one second am I saying 35,000 is insignificant. It’s significant. It’s tragic. It’s beyond tragic. But it’s not a genocide. The death toll in Gaza is less than 5% of what it was in Rwanda and less than .5% of what it was in the Holocaust.

Scale also matters. The Nazis killed 6 million of Europe’s 9 million Jews. 67% reflects an intent to destroy. Hutu extremists killed approximately 700,000 of Rwanda’s 1 million Tutsis. 70% reflects an intent to destroy. Israel has killed approximately 35,000 of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians. Does 1.75% reflect an intent to destroy? Hold that thought.

The second key clause of the definition of genocide is “in whole or in part.” 1.75% is, ipso facto, “in part,” right?

Yes, but let’s consider geography. In the midst of frickin’ World War II, the Nazis painstakingly killed 6 million Jews across millions of square miles in Europe. Bravo. Rwanda is much smaller, only 10,000 square miles (about the size of Maryland), so that made the killing a bit easier. But Gaza is downright tiny: 140 square miles (about the size of Philadelphia). In such a convenient location, wouldn’t you expect someone perpetrating genocide to have killed a more sizeable “part” of the population than 1.75%?

Oh, but Israel hasn’t had enough time to kill more Palestinians, you argue. Time? Do you know how long it took for Hutu extremists to kill 800,000 people? Three months. I won’t bother doing the math of how many people died each day, but I’m sure we can agree that the Rwandan génocidaires’ intent was crystal clear, as was the Nazis’ (train schedules, gas chambers, etc.). If Israel intended to commit genocide, eight months would be more than enough time, particularly in such a densely populated area as Gaza.

The Nazis had time, intent, and technology. They not only benefited from their world-renowned German culture of efficiency, but they also had the best technology in the world, including but not limited to carefully constructed crematoria, a strong relationship with logistics companies such as IBM, and, my personal favorite, Zyklon B.

Rwandans had neither time nor technology but when there’s a will, there’s a way. You know how most Tutsis were killed during the Rwandan genocide? Machetes. That’s right, hundreds of thousands of people were slaughtered in less than three months by wild, crazy, and committed machete-wielding fanatics.

And then there’s the IDF, one of the strongest, most technologically advanced militaries in the world. It has the capacity to go from 35,000 to 350,000 in weeks, but it doesn’t want to. Technology, yes. Geography, yes. Intent, no.

There is intent, you say. It’s just that the world won’t allow Israel to do what it wants to do. Ok, get the fuck out of here with that shit. Israel goes to war when it wants to go to war. Israel builds settlements when it wants to build settlements. Israel violates U.N. resolutions when it wants to violate U.N. resolutions. Israel does all types of fucked up things because the U.S. is its sugar daddy and “nobody fucks with the Jesus” (Big Lebowski). If Israel wanted to commit a genocide, there is little the world could do to stop it.

Speaking of the world, can we talk about South Africa for a moment? It was the first country to officially accuse Israel of genocide and I believe it is important to spend a minute on why these salty, self-righteous bastards did what they did. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, Israel sold weapons to the Apartheid regime, and the people who were oppressed then are in power now, and they are still bitter. I get it. I do. Israel made a huge mistake in profiting off of others’ suffering, and I completely understand why South Africa is pissed. But pissed does not mean accurate. In fact, it usually means biased and inaccurate. So, South Africa, I’m sorry about Apartheid, I’m glad it ended, I’m glad you have a (deeply flawed) democracy, and I think it would be best if you shut the hell up and stopped making wild allegations against other (deeply flawed) democracies.

Back to the death toll for a moment: Of the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust, pretty much all of them were innocent civilians. Of the 800,000 Tutsis (and Tutsi “sympathizers”) who died in the Rwandan genocide, pretty much all of them were innocent civilians. Of the 35,000 Palestinians who have died since October, approximately 2/3rds of them were innocent civilians. 23,000 is terrible. 23,000 is tragic. 23,000 is beyond tragic. 23,000 also means “in part” is now closer to 1%. I challenge you, dear reader, to find another “genocide” in the history of the world in which only 1% of the civilian population was killed.

Hundreds of Chinese protestors were killed by government troops in one day in 1989. Was that a genocide? I’ll raise you: Approximately 150,000 Japanese civilians were killed by two bombs in three days in 1945. Was that a genocide? Raise you again: More than 1 million Vietnamese civilians were killed by thousands of bombs in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Was that a genocide? We have to look at intent, we have to look at what “in part” really means, and we definitely have to look at context.

So let’s do that: Hamas is fully ensconced amongst the Palestinian civilian population. I know, I know, you’ve heard this argument a million times. But think about it for a second. The Germans plucked the Jews from society, transported them to remote, often rural locations, and killed them. Hutu extremists killed Tutsis wherever and whenever they could with zero shits given to collateral damage or innocent civilians. In fact, they were targeting innocent civilians. Israel is targeting extremists/militants/terrorists/rapists/bad guys who have completely embedded themselves in homes, businesses, schools, and, yes, even hospitals. In fact, they’re hiding under the civilian populations. (God damn geniuses.) One could therefore argue that Israel has done a good job of limiting civilian deaths to about 23,000. I won’t go so far as to make that argument, but I hope by this point we’re on the same page that what’s happening in Gaza is not a tumor, I mean genocide.

If you’re still not convinced, let’s talk about the trucks. Hundreds of aid trucks enter Gaza every week. Hundreds. Yes, that is fewer trucks than normal (there is a war going on, after all), but it’s still a lot. And, personally, if I were perpetrating a genocide, I wouldn’t let in one single truck. Letting trucks into Gaza, where Israel is allegedly committing a genocide, is like putting the Jews in Auschwitz, gassing them, incinerating them, and every other day or so bringing in train loads of borscht and matzah ball soup. Letting trucks into Gaza, where Israel is allegedly committing a genocide, is like forcing hundreds of Tutsis into a local church, setting the church ablaze, burying the charred bodies in a mass grave, and in the days before you burn them alive bringing them local coffee and cassava. Letting trucks into Gaza is either Israel’s ingenious genocide subterfuge or just another example of its desire to destroy Hamas and, if and when possible, lessen civilian suffering.

I haven’t even mentioned October 7th. May I? What group has ever needed an excuse to commit genocide? What group has ever waited to be attacked before it commits genocide? The Nazis planned the Holocaust for years. Hutu extremists imported weapons and disseminated propaganda for years. In contrast, everything happening in Gaza right now is a response to October 7th.

Actually, no, that’s wrong. I just realized that Israel has been planning this genocide in Gaza the entire time. Here was the plan: Accept a proposed Palestinian state containing Gaza in 1948; capture Gaza in 1967, occupy it, and build settlements; dismantle all settlements in and completely withdraw from Gaza in 2005; wait to be attacked in 2024; and then go buck wild. Yeah, that makes sense.

If what’s happening in Gaza is a genocide, it’s like no other genocide the world has ever seen. It is the most inefficient, ineffective, and idiotic genocide the world has ever witnessed.

I know, I know. You’re convinced. You agree. You’re with me. And you don’t care. You’re asking yourself why it matters if it’s a genocide or ethnic cleansing or a war or a just war or a counteroffensive or a tumor. I’ll tell you why it matters.

Because Israel sucks right now. It’s sucked for the last 20 years and it’s had major moments of suckiness for the last 100 years. It, like the United States, England, Russia, Japan, India, Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, and every other country in the world (except maybe Norway?) is far from perfect. It makes and has always made terrible mistakes.

Netanyahu is an absolute piece of shit and many people in the government right now are even bigger pieces of shit. They don’t care about Palestinians, and they certainly don’t support a Palestinian state. In fact, there are even those in the current government who very well might want to perpetrate genocide in Gaza, or at least look the other way if it occurred. But those voices are tempered by the majority of Israeli citizens and by those in the Israeli government who understand that neither Palestinians nor Israelis are going anywhere, and coexistence is the best and only option. We are right when we allege that Israel has been sucking, and we should demand accountability and progress. We are wrong when we allege that Israel is committing genocide, and we should demand truth and accuracy.

Ok, here’s why I really care: Because I care about history and I care about Israel’s place in it. I know Israel has already been and will always be criticized, if not downright condemned, for many of the mistakes it’s made. And I accept that. But I will not accept 50 years from now when someone writes a history book and states that Israel committed a genocide in Gaza in 2023 and 2024. The idea that a reasonable historian may one day write that makes me sad and mad, and I want my grandchildren to read the awful, terrible, tragic truth about the last eight months in Gaza, not inaccurate, politicized hyperbole.