🧵Melanie O’Brien is yet another “genocide scholar” who abandons legal standards to accuse Israel of genocide. She contradicts her own scholarship on “special intent,” cites fake quotes, marks 10/7 as an “escalation against Palestinians” and erases Hamas as a factor. Detail: 1/
Some background: In a Feb 2024 lecture O’Brien says proving genocidal intent is extremely difficult, citing ICJ rulings that evidence must “only point” to this intent, the “only inference reasonably drawn.” She now egregiously ignores that standard entirely for Israel. 2/
O’Brien expresses twice in her lecture a “hope” that the ICJ moves away from the requirement that genocide must be the "only inference" that could be reasonably drawn. We know why—she wants Israel to be guilty of genocide but she knows the current standard does not apply. 3/
O’Brien invents a new standard for Israel. She says “intent may be inferred from a pattern of conduct” and leaves it at that. But in Feb 2024 she noted ICJ’s much stricter rule—such "pattern of conduct" must "only point" to such intent. That high bar vanishes for Israel. 4/
O’Brien claims evidence for special intent is met, but then offers none! She simply links to third-party sources citing misrepresented & fake Israeli quotes, with no verification. She admits the standard is high then ignores it. That’s not just bias but academic negligence. 5/
To O’Brien, Herzog saying “we will uproot evil” equals genocide. Never mind that moments earlier he said the war is not against Palestinians. His comments (below) focus on Hamas. O’Brien's key source cites vague phrases and strips context to fabricate special intent. 6/
To O’Brien, Gallant’s comments in Nov 2023 that IDF campaign will last for "long months" and include "south" Gaza meets the high bar of evidence (i.e. the ONLY inference) for special intent to genocide. It's a lie. Here are Gallant’s comment that are claimed to be genocidal: 7/
O’Brien relies on a fabricated Netanyahu quote—“Gaza is the city of evil.” What he actually said was that Israel would target Hamas sites and told civilians to evacuate. None of O’Brien's quotes of intent pass the strict “only inference” test she herself cites as necessary. 8/
Gallant’s “human animals” quote is central to most Gaza genocide claims—but always misrepresented. He has always clearly discussed Hamas, never Palestinians. O’Brien repeats this grossly dishonest framing like so many others. See thread for evidence. 9/
O’Brien’s article omits all context: no mention of Hamas, tunnels, human shields, etc. She cites 57,680 killed but no mention of Hamas combatants. The result is a hateful narrative where Israel simply attacked Palestinians on 10/7 to kill them all, part of a long "process." 10/
I could add dozens of posts debunking each genocide "evidence" O’Brien links to. Here’s one. She says Israel “directly attacked” a fertility clinic with 4,000 embryos. But news reports note nearby shelling, no sign of a targeted strike, and clinic still stands. Not genocide. 11/
O’Brien calls genocide the “only conclusion”—but never mentions Hamas, Israel’s goal to destroy it, analyzes the war, or cites 1.4 million tons of food sent into Gaza. Her case is empty. This isn’t scholarship but agenda driven propaganda—from @GenocideStudies president. 12/
But no surprise from O’Brien. She once re-posted an article associating Zionism with a word salad of terms like "violence, warmongering, logic of horror" that “bleaches” itself with Auschwitz. Ugly Holocaust inversion and anti-Israel venom—but she found it worth amplifying. END
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