1/ I’m an Israeli academic. My community is too silent about the ongoing war in Gaza. Here is how I see things based on reading hundreds of articles and watching thousands of videos and images about the war. This tweet chain contains my conclusions as a sort of executive summary.
2/ For details, examples and footnotes with many hundreds of references see the images of the document at the end of this chain, or even better, download the actual PDF here: academia.edu/112967602/My_t…
3/ I, Lee Mordechai, a historian by profession and an Israeli citizen, testify here to the horrible current situation in Gaza as events are unfolding.
4/ The enormous amount of evidence I have seen, much of it referenced later in this document, has been enough for me to believe that Israel is currently committing genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza.
5/ The current war is ostensibly the Israeli reaction to the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, a war crime and crime against humanity that was committed within the context of the longstanding conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that can be dated back to 1917 or 1948 etc.).
6/ In all cases, I do not believe that historical grievances and atrocities justify additional atrocities in the present. As such, I consider Israel’s response to Hamas’ actions on Oct. 7 utterly disproportionate.
7/ Over the last five months, Israel has repeatedly massacred Palestinians in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of over 30,000 Palestinians – some 70% of whom are women and children – as of writing. Tens of thousands more have been injured.
8/ These numbers are probably an undercount considering Israel’s deliberate destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system, which is the single independent source of these numbers (which are also used by Israel, including its Prime Minister and the military).
9/ Israel has actively attempted to cause the death of the civilian population of Gaza. This has been done through the destruction of institutions that support life – such as hospitals or aid agencies – as well as by strangling the Gaza Strip from its necessities: food & water.
10/ As a result, people in Gaza (mainly children) have already begun to die from starvation and dehydration. Because of the lack of medicine, difficult medical procedures such as amputations and caesareans are conducted with no anesthesia.
11/ Israel has gone further in attempting to destroy the fabric of Palestinian society by deliberately targeting cultural institutions such as universities, libraries, archives, religious buildings and historical sites.
12/ Israeli discourse has de-humanized Palestinians to such an extent that the vast majority of Israeli Jews supports the aforementioned measures. Countless videos from the Gaza Strip uploaded by soldiers in the Israeli military attest to widespread abuse of Palestinians
13/ (including cruel violence and dehumanization), ubiquitous and normalized looting, and wanton destruction of all kinds of property with little consequences. This content is confirmed by Palestinian testimonials that depict the experience of death, destruction and abuse.
14/ All the evidence I have seen strongly suggests that Israel’s objective is to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip, whether in part or in total. Key members in Israel’s government have made statements confirming this intent at different points throughout the war.
15/ Several of Israel’s government ministries have planned or worked to facilitate such an end. Israel has been clearing significant parts of the Gaza strip by demolition and bulldozing, while also constructing Israeli military infrastructure and attempting to corral Palestinians
16/ One of the purposes of the war, according to the Israeli government, is to release the hostages – over 130 of whom remain in Hamas’ captivity. Here, too, the evidence suggests that a military operation is not the way to release them.
17/ To date Israel has released exactly three hostages through military operations, while killing many others directly or indirectly through its actions. Israeli society is currently divided around the hostage issue, at least partially the result of the actions of Israel's gov't.
18/ The global attention to Gaza has drawn attention away from the West Bank. There, Israel’s operations through its miliary or settlers since the beginning of the war has resulted in the killing of hundreds of Palestinians,
19/ the ethnic cleansing of at least 15 local communities, and a sharp increase in levels of violence and abuse by both the Israeli state and Jewish settlers.
20/ All of the above has been made possible through the strong support of most mainstream media in Israel as well as the West, primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.
21/ The pro-war campaign – supported by both the state and the mainstream media in these locations – has legitimized Israeli violence and actions, deflects attention away from many events in Gaza, and contributes to the de-humanization of Palestinians.
22/ Pages 1-4
23/ Pages 5-8
24/ Pages 9-12
25/ Pages 13-16
26/ Pages 17-20
27/ Pages 21-24
28 and end/ Page 25
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