The International Association of Genocide Scholars, which represents 600 people, voted to pass a resolution on Aug. 31 that accuses the Jewish state of “systematic and widespread crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.”
Those alleged crimes, per the 31-year-old group, include “indiscriminate and deliberate attacks against the civilians and civilian infrastructure (hospitals, homes, commercial buildings, etc.) of Gaza, which, according to official U.N. estimates, at the date of this resolution, has killed more than 59,000 adults and children in Gaza.”
The academic group also referred to Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, which it called “international crimes.” It did not call upon Hamas to release the hostages in its resolution.
Sara E. Brown, a member of the association and the director of the American Jewish Committee’s San Diego office, stated that “anyone who considers themself a genocide scholar should feel embarrassed by this vote.”
“The process was a disaster from start to finish. Those of us against the resolution tried to submit our concerns for discussion but were blocked by the leadership,” Brown stated. “We were promised a town hall, which is a common practice for controversial resolutions, but the president of the association reversed that.”
“The association has also refused to disclose who were the authors of the resolution,” she added.
Israel Charny, a co-founder of the International Association of Genocide Scholars who died in Jerusalem on Dec. 14, 2024, said in February 2024 that Israel was acting in self-defense and even if there was a ceasefire, “Israel should underscore its readiness to return to massive destruction of Gaza in response to any further bombings or invasions by Hamas.”
“I believe that Israel should stop the war at the earliest possible time,” he said. “But I would insist on prior release of the Israeli hostages whose kidnappings constitute crimes against humanity.”
