By Taner Akçam, Marianne Hirsch and Michael Rothberg
The world has stood by as Israel has murdered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, wounded more than double that number, buried countless more under the rubble and devastated civilian infrastructure. The territory’s survivors, displaced repeatedly by the Israeli military, are in a state of enforced starvation and utter precarity. Despite Israel’s ban on international journalists, witnesses and victims are livestreaming unbearable images and videos of emaciated children and adults shot while desperately seeking aid. Israeli officials have proposed the construction of what would be concentration camps and the deportation of surviving Palestinians.
Motivated by our deep scholarly and ethical engagement with political violence and mass atrocity, including the Nazi genocide of Jewish people, we helped found the Genocide and Holocaust Studies Crisis Network in April. More than 400 scholars of genocide and Holocaust studies from two dozen countries joined within weeks of its launch. The rapid growth of the group testifies to the urgency of this moment. Today, along with hundreds of humanitarian organizations, dozens of governments, and millions of protesting students and citizens across the globe, we call for immediate concrete measures to prevent further atrocity crimes and to protect civilians.
Since the 7 October massacre, Israeli officials and their accomplices have justified genocidal violence against Palestinians by equating Hamas with Nazism, instrumentalizing the memory of the Holocaust to advance, rather than prevent, mass violence. Meanwhile, too many governments materially support the genocide in Gaza while silencing protest. Even as the tone of some official statements has become more critical of Israel in recent weeks, many states continue to supply Israel with lethal weapons, shield Israeli leaders from international arrest warrants and fuel investment in the Israeli war economy. International pressure can work, but we need much more of it.
The emergency is in front of us. And yet, some prominent scholars of the Holocaust continue to engage in open denialism or outright approval of mass atrocities perpetrated by Israel. Scholarly associations, universities and institutions dedicated to Holocaust research, education and commemoration not only remain silent in the face of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza but provide ideological cover for Israel’s blatant violations of international law. Institutions such as Yad Vashem and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum adhere to a “Palestine exception” when opposing genocide and mass atrocity. At the same time, organizations dedicated to combating prejudice, such as the Anti-Defamation League, use spurious accusations of antisemitism to silence or discredit those who dare to speak out.
We are determined to challenge this moral and political capitulation.
