If your enemy is using its schools and teaching its youth to hate you and kill you, then scholasticide is completely justified. If your enemy is using schools as military headquarters and supply bases then its completely justified to destroy the schools.
targeting schools and educators, as described in the article, is a surefire way to ensure cultural erasure, all while pretending it’s a military necessity rather than outright scholasticide
The accusation of teaching hate is often a convenient, self-serving rationalization. The hate unfortunately has been on both sides, but in Gaza and the West Bank only one has suffered generations of loss, isolation, oppression and now treatment as sub-human, while the other has been relentless for decades in taking land, water, demolishing homes and inflicting death at a rate more than 40 times what it has suffered. In the context of Gaza, the concept of hundreds of "military headquarters" is ludicrous. But again, one side prohibited independent verification and killed hundreds of journalists, teachers, doctors in relentless bombings.
Both sides prohibited independent verification. News organizations world wide accepted Hamas casualty figures, even though they didn't distinguish civilian from military casualties. And note that Hamas refused to let either the Red Cross or Red Crescent visit the kidnapped hostages.
Can't thank you enough for this article. Scholasticide deprives future generations of their culture, and sense of who they are. But that was the objective in Gaza.
And it’s very sad that 200,000,000 Arab Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa live on two dollars a day, suffer from such food insecurity, have no freedom, no political rights, no legal rights, no economic rights and 21 corrupt governments plus a few additional militant terrorist ones.
You forgot to mention or address the number of educational buildings which were used by Hamas as safe harbors or places from which to plan their attacks. Nor have you addressed the number of professors etc in Gaza’s educational system that were members of Hamas.
The definition contained in Article II of the Geneva l Convention describes genocide as a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part. https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/Genocide%20Convention-FactSheet-ENG.pdf. According to international law genocide includes targeting religious groups. Do you believe that Muslims are not entitled to the same human rights? Do you believe that Arabs are not entitled to human rights? I don't enjoy implying that someone is a bigot, but alas.
Glad this historian is not just acknowledging the genocide in Gaza, but also holding the US government and the AHA leadership to account. It’s not just the US government, as I think the UK government, the EU leadership, the German giver and some other European governments have made the genocide possible. And it is not just the AHA. What about the editors of the FT, Economists, Washington Post, New York Times?
I wonder about you sometimes, Adam, but this article was very good and seems to be sincerely felt. You should speak on this topic more often and more prominently.
Bravo! Agree the US political establishment in particular has disgraced itself and the nation it leads. And even worse is likely yet to come. One hardly knows how best to respond.
Gaza schools funded by the UNRA used ‘Mein Kampf’ as a set book to promote hatred o f the Jews. Is it really that difficult to understand why the IDF destroyed these schools?
Your new president wants to avoid genocide by moving the Palestinians elsewhere.
Yes it's very difficult to understand. You don't murder 13,000 kids and destroy all the schools because some schools might have offensive books in them.
'Moving the Palestinians elsewhere' would be ethnic cleansing. The forcible deportation of a population is defined as a crime against humanity under international law.
Thank you! A moving condemnation of scholasticide as a crime against humanity.
If your enemy is using its schools and teaching its youth to hate you and kill you, then scholasticide is completely justified. If your enemy is using schools as military headquarters and supply bases then its completely justified to destroy the schools.
targeting schools and educators, as described in the article, is a surefire way to ensure cultural erasure, all while pretending it’s a military necessity rather than outright scholasticide
The accusation of teaching hate is often a convenient, self-serving rationalization. The hate unfortunately has been on both sides, but in Gaza and the West Bank only one has suffered generations of loss, isolation, oppression and now treatment as sub-human, while the other has been relentless for decades in taking land, water, demolishing homes and inflicting death at a rate more than 40 times what it has suffered. In the context of Gaza, the concept of hundreds of "military headquarters" is ludicrous. But again, one side prohibited independent verification and killed hundreds of journalists, teachers, doctors in relentless bombings.
Both sides prohibited independent verification. News organizations world wide accepted Hamas casualty figures, even though they didn't distinguish civilian from military casualties. And note that Hamas refused to let either the Red Cross or Red Crescent visit the kidnapped hostages.
I think you need to check in with humanity.
🤣🤡🤣
All forms of *cide were implemented on the #BanuQurayza by the #PerfectBeing. And that was just the beginning.
Can't thank you enough for this article. Scholasticide deprives future generations of their culture, and sense of who they are. But that was the objective in Gaza.
And it’s very sad that 200,000,000 Arab Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa live on two dollars a day, suffer from such food insecurity, have no freedom, no political rights, no legal rights, no economic rights and 21 corrupt governments plus a few additional militant terrorist ones.
An excellent essay. Thank you.
You forgot to mention or address the number of educational buildings which were used by Hamas as safe harbors or places from which to plan their attacks. Nor have you addressed the number of professors etc in Gaza’s educational system that were members of Hamas.
Thank you for taking the time to highlight this issue for your audience!!
Gazan "schools" and "universities". They're Islamic religious institutions masquerading as places of enlightenment.
Mr. Toobin should visit one and see what they taught. Such as that he should die.
Let us all thank Islam for its contribution to scientific progress.
"The concept of genocide always included cultural genocide."
No. Genocide means genetic extirpation. Not religion. Not culture. Not geography.
The definition contained in Article II of the Geneva l Convention describes genocide as a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part. https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/Genocide%20Convention-FactSheet-ENG.pdf. According to international law genocide includes targeting religious groups. Do you believe that Muslims are not entitled to the same human rights? Do you believe that Arabs are not entitled to human rights? I don't enjoy implying that someone is a bigot, but alas.
I’m well aware how the U.N. defines it.
It’s an illogical mistake.
Arabs are a population group. Muslims are not.
Protecting belief sets is a guarantee for war.
Thank you for this.
I appreciate this article. I think Orlando Patterson’s concept of “social death” would have been a useful supplement to the argument.
Glad this historian is not just acknowledging the genocide in Gaza, but also holding the US government and the AHA leadership to account. It’s not just the US government, as I think the UK government, the EU leadership, the German giver and some other European governments have made the genocide possible. And it is not just the AHA. What about the editors of the FT, Economists, Washington Post, New York Times?
just as well you're not at harvard
I wonder about you sometimes, Adam, but this article was very good and seems to be sincerely felt. You should speak on this topic more often and more prominently.
Thank you!
Bravo! Agree the US political establishment in particular has disgraced itself and the nation it leads. And even worse is likely yet to come. One hardly knows how best to respond.
Gaza schools funded by the UNRA used ‘Mein Kampf’ as a set book to promote hatred o f the Jews. Is it really that difficult to understand why the IDF destroyed these schools?
Your new president wants to avoid genocide by moving the Palestinians elsewhere.
Yes it's very difficult to understand. You don't murder 13,000 kids and destroy all the schools because some schools might have offensive books in them.
'Moving the Palestinians elsewhere' would be ethnic cleansing. The forcible deportation of a population is defined as a crime against humanity under international law.