New Accusation, Old Campaign

The genocide accusation feels new, born of the war that began in response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre. However, it is simply the latest effort in a decades-long campaign to delegitimize Israel by accusing it of the most heinous of crimes.

Although the vocabulary updates with each generation, the goal remains the same: to isolate and remove Israel and the Jews from the community of nations.

The delegitimization pattern began in 1975, as part of an effort by the Arab countries and the USSR to hurt the U.S. and Israel, when the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 3379 declaring Zionism “a form of racism and racial discrimination” by a vote of 72 to 35.[i] The resolution stood for 16 years before being revoked in 1991 by a lopsided vote – the only time in UN history a resolution has been formally repealed.[ii] Even the body that passed the resolution found it to be a political weapon rather than a factual finding.

The delegitimization campaign resurfaced at the 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban where at a parallel event, the NGO Forum produced a declaration that revived the “Zionism is racism” formula, branded the only democracy in the Middle East as a racist, apartheid state, and accused it of genocide.[iii] The document was so extreme that the UN’s own human rights chief said she could not present it to governments.[iv]

At Durban, the modern lexicon of apartheid, genocide, and settler-colonialism was assembled into a single package still used and promoted today by anti-Israel and anti-American groups.

In 2005, the BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) Movement was launched and its founder Omar Barghouti stated clearly that it opposed a Jewish state in any part of the land.[v]

In isolation, the genocide charge invites a good-faith reader to weigh the evidence war by war. But in a broader context, it reveals itself as part of a campaign that predates the Hamas-Israel war by half a century. Wherever and whenever the IDF operates, the claim of genocide arises. Thus, the consistent feature is not Israeli policy; it is the fixed determination to make up an argument that will render the Jewish state uniquely illegitimate.

For example, the “International Association of Genocide Scholars” passed a resolution in 2025 declaring Israel to be engaged in genocide in Gaza.
An investigation into the organization’s membership found that its size had almost tripled since October 2023, and that membership and voting rights in the group could be obtained for as little as $30.[vi] No other standards or qualifications were required to be part of a professional cohort publicly condemning Israel for allegedly committing the greatest of crimes.

From Durban to BDS to today’s GenoLIE campaign, the accusation may change, but the logic stays the same – Israel cannot be destroyed by force, so all that remains are campaigns for its boycott and isolation.

The “Gaza Genocide” is one of the biggest lies of the 21st century. It was generated and promoted by anti-Zionist and antisemitic networks following the October 7 Massacre to prevent Israel from saving its hostages, delegitimize the Jewish state, and fuel global antisemitism.

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[i]UN General Assembly Resolution 3379, November 10, 1975. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-181963/

[ii]UN General Assembly Resolution 46/86, December 16, 1991. https://docs.un.org/en/a/res/46/86

[iii]“The Durban Conference and Process,” Anti-Defamation League. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/durban-conference-and-process

[iv]Ibid.

[v]Statement of BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti, cited by the World Jewish Congress. https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/defining-antisemitism-double-standards-against-the-state-of-israel

[vi] Jerusalem Post, “’Genocide scholars’ for $30? Easy entry, fake members undermine confidence in IAGS resolution,” September 4, 2025, https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-866398