Following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023—which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths, predominantly civilians, and included mass abductions and sexual violence—international discourse increasingly described Israel’s military response in Gaza as “genocide” (UN OCHA 2024). Demonstrations, digital activism, and political rhetoric framed Israel’s campaign as an effort to destroy the Palestinian people.

Jewish historians and antisemitism scholars argue that this framing resurrects one of the oldest antisemitic myths: the blood libel. The accusation does not merely challenge Israeli policy but portrays Jews and the Jewish state as uniquely cruel and predatory, especially toward children—a narrative that historically justified pogroms, expulsions, and mass violence (Rosenblum 2023; Goda 2025).

This essay contends that labeling Israel’s war against Hamas as genocide both misapplies international law and reproduces a historical pattern of demonization. Drawing on the UN Genocide Convention, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and contemporary scholarship, it demonstrates how modern genocide rhetoric mirrors medieval accusations that cast Jews as enemies of humanity.

Historical Foundations of the Blood Libel

The blood libel refers to allegations that Jews murder non-Jews for ritual purposes or from inherent malice. While traces appear in antiquity, the myth became widespread in medieval Christian Europe, where theological doctrines portrayed Jews as collectively responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus (Goda 2025). A verse in the Gospel of Matthew—“His blood be upon us and our children”—was interpreted as assigning permanent guilt to Jews, transforming religious difference into moral monstrosity.

The first documented medieval case occurred in Norwich, England, in 1144, when Jews were accused of murdering a Christian boy for Passover rituals (US Holocaust Memorial Museum 2023). Similar accusations spread across Europe and the Middle East, often followed by executions, expulsions, and the seizure of Jewish property.

The libel persisted into the modern era. The Damascus Affair of 1840 and the Shiraz pogrom of 1910 illustrate its diffusion beyond Europe (Yad Vashem 2024). In the twentieth century, the myth adapted to political ideologies: Nazi propaganda depicted Jews as ritual killers, while Stalinist campaigns such as the Doctors’ Plot accused Jewish physicians of conspiring to murder Soviet leaders (Goda 2025).

These accusations were never symbolic alone. They fueled pogroms, legal discrimination, and ultimately the Holocaust. Across centuries, the underlying claim remained consistent: Jews were portrayed as uniquely dangerous to innocent life (Rosenblum 2023).

Genocide as a Legal Category

The term “genocide” was coined in 1944 by Raphael Lemkin to describe the systematic destruction of European Jewry. The 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group (United Nations 1948).

Central to the definition is intent. Genocide requires a demonstrable policy of extermination directed at a group as such. Historical cases meeting this standard include the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Khmer Rouge’s mass killings in Cambodia (Lemkin 1944; United Nations 1948).

Civilian deaths during war, even when extensive, do not themselves constitute genocide without evidence of such intent.

The Misapplication of Genocide to Israel’s War in Gaza

Applying the genocide label to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza disregards this legal threshold. There is no articulated Israeli policy calling for the destruction of Palestinians as a people. Israel’s stated objective has been the defeat of Hamas following its October 7 attack (Rosenblum 2023).

Israel has employed evacuation warnings, humanitarian corridors, and coordination with international aid agencies—measures inconsistent with a policy of extermination (ICJ 2024). Hamas, meanwhile, embeds military assets in civilian infrastructure and controls aid distribution, increasing civilian exposure to harm (UN OCHA 2024).

Casualty figures reported by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Although humanitarian suffering is severe and famine risks are real, these conditions do not demonstrate genocidal intent under international law (Goda 2025).

Scholars note that Israel has been uniquely accused of genocide since its founding in 1948, unlike other states engaged in urban warfare with comparable or higher civilian casualties, such as France in Algeria or the United States in Vietnam (Goda 2025).

The ICJ Ruling and Public Distortion

In January 2024, the International Court of Justice issued provisional measures in South Africa’s case against Israel. Contrary to public claims, the court did not rule that Israel was committing genocide. It found only that Palestinians have a plausible right to protection from genocidal acts and ordered Israel to prevent violations and facilitate humanitarian aid (ICJ 2024).

ICJ President Joan Donoghue later clarified that the court had made no finding that genocide was occurring (Donoghue 2024). Nonetheless, activists and commentators repeatedly represented the ruling as proof of Israeli guilt, reinforcing the narrative of Jewish criminality while minimizing Hamas’s declared aim of Israel’s destruction (Rosenblum 2023).

Contemporary Tropes of the Blood Libel

Modern genocide accusations revive familiar antisemitic themes:

1. Religious distortion: Biblical texts are cited to portray Jewish identity as inherently violent or supremacist (Goda 2025).
2. Disproportionate vengeance: Hamas’s massacre is minimized while Israel’s response is framed as proof of Jewish bloodlust (Rosenblum 2023).
3. Child-murder imagery: Images of dead Palestinian children circulate widely, echoing medieval claims of ritual killing (US Holocaust Memorial Museum 2023).
4. Conspiracy narratives: Israel and its supporters are accused of manipulating Western governments and media (Goda 2025).
5. Collective guilt: Jews worldwide are labeled complicit through association with Israel, fueling global antisemitism (Rosenblum 2023).

Unlike other genocides, these accusations extend beyond the conflict zone. Jewish communities in Europe and North America have experienced threats, vandalism, and physical attacks directly linked to the Gaza war (ADL 2024).

Political Utility of the Narrative

Several groups benefit from the genocide accusation. Extremist ideologues gain moral legitimacy by casting Jews as absolute villains. White nationalist movements see confirmation of longstanding antisemitic beliefs. Islamist fundamentalists draw on religious traditions hostile to Jews. Some Palestinian activists deploy the charge to gain international sympathy while defining political identity primarily in opposition to Israel’s existence (Gur 2024; Rosenblum 2023).

At the same time, redefining genocide to mean any war with civilian casualties erodes its significance and weakens protections for victims of genuine extermination campaigns (Goda 2025).

Conclusion

Describing Israel’s war against Hamas as genocide is not simply political criticism. It revives an ancient narrative that casts Jews as murderers of innocents and enemies of humanity. This modern blood libel transforms humanitarian tragedy into a tool of delegitimization and fuels hostility toward Jews worldwide.

Recognizing this pattern does not negate Palestinian suffering. Innocent lives lost in Gaza demand compassion and serious humanitarian response. But moral judgment requires historical and legal precision. Israel is engaged in a war against a terrorist organization that openly calls for its destruction, not a campaign to eradicate a people.

If the concept of genocide is to retain its moral force, it must not be reshaped into a vehicle for historical prejudice. Truth, not myth, must guide justice.

Bibliography

ADL. 2024. Antisemitic Incidents Report 2023–2024. Anti-Defamation League.

Donoghue, Joan. 2024. Interview with BBC News, February 2024.

Goda, Norman J. W. 2025. “The Genocide Libel: How the World Has Charged Israel with Genocide.” ISCA Research Paper 2025-3. Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, Indiana University Bloomington.

Gur, Haviv Rettig. 2024. Analysis on Palestinian political identity and international narratives. Times of Israel.

International Court of Justice (ICJ). 2024. Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), Provisional Measures Order, January 26, 2024.

Lemkin, Raphael. 1944. Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Rosenblum, Ari. 2023. “Deconstructing the Genocide Blood Libel.” Jewish Federation & Foundation of Rockland County.

United Nations. 1948. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

UN OCHA. 2024. Gaza Humanitarian Situation Reports. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

US Holocaust Memorial Museum. 2023. “Blood Libel: Medieval Antisemitic Myth.” Washington, DC.

Yad Vashem. 2024. Encyclopedia of Jewish Persecution and Pogroms.

Written with the help of AI.