Opinion Interview with Yossi Klein Halevi | Fighting Words
Genocide, blood libel and the power to end the argument.
What is the most effective counterargument to the claim that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza? A group of prominent center-right intellectualsâamong them journalist and author Yossi Klein Halevi, Rabbi Irving âYitzâ Greenberg and Rabbi Micha Odenheimer of Israeli nonprofit Tevel bâTzedekâraised eyebrows recently by penning an open letter that not only marshals arguments against the designation âgenocideâ but ups the ante by asserting that the use of the term constitutes a âblood libelâ against Jews. The letter has circulated online, collecting signatures and calling on supporters âto stop the spread of this pathological falsity before it leads to catastrophic assaults on the Jewish people worldwide.â Klein Halevi spoke with Moment about the power of words and the pitfalls of political rhetoric. âAmy E. Schwartz
Are there words in politics that bring all argument screeching to a halt?
Yes. And genocide is the crown jewel of such words. It no longer means quite what it used to mean, but it still carries enough historic resonance to be a Mark of Cain on the Jewish people. The success of the anti-Zionist movement is primarily linguistic. It has succeeded in attaching a demonic term to every stage of Zionist and Israeli development. So, the founding of Zionism in the late 19th century was an act of white settler colonialism; the creation of Israel was ethnic cleansing; the emergence of Israeli society was apartheid. And all of this culminates with the Gaza war, which is genocide. All these words are showstoppers.
That all of them together are being directed against Israel is an existential threat in the world of ideas.
I donât think thereâs another people in the world who would respond to this kind of systematic assault by engaging in learned discourses on âIs antisemitism a form of anti-Zionism?â or âWhat is the definition of genocide?â Weâve got the lynch mob howling outside the door, and weâre sitting and having these philosophical conversations. I grew up in a survivor family, and at some point Jewish cleverness becomes counterproductive. So thatâs how this petition was born.
What gave you the idea of invoking the blood libel, another discussion-ending term?
Weâve gotten a fair bit of pushback on that language. And that surprised me, because I thought that if you already agree Israel hasnât committed genocide, then is calling the accusation a blood libel really controversial? Jews have been killed around the world in the name of Gaza genocide. It is literally a libel against the State of Israel that has resulted in blood being spilled. To my mind, that is a classic definition of blood libel. Weâve talked about just calling it a libel, if that would open the way to additional signatories. I would be fine with that, but I donât think it would.
I read it as âWell, youâve got a big word, weâve got a bigger word.â Is that how you approached it?
Subconsciously, I probably did. But also, if you are being attacked from every side, you donât quibble over definitions. Itâs like the debates over the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. You take the hammer that youâve been given, and you swing it.
Is it working?
I think itâs working for the people who are signing the petition. Itâs giving us a strong language of empowerment. And I think that thatâs useful, too, in the current atmosphere. Itâs put some anti-Zionist Jews on the defensive. And if thatâs all it does, then, you know, dayenu.
What makes something a blood libel?
The original term comes from the accusation that Jews use blood for their matzah. That is a literal blood libel. Itâs true that Jews have sometimes expanded the definition to cover anything that offends us. But Iâm using it in a very specific way, because I do believe that the accusation of genocide is leading to the shedding of Jewish blood. When you define the Jewish state as Nazi-like, you are accusing the overwhelming majority of the Jewish people of being pro-Nazi. Thatâs a way of, in the Hebrew idiom, âpermitting their bloodââthat is, it makes them a legitimate target of murder. You see that language if you follow anti-Zionist social media, especially in Europe and Englandâthat the Jewish community is complicit in genocide and guilty until proven otherwise. Terrorists in Bondi Beach and in Washington, DC, invoked âgenocide.â Itâs the rallying cry for forces around the world that seek to harm Jews.
Isnât blood libel an even more loaded term than genocide? Is there any danger that it could also become debased?
I donât think so. I hope itâs as evocative as the term genocide, that it has that same weight. But I fear it doesnât. Genocide is the ultimate accusation, and anti-Zionists have succeeded in transforming the language of the mainstream to the point where genocide is now a legitimate way of describing the war in Gaza. Theyâve won the linguistic war. Weâre playing catch-up now. So whatever language I have in my arsenal, Iâm going to use.
8 thoughts on “Opinion Interview with Yossi Klein Halevi | Fighting Words”
I fear that fighting a linguistic war is just another version of the PR or “hasbarah” war. We must call out antisemitism in all its forms but those of us who love Israel must also condemn the totally disproportionate war of vengeance that the Netanyahu government has wreaked against the Palestinians in Gaza.
We as Israelis didn’t fight for “vengeance”, a term antizionists love to use. We fought so another Oct 7th wouldn’t happen again. What would you have done? Leave the terror tunnels intact & drink tea with the pathological, Hamas jihadi lynch mobs?
Missing from the above: If Israeli action is Gaza wasn’t (isn’t) genocide, what was it? Was it the best option? Was it moral? Did it work? Any highly respected scholars who address this issue should be forced to address these questions; then we can judge the validity of their arguments.
Adding the word â modern â to the term blood libel does a disservice to my grandfather ( last person arrested and tried of one) and the other 150 blood libels since 1144 .
Folks should stop using the term to sensationalize their point .
Not all blood libels were associated with matzoh. Itâs nice to get the definition correct when writing an article
I have argued against the use of the word genocide. If Israelis wanted to commit genocide against the local Arabs they’re really bad at it. The ones who commited genocide — killing people merely because of their identities — are the terrorists of Hamas.
That said, I have no problem labelling Netanyahu and his rightwing regime as war criminals. The indiscriminate bombing went on for far too long. Oct. 7 required a punishing blow and not merely a “proportionate” one to cite another loaded word used against Israel. But it reached a point where it was no longer punishing Hamas or doing anything to get the hostages returned. I separate my criticism of Netanyahu from my support for Israel the same way I hope people can separate the condemnation of the fascist Trump (and that’s what he is) from the United States.
I agree that using the work ‘Genocide’ is a Blood Libel. Israel’s current war for survival, is a war so that people (Jews, Arabs, Christians…) can just have a nights rest without sirens, without running to bomb shelters, without using its own citizens to die in this multi front war. The use of the word ‘Genocide’ towards towards Israel is a heinous act of hatred. It mocks the victims of the Holocaust, and is the biggest lie which has been picked up like a popular candy which sweetens the day of those who hate us. This is a quote from Abba Eban âWe shall not attack any country unless it opens war on us. Even now, when the mortars speak, we have not given up our quest for peace. We strive to repel all menace of terrorism and any danger of aggression to ensure our security and our legitimate rights.â
The terror, Israel knowns first hand. The Holocaust and its consequences the nation of Israel knows all too well. The Blood Libel is the dangerous lie which harms us everywhere in every corner of the world.
What is ignored? Why do we have security at Airports? Why does the UN obsess over Israel? Why is the world reluctant to speak up as one voice to stop this relentless attack on Israel and Jews? Why are bigotry and persecution tolerated at the expense of Free Speech which encourages attacks and hatred towards Jews? Why does the world hate Israelis who fight back? Pizza Parlor bombing, Hotel Seder terror, bus bombings, bus stop attacks…It is amazing that we can say ‘we live’. The nation of Israel lives with all it s citizens and the people Israel continues despite the ‘Blood Libel.’ Israel’s reputation is secure. Can one say the same of those attacking us?
Genocide is the deliberate annihilation of a population of people based upon race, religion, ethnicity or gender. The current slaughter of Persians in Iran by radical Islamists is attempted genocide. The slaughter of Christianâs in Africa and the Middle East is genocide. War is NOT genocide, it is war, and in the case of Israel, it has been a defensive war from the beginning, which began with an attempted genocidal attack upon Israelis by an internationally recognized terrorist regime, HAMAS. It is generally acknowledged that Hamas has historically been funded by the IRGC, the military arm of the Islamic republic that overthrew Iran in 1979. The fact that the world has forgotten the history and the facts is a testament to how pervasive radical Islamic ideology has become. The world has been pacifying radical Islamist for at least two decadesâ since 9/11/2001â and the question now is, how much longer will it take before it is recognized for what it is?.
Tragically, Goebbels got it right: If you tell a minor lie, people will be skeptical, they’ll want proof. If you tell a big lie, well, nobody would advance a big and comprehensive accusation unless it was certainly true. “Israeli genocide” is a big lie. And so people believe it. I add that antisemitism is deeply ingrained in the way the world goes round. Thus, it becomes especially ‘sensible’ to believe the lie that Israel is committing genocide.
That’s my psychological/sociological analysis. My political analysis is, as several respondents have pointed out, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah are guilty of genocide. Other groups in the Middle East and Africa are guilty of genocide. What a coincidence — most if not all genocides in the world today are being committed by Muslims. How un-woke of me to say this! But the spirit of Goebbels is back once again. Blame Israel and blame the Jews. It’s a big lie. And it works.