Why South Africas Claims Of Genocide In Gaza Are False

Published

10 months ago

January 17, 2024

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Last week, the U.N.s International Court of Justice convened at The Hague to hear arguments from South African representatives accusing the State of Israel of violating international law by carrying out a genocide to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.

Many influential figures across social media have agreed with the accusation, such as former UFC fighter Jake Shields who claims America is clashing with Yemen so that Israel can continue their genocide in Gaza.

South Africa has also been backed by many in the film industry. A video released last week by the Palestine Festival of Literature shows 29 actors from television series like Game of Thrones reading South Africas official case file.

So, is Israel actually committing genocide? The answer is simple absolutely not.

The term genocide was originally coined in 1944 by Jewish-Polish lawyer Raphel Lemkin in his book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. Lemkin created the term as a response to the systematic killing of the Jews in Nazi occupied Europe. He chose the Greek prefix genos, meaning race, and the latin suffix cide, which means killing.

So, to claim the only Jewish nation in the world formed by Holocaust survivors is carrying out the same crime that befell its ancestors just eight decades ago is something that should not be taken lightly.

According to Article II of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the term is defined as a group of acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.

All it takes is a single word in that definition to establish their innocence, intent.

A quick glance into Israels conduct in Gaza shows they have no intention of eradicating the Arabs who live there.

As Israeli Defense Forces combat Hamas, a terror organization who purposely embeds themselves in hospitals and civilian areas to use the general population as human shields, they take countless steps to save as many innocent lives as possible. For example, before an airstrike occurs, Israel often sends warning signs to civilians in the strike zone. These signs include roof knock warning bombs, leaflet droppings, direct phone calls, and even complete abandonment of strikes they cant clear out in time. One could argue that no nation on earth does more to prevent harm to civilians, because doing so can ultimately compromise the effectiveness of the operation.

A common argument made by critics, especially in response to the aforementioned point, is the casualty count coming out of Gaza. Before addressing it directly, it should be understood that the number, which is now reportedly over 20,000, comes from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Hamas is a terror organization who purposely places their own civilians in harms way, so their numbers should be taken with not only a grain, but a truckload of salt. Taking Hamas at their word is comparable to trusting the Kremlin to give accurate figures for the number of Russian casualties sustained in their current war.

If the numbers are accurate, however, it is important to understand a high casualty count does not equate to genocide. During World War II, the United States and Britain carried out a joint bombing campaign against Dresden, Germany. While their overall goal was to defeat the Axis powers, 25,000 people died as a result of the campaign. To this day, the bombing of Dresden is not considered a genocidal act and rightfully so.

Another example from World War II are the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. The damage caused by these operations was so extensive, historians have never been able to produce a concrete casualty count. Some estimates place the figure around 110,000. Despite the soberingly large figure, America never went on trial for genocide against the Japanese because (similar to Israel) they never showed any intent to wipe out an entire race.

Many critics of South Africas actions at the U.N. have responded by criticizing them in return. British author and commentator Douglas Murray claimed , Its government is profoundly anti-Semitic, has been anti-Israel for years. He also said they, always do this sort of thing to try to sort of distract attention among their own population from the failings of their own government.

Similarly, Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman has shown a surprising willingness to differ from his party by openly defending Israel. At a luncheon hosted by the Orthodox Union, Fetterman criticized South Africa by saying they should sit this one out.

Israel is not committing a genocide in Gaza. For almost two decades they have worked tirelessly to defend their citizens from Hamas and other terrorist organizations. At any point, Israels superior military could have wiped out their enemies in the Gaza Strip, but they havent. The population in Gaza, on the other hand, has grown consistently at an unprecedented rate. Hamas started this war on October 7, 2023, with a massacre of innocent civilians, and it will continue until the terrorists who carried it out are no longer a threat. Lets hope that happens soon, so civilians on both sides can live safely.

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JacobFalach is a writer and student in Nashville, TN. You can find him on Instagram at: @jacobfalach

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Entertainment

Gary Lineker says ‘right time’ to leave Match Of The Day as he hints of changes to show’s format

Published

3 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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Gary Lineker says 'right time' to leave Match Of The Day as he hints of changes to show's format

Gary Lineker has said it is “the right time” to leave Match Of The Day and hinted the BBC could change the format of the Premier League highlights show.

The 63-year-old will step down as host at the end of the season and described his time on the show as an “absolute joy and privilege”.

Speaking on his podcast, The Rest Is Football, he said: “It has been an absolute joy and privilege to present such an iconic show for the BBC.

“But all things have to come to an end.”

Lineker went on to say the broadcaster enters a new three-year deal to host top-flight highlights, and that to stay on for another 12 months “would be a bit weird”.

“I think the next contract they’re looking to do Match Of The Day slightly differently, so I think it makes sense for someone else to take the helm.

“I bowed out in my football career when I felt it was the right time. I feel this is now the right time.”

Lineker refused to speculate who would be taking his place, as rumours grew around Mark Chapman, the regular Match Of The Day 2 presenter, Football Focus host Alex Scott, and BBC sports coverage presenter Gabby Logan.

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“Obviously I don’t know who it’ll be, and I would never tell publicly my preference, I don’t think that’d be the right thing to do – but whoever it is, I would say be yourself,” he said.

“I had to fill the ginormous shoes of certain Des Lynam.

“…I would say just be yourself and enjoy it, it’s a wonderful programme to be a part of. It was brilliant before I took over, and it will be brilliant after I leave.”

Lineker has hosted Match Of The Day since 1999 and will have presented the show for more than a quarter of a century when he leaves in May 2025.

He will continue with the MOTD Top Ten podcast alongside his podcast, which also features BBC pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.

The former England striker has been the BBC’s highest-paid on-air talent for seven consecutive years and was estimated to have earned £1.35m in the year 2023/24.

The BBC said future plans for Match Of The Day would be “announced in due course”.

Business

UK economy grows by 0.1% between July and September – slower than expected

Published

3 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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UK economy grows by 0.1% between July and September - slower than expected

The UK economy grew by 0.1% between July and September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, despite the small positive GDP growth recorded in the third quarter, the economy shrank by 0.1% in September, dragging down overall growth for the quarter.

The growth was also slower than what had been expected by experts and a drop from the 0.5% growth between April and June, the ONS said.

Economists polled by Reuters and the Bank of England had forecast an expansion of 0.2%, slowing from the rapid growth seen over the first half of 2024 when the economy was rebounding from last year’s shallow recession.

And the metric that Labour has said it is most focused on – the GDP per capita, or the economic output divided by the number of people in the country – also fell by 0.1%.

Reacting to the figures, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “Improving economic growth is at the heart of everything I am seeking to achieve, which is why I am not satisfied with these numbers,” she said in response to the figures.

“At my budget, I took the difficult choices to fix the foundations and stabilise our public finances.

“Now we are going to deliver growth through investment and reform to create more jobs and more money in people’s pockets, get the NHS back on its feet, rebuild Britain and secure our borders in a decade of national renewal,” Ms Reeves added.

The sluggish services sector – which makes up the bulk of the British economy – was a particular drag on growth over the past three months. It expanded by 0.1%, cancelling out the 0.8% growth in the construction sector

The UK’s GDP for the the most recent quarter is lower than the 0.7% growth in the US and 0.4% in the Eurozone.

The figures have pushed the UK towards the bottom of the G7 growth table for the third quarter of the year.

It was expected to meet the same 0.2% growth figures reported in Germany and Japan – but fell below that after a slow September.

The pound remained stable following the news, hovering around $1.267. The FTSE 100, meanwhile, opened the day down by 0.4%.

The Bank of England last week predicted that Ms Reeves’s first budget as chancellor will increase inflation by up to half a percentage point over the next two years, contributing to a slower decline in interest rates than previously thought.

Announcing a widely anticipated 0.25 percentage point cut in the base rate to 4.75%, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) forecast that inflation will return “sustainably” to its target of 2% in the first half of 2027, a year later than at its last meeting.

The Bank’s quarterly report found Ms Reeves’s £70bn package of tax and borrowing measures will place upward pressure on prices, as well as delivering a three-quarter point increase to GDP next year.

US

RFK Jr chosen as Donald Trump’s health secretary – as president-elect says he will do ‘unbelievable things’

Published

4 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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RFK Jr chosen as Donald Trump's health secretary - as president-elect says he will do 'unbelievable things'

Donald Trump has chosen vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as his new health secretary and said he will do “unbelievable things”.

The news was announced by Donald Trump Jr on X, before the president-elect confirmed the appointment just moments later.

Former Democrat RFK Jr, the nephew of former president John F Kennedy, had been running as an independent presidential candidate but dropped out of the race and endorsed Mr Trump in August.

In return for Mr Kennedy’s support during the election, president-elect Trump pledged to give him a “big role” – and RFK Jr’s preference for the health position was widely reported.

Mr Trump spoke on Thursday night at a gala, hosted at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida, which included tech billionaire Elon Musk and actor Sylvester Stallone.

Directly addressing RFK Jr, who was in the audience, Mr Trump said: “We want you to come up with things… and ideas… and what you’ve been talking about for a long time. I think you’re going to do some unbelievable things. Nobody’s going to be able to do it like you.”

The health and human services (HHS) department includes the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare, Medicaid and the National Institutes of Health.

RFK Jr will “restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again,” the president-elect wrote on X.

Mr Trump added: “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health.

“The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration.”

Mr Kennedy is a known vaccine sceptic who has repeated misinformation on multiple occasions, including the discredited theory that childhood immunisations cause autism.

The RFK Jr-led health department will “play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country,” the president-elect added.

Earlier, his son Donald Trump Jr was the first to confirm the appointment, writing on X: “Robert F Kennedy Jr will be The Secretary of Health and Human Services! Promises Made Promises Kept.”

RFK Jr’s position will need to be confirmed with a Senate vote – but even with the chamber under Republican control, his appointment may face opposition because of his views on health issues.

Before Mr Trump announced his choice, Mr Kennedy had already claimed the new president would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office. The addition of the compound has been cited as helping to improve dental health.

The department RKF Jr is hoping to oversee has more than 80,000 employees across the United States.