Visiting Ethiopia, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared Israel’s devastating war in Gaza as a genocide conducted by soldiers on women and children, unique in history except for the Holocaust.
He was wrong on every count and has rightly outraged many in Israel. But just as with the genocide case brought against the Jewish state at the International Court of Justice, Israelis should listen hard and reconsider the path their government has put them on.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct of the war has been self-defeating and inhumane. To the best of anyone’s knowledge, the Israel Defense Forces have killed almost 30,000 Palestinians since the conflict began, at least two-thirds of whom were civilians, and most of those women and children. This is unacceptable, as is the systematic destruction of homes and infrastructure. It is collective punishment and, unless stopped, risks leaving Israel more isolated and less secure, even as Hamas draws new recruits and political support.