July 15, 2025 – New York Times – In an article published in the New York Times on July 15, 2025, Omer Bartov, an Israeli, former Israeli army officer, and now a professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University, concludes that a genocide is occurring in Gaza.

Omer Bartov, an Israeli-American historian and renowned genocide scholar teaching at Brown University, has penned an op-ed in which he gravely asserts that he now recognizes a genocide unfolding in Gaza. Drawing on decades of research into mass exterminations and their mechanisms, he explains that “he knows when he sees” a genocide: the accumulation of facts, discourse, and intentions, he believes, leaves no room for doubt.

The historian explicitly refers to the 1948 Genocide Convention, which defines this crime as the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. However, according to Bartov, the policies and actions carried out by Israel since October 2023 now meet these criteria: massive and systematic strikes on civilian areas, deliberate destruction of vital infrastructure, blockade of essential resources, all within a context where some Israeli leaders have made dehumanizing statements and implicitly called for the eradication of Palestinians.

He recalls that in November 2023, he believed there was still time to avoid the worst: warning signs already existed, but undeniable proof of genocidal intent had not yet been established. A year and a half later, his assessment has shifted. What was once merely a threat has, in his view, become an undeniable reality. The figures, testimonies, and official statements converge to paint a picture of collective destruction.

For Bartov, this situation extends beyond the Israeli-Palestinian context: it directly impacts the foundations of international law and the very memory of past genocides, including the Holocaust. Refusing to call things by their name would weaken prevention mechanisms, betray the lessons of history, and pave the way for future atrocities.