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Rigged: Genocide Scholar Blows Whistle on Anti-Israel Association
A recent vote by a group calling itself the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), which accused Israel of “genocide,” was manipulated to secure a predetermined outcome, according to one of the association’s members.
On Monday, international outlets reported that the IAGS had voted overwhelmingly—86% in favor—to conclude that Israel was guilty of “genocide” in its campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
Israel immediately condemned the resolution, saying it falsely portrayed the aggressors as the victims. Israeli officials stressed that Hamas launched an attack on Israel with the intent to massacre civilians, and that Israel’s actions are in self-defense.
Now, criticism of the vote has intensified after one association member revealed major problems with the process. According to this account, the resolution was rushed through without open debate, no opposing views were permitted, the identities of those who drafted it were concealed, and even non-scholars were allowed to cast ballots. Moreover, only about a quarter of the membership participated in the vote, meaning the result represented the will of an activist minority rather than the entire body.
The Times of Israel quoted Sara Brown, a Jewish genocide scholar, who condemned the process: “The content of the resolution and the way it was forced through speak to an embarrassing absence of professionalism,” she said. Brown noted that the resolution cited organizations like Amnesty International that had altered the definition of genocide to fit Israel’s conduct.
Emails also showed that the association barred dissenting perspectives from being shared on its listserv, claiming that the platform was not intended for debate, and refused to identify the individuals who authored the resolution.
“The appearance is that this was a unanimous vote on behalf of the entirety of the association. It was not, and they refused to have a transparent, critical discussion,” Brown explained. “The leadership, in my opinion, had an agenda.”
Brown further criticized the organization for granting voting rights to individuals who were not scholars—such as political activists and artists—arguing that while this might provide “diversity,” it did not contribute to genuine academic expertise or analysis.
{Matzav.com}
German Authorities Warn People Against Becoming ‘Disposable Agents’ For Russia
Nobel Laureate Prof. Yisroel Aumann: “The Protests and Pressure Are Not Really for the Hostages, but for Surrender”
As public demonstrations continue in support of a hostage deal, Nobel Prize winner Professor Yisroel Aumann voiced sharp opposition to any agreement that would allow Hamas to remain in control of Gaza. Speaking in an interview with Ynet, the renowned game theory and behavioral economics expert warned that such pressure only advances defeat rather than victory.
“I think the protests and the pressure, supposedly for the hostages, are not really for the hostages,” Aumann said. “This pressure is simply to surrender in this war. From the very beginning, they wanted us to leave Gaza, to leave Hamas there, to leave the situation as it was—and that is very bad, because we want peace.”
Aumann insisted that while the protesters do not wish for Israel to cease existing, their demands effectively mean surrender. “What they are actually asking is that we surrender in the war, that we stop the war, and that we also release thousands of terrorists back—that means Hamas won the war and continues to rule there. The goal of Hamas, and in fact also of Mahmoud Abbas, is to destroy the State of Israel. Around the world you hear the call: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.’”
Pressed on the impact of internal pressure on Israel’s ability to both bring the hostages home and defeat Hamas, Aumann responded: “I want to believe that the protesters do not want the destruction of the State of Israel, but that is what it amounts to… I think they don’t understand this. Some of my own relatives are among the protesters, whom I love very much. But they don’t understand that this issue is existential. This is not a matter of settlers or politics—it’s about the State of Israel itself. We have lived here for over 100 years under constant conflict, with violence beginning in 1921 when the Arabs started attacking us. If we want another hundred years of the same—violence and endless attacks—then surrender is the way.”
He added a pointed critique of the government as well: “They don’t understand that we must eliminate Hamas. And by the way, I also have some criticism of the government. What are we doing in Gaza for two years? Why haven’t we conquered Gaza? This whole disaster was brought on ourselves—not only the failure of October 7, but primarily the disengagement. Without the disengagement, Hamas could not have built hundreds of kilometers of tunnels or carried out October 7. The disengagement is the root of evil. And even before that, the Oslo Accords included an education clause—that both sides would educate their children for peace. We did, but they did not.”
Asked what he would say to hostage families who argue that pressuring the government publicly is the only way to bring their loved ones home, Aumann replied: “I understand you one hundred percent, I understand how important this is, and I want your son to return—but I also want my son, my grandson, and my great-grandson not to be killed, and I want your grandson not to be killed, and I want to live in peace. So I have to choose. And I think the good of the whole country outweighs the good of the individual. What they are asking is that Israel surrender, and that will mean decades more of violence, another hundred years of bloodshed, if we give in.”
Responding to claims that solidarity and social cohesion are essential for Israel’s strategic strength, Aumann said: “Internal unity is very important, and I regret the divisions in the nation over this issue more than anything. But still, I want to live in peace. I don’t want my children killed, I don’t want your grandchildren or the hostages’ grandchildren killed. That is why I do not want to surrender.”
Aumann said he has not spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in several years, but if given the chance, he would ask for an explanation of the government’s strategy. “I don’t understand why this war has lasted two years, why we have not conquered Gaza. The truth is I don’t know what is going on. I don’t understand the conduct of the war. I am against surrender, but I don’t understand the government’s actions. I would ask him to explain what he is doing.”
On antisemitism abroad, the professor, who was born in Frankfurt before his family fled Germany prior to Kristallnacht, drew sobering parallels. “It’s not just European Jewry at risk, but Jews in the United States, in Australia, and elsewhere. Today, Germany is actually better than many other countries in terms of antisemitism and extreme anti-Israel sentiment. Antisemitism worldwide is rising sharply. The one positive result is that Jews are fleeing and coming to Israel. But antisemitism across the world continues to grow. It’s not the same as Germany in the 1930s—it was far worse then—but it is very worrying.”
{Matzav.com}
Matzav Inbox: Chesed Will Not Excuse Achzarius – The Mile Around New Square
A group of Yidden, simple shechainim, went to meet with Skver’s leadership circle. They did not come with politics or power. They came as parents, as baalei batim, as Yidden desperate to preserve the peace of their homes and the kedushah of their neighborhoods.
With broken hearts, they begged: stop buying homes in our communities only to pack them with lowlives, pritzus and crime. Stop turning quiet Yiddishe streets into places of pritzus, chaos and fear.
The response they were given? “This is what the Tatte wanted. We have to do this to protect our community, our children. You need to understand that we are a community that does the most chesed in the world. But this is not something that we can even negotiate on. We just have to do this.”Those words should make us stop and ask: What did I just hear?
“Tatte” may sound lofty, but no one can claim a license to harm others on the grounds that “this is what the Tatte wanted.” The Torah is eternal, and every generation must follow its ways. If a policy results in Chilul Hashem, in pritzus, in tearing apart Yiddishe neighborhoods, then no amount of “Tatte” can justify what is going on, because that is not the Torah’s way.
But “we are a community that does the most chesed in the world” is equally hollow. Chesed is one of the great pillars of Klal Yisroel. It defines us as a people. It is the very foundation on which the world stands: Olam chesed yibaneh. To invoke the name of chesed in order to justify behavior that is the opposite of chesed conduct, which brings pain, division, and harm to fellow Yidden, is a distortion that undermines the very integrity of Torah itself.
Yes, chesed is central. Yes, Ahavas Yisroel is central. But one mitzvah does not cancel another. Because a community invests heavily in one area does not mean it can excuse achzarius in another. Torah does not work on a “balance sheet” where good deeds erase aveiros. Each stands on its own, and each carries its own weight.
True chesed uplifts. It creates achdus. It eases suffering and reflects the ways of Hashem Himself: מה הוא רחום אף אתה רחום. When “chesed” is used as a shield to excuse behavior that isolates or intimidates, it no longer deserves the name chesed. It becomes something far more dangerous, achzarius dressed in the garments of mitzvah.
No amount of good can erase the damage caused by policies that exclude or harass. A ribbon-cutting of a chesed project does not make mutar what the Torah makes assur. Chazal teachדרכיה דרכי נעם וכל נתיבותיה שלום – the Torah’s ways are pleasant and peaceful. To twist that into דרכיה דרכי מחלוקת וכל נתיבותיה סבל is to hollow out the Torah’s very message.
To say, “We are a community of chesed, but we must do this” is hollow, and dangerous. Teaching the next generation that as long as you carry the label of chesed, anything else, even actions that harm other Yidden, can be permitted is surely a guarantee that whatever chesed takes place will be short lived and will eventually expire.
Klal Yisroel deserves better. We deserve to see Torah life modeled by the way the Torah sets forth. Not by cruelty hidden under a banner of kindness.
If we allow chesed to be hijacked for actions that trample the mitzvah of ואהבת לרעך כמוך, then the word loses its meaning. And when chesed loses its meaning, so does the heart of our people. Let’s work together towards true Ahavas Yisroel. That doesn’t mean you need to follow my ways or I must follow yours. That means fully internalizing and understanding that every Yid, whether they daven like you or live like me, is still part of the same Klal Yisroel. It means seeing each other’s strengths instead of trying to erase each other’s presence. It means appreciating that the Aibishter put us all here together, not to destroy one another, but to build. And certainly it does not mean to destroy each other’s neighborhoods.
Ahavas Yisroel does not mean trampling other Yidden in the name of someone else’s agenda.
Trying to live as an Ohaiv Yisroel,
Binyomin Ribiat
A Yid within the air-mile
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