It is bitter to note that Omer Bartov wrote essentially this same article for The Guardian in August 2024. Surely NYT knew about it. In December 2024 Bartov was also interviewed on CNN by Christiane Amanpour about his conclusion Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. I would think NYT knew about that too. It was NYT that published Bartov in Nov 2023 saying Israel *wasn't* committing genocide, and my view is NYT had a solemn obligation to publish his revised view far far sooner than this.
I will also note that March 2024 -- which is the time period in which Bartov came to his revised conclusion -- is pretty much exactly the same time frame in which campus protests and encampments rose up, with charges of "Genocide Joe", that were within 2 months completely suppressed, and the protesters targeted for later deportation and harassment. Young graduation speakers this year were facing censorship and punishment for speaking openly about a genocide that genocide scholars knew was happening a year and a half ago.
It is hard to face the idea how many people died because of the sheer arrogance and abuse of power of editors and university administrators.
Precisely; alas the suppression of pro-Palestinian voices in the academy continues apace. Prof Bartov wrote about his change of heart both in the Guardian (and if I recall correctly) several other left-leaning sources. But the fact that they published this piece is significant: it means that the main-stream press in the US is willing, however grudgingly, to publish Bartov's piece. Note that it came several days after the NYT's expose of Bibi's horrid behavior. The Overton window may be expanding to publication of anti-Zionist voices (and, one would hope, far more Palestinian voices. They don't have to go far. Just interview some of those that Amy Goodman speaks to nearly every day on Democracy Now.
On October 13, 2023, Raz Segal was already raising the alarm bells calling it a "textbook case of genocide." On October 15, 2023, over 800 scholars, legal experts, historians etc. signed an open letter warning of an impending genocide. By the end of January 2024, the ICJ issued provisional measures under the Genocide Convention.
It isn't just Omer Bartov. According to Shumel Lederman from the Department of Holocaust Studies at the University of Haifa: "the cumulative effect of what Israel is doing in Gaza is genocidal in every sense. I think the second half of 2024 is the point at which a consensus emerged among genocide researchers (as well as the human rights community) that this was genocide. Those who may have still had doubts — I estimate that they have dissipated following Israel's actions since the cease-fire was broken."
To be clear, the "consensus" that Lederman refers to is overwhelming:
- Martin Shaw, the author of 'What is Genocide'
- Melanie O'Brien, President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars
- Dirk Moses, Senior Editor of the Journal of Genocide Research
- Iva Vukušić, who helped prosecute the Srebrenica genocide
- Amos Goldberg, professor of Jewish history and Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University
- Daniel Blatman, Holocaust historian at the Hebrew University
- Lee Mordechai, historian at Princeton University
- Amnesty International
- Human Rights Watch
- University Network for Human Rights
- International Human Rights Clinics at Boston University School of Law and Cornell Law School
- The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria
- The Lowenstein Human Rights Project at Yale Law School
- The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry
- Special Committees under the auspices of the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Multiple UN Special Rapporteurs, the most prominent being Francesca Albanese
I'll conclude with the words of Raz Segal, associate professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University, echoed Lederman's conclusions when speaking to the Dutch newspaper NRC, saying: "Can I name someone who's work I respect who doesn't consider it genocide? No."
The student protests of 2024 and subsequent repression by schools and universities under the guise of protecting Jewish students from antisemitism inhibited the public conversation of Israel’s intention and action. I was thrilled to see that just a few days ago the graduating class of the University of Edinburgh walked out of their ceremony newly informed that their institution has deep economic ties to Israel. Not sure whether I saw that on Substack or Instagram, but the video spoke for itself. Gone is the spirit that “all the news that’s fit to print.” Gone is that illusion.
It is bitter to note that Omer Bartov wrote essentially this same article for The Guardian in August 2024. Surely NYT knew about it. In December 2024 Bartov was also interviewed on CNN by Christiane Amanpour about his conclusion Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. I would think NYT knew about that too. It was NYT that published Bartov in Nov 2023 saying Israel *wasn't* committing genocide, and my view is NYT had a solemn obligation to publish his revised view far far sooner than this.
I will also note that March 2024 -- which is the time period in which Bartov came to his revised conclusion -- is pretty much exactly the same time frame in which campus protests and encampments rose up, with charges of "Genocide Joe", that were within 2 months completely suppressed, and the protesters targeted for later deportation and harassment. Young graduation speakers this year were facing censorship and punishment for speaking openly about a genocide that genocide scholars knew was happening a year and a half ago.
It is hard to face the idea how many people died because of the sheer arrogance and abuse of power of editors and university administrators.
Precisely; alas the suppression of pro-Palestinian voices in the academy continues apace. Prof Bartov wrote about his change of heart both in the Guardian (and if I recall correctly) several other left-leaning sources. But the fact that they published this piece is significant: it means that the main-stream press in the US is willing, however grudgingly, to publish Bartov's piece. Note that it came several days after the NYT's expose of Bibi's horrid behavior. The Overton window may be expanding to publication of anti-Zionist voices (and, one would hope, far more Palestinian voices. They don't have to go far. Just interview some of those that Amy Goodman speaks to nearly every day on Democracy Now.
How many hours will pass before AIPAC/ADL coerce the NYT to
take Mr Bartov's op-ed down?
On October 13, 2023, Raz Segal was already raising the alarm bells calling it a "textbook case of genocide." On October 15, 2023, over 800 scholars, legal experts, historians etc. signed an open letter warning of an impending genocide. By the end of January 2024, the ICJ issued provisional measures under the Genocide Convention.
It isn't just Omer Bartov. According to Shumel Lederman from the Department of Holocaust Studies at the University of Haifa: "the cumulative effect of what Israel is doing in Gaza is genocidal in every sense. I think the second half of 2024 is the point at which a consensus emerged among genocide researchers (as well as the human rights community) that this was genocide. Those who may have still had doubts — I estimate that they have dissipated following Israel's actions since the cease-fire was broken."
To be clear, the "consensus" that Lederman refers to is overwhelming:
- Martin Shaw, the author of 'What is Genocide'
- Melanie O'Brien, President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars
- Dirk Moses, Senior Editor of the Journal of Genocide Research
- Iva Vukušić, who helped prosecute the Srebrenica genocide
- Amos Goldberg, professor of Jewish history and Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University
- Daniel Blatman, Holocaust historian at the Hebrew University
- Lee Mordechai, historian at Princeton University
- Amnesty International
- Human Rights Watch
- University Network for Human Rights
- International Human Rights Clinics at Boston University School of Law and Cornell Law School
- The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria
- The Lowenstein Human Rights Project at Yale Law School
- The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry
- Special Committees under the auspices of the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Multiple UN Special Rapporteurs, the most prominent being Francesca Albanese
I'll conclude with the words of Raz Segal, associate professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University, echoed Lederman's conclusions when speaking to the Dutch newspaper NRC, saying: "Can I name someone who's work I respect who doesn't consider it genocide? No."
The student protests of 2024 and subsequent repression by schools and universities under the guise of protecting Jewish students from antisemitism inhibited the public conversation of Israel’s intention and action. I was thrilled to see that just a few days ago the graduating class of the University of Edinburgh walked out of their ceremony newly informed that their institution has deep economic ties to Israel. Not sure whether I saw that on Substack or Instagram, but the video spoke for itself. Gone is the spirit that “all the news that’s fit to print.” Gone is that illusion.
Yeah, sometimes very little says more, it would be worthwhile appointing good readers as censors
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/opinion/israel-gaza-holocaust-genocide-palestinians.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Wk8.GfmT.lDD9azuVBB2F&smid=url-share