Discussion on Genocide and International Law

The word does have meaning, and when you use the term

genocide, I think it connotes the notion

that whoever's committing this genocide

is guilty of something so horrific that it justifies potentially a

genocide against them,

and that it might be horrific. It might be horrific,

it might be a war crime,

it might be wrong, but when you use the word genocide, one,

I think there's

absolutely no factual support for that term, that

qualifies for that term,

and two, it creates a level of hostility towards

Jews in

this city where the diaspora feels vulnerable because I am

part and supportive of an organization that is committing

genocide.

And Scott, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna point to a couple of things.

You know, you and I have, have had, um, a number of really great conversations.

Mm-hmm.

I think you and I probably think very similarly on a number of issues.

We do.

Obviously, this one is one on which we disagree, but-

Yep

...

A, do we have to wait

until more people get killed? Like, how many people do we say is enough

to then call it a genocide? Because the whole point of calling it

that is to stop

it from happening in the first place,

so it's somewhat self-defeating in its own logic.

Second,

the...

Calling something a genocide does not justify a genocide.

Like, you can't say that because one group committed a

genocide, that a genocide

ought to be justified against them.

That is, you know, that is not, uh, the argument anyone's making.

I think everybody would agree that nobody should be in the business

of killing Jewish people because they're Jewish. That is a, a terrible thing.

In fact, we built our whole system of international

law because of the systematic murder of Jewish people.

I just want us to follow that system of s- of international law and do

the things we need to do. And then finally,

on the factual justification, neither

you nor I are scholars on genocide.

I leave it to scholars on genocide, uh, in Israel itself who've called this a

genocide. So it's not just my use of the term, it

is the

use of the term for people who have made their life's work about

technically allocating that word in the circumstances in which

it's used with great care in Israel.

And so I'm just saying that, you know, it, it...

I think there is this leap to saying, "Well, if you call it a genocide, then you

must be justifying reprisal." I'm not. I'm not justifying reprisal.

I am trying to say that we need to intervene to stop they,

these terrible things

from happening. I'm not calling on systematic annihilation

of anyone.

If anything, I'm calling on the systematic upkeep of

people's lives everywhere,

for everyone.