Voices Against Violence: Israeli Historian Raz Segal on Preventing Genocide in Gaza

Dr. Raz Segal, Associate Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University, addressed the UN Palestinian Rights Committee panel on “2023 War on Gaza: The Responsibility to Prevent Genocide“ on December 12, 2023. Dr. Segal highlighted the consensus among 56 senior scholars of Holocaust, genocide, and mass violence studies who identified Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 7th as potentially genocidal. He pointed to statements by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, who termed Palestinians as “human animals,” reflecting an alarming dehumanization underpinning the conflict. Dr. Segal underscored the dangerous rhetoric used by Israeli officials, such as President Isaac Herzog’s assertion that “there are no innocent civilians in Gaza,“ framing it as a colonial rationalization of mass violence. Dr. Segal emphasized the alarming language and policies aimed at displacing Palestinians, creating severe food insecurity, and bombing civilians, which align with genoc