Ian Powell – Why Jews shouldn’t be blamed for Israel’s genocidal ethnic cleansing in Gaza

In my various previous posts critical of Israel’s  ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, including through genocide, wherever possible I have avoided using the word ‘Jews’. I deliberately use ‘Israelis’, ‘Israel’ or ‘Zionism’ instead.

My rationale is that because Jews as people, either as an ethnic group or religious faith (or both), do not deserve to be tarnished by such a genocidal brush.

While genocide defines Israel it does not define Jews (historically or recently) neither ethnically nor religiously.

Itamar Ben-Gvir publicly applauds promotes genocide of Palestinians

This rationale is despite the murderous comments on a 15 August podcast interview with Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir which was circulated by the Palestine Will be Free solidarity group three days later.

Ben-Gvir did not hold back on his often-expressed support for genocide in Gaza  and his advocacy of Palestinians being subhuman.

He wanted Israeli troops to “kill 30 or 40” people in Gaza every night and go beyond “those who pose a danger … at that particular moment.”

In his words:

There are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.

It isn’t just Ben-Gvir

What makes it worse is that Ben-Gvir’s views are not exclusive to him. Countless Israeli military officials and political leaders have made similar depraved remarks since the start of the genocide.

South Africa confirmed that Ben-Gvir’s racist cruelty was not confined to him

In South Africa’s application to the International Court of Justice alleging Israeli genocide against Palestinians, a whole section was devoted to expressions of genocidal intent which included statements from nearly every Israeli cabinet minister.

Based on this and other evidence the Court concluded that it was plausible that Israel was carrying out genocide.

That ruling was over 30 months ago, in January 2024; a mere three months after the Hamas-led attack across the border in southern Israel. So much more horror has occurred since.

As evil as Ben-Gvir is he is not a lone wolf. Since October 2023 Israel has not only been stating its genocidal intent, but also publicly broadcasting it.

Depressingly Israeli leaders are also voicing what the majority of their constituents support. A vast majority of Israelis have share similar views. In June 2025, 64% of Israelis believed that “there are no innocents” in Gaza.

Further, in a November 2025 poll, 84% of Israeli Jews gave their military an excellent or very good grade for its moral conduct. This suggests that Jews in general should be blamed for Israel’s genocide. But not so.

Palestine in historical context

Despite this horrific situation it still remains unfair to tarnish Jews with this evil brush. Palestine’s history helps explain why.

Over several centuries Palestine has been controlled by four main colonial powers – Rome, Turkey’s Ottoman empire, Britain, and since 1948 Israel.

The Ottomans were relatively the most benign pretty much leaving the population living in Palestine with a reasonable degree of autonomy.

This included economically and infrastructure such as transport systems, providing taxes were paid. In contrast, Israel is the only colonial power that implemented ethnic cleansing.

The Ottoman Empire at its greatest extent, 1683

The Ottoman census of 1878 provides an indicative demographic insight into Palestine based on religious classification relevant to today’s situation.

Only up to 5% of the population were Jewish (including 1-2% who were foreign born). Between 86-87% were Muslim and the remainder Christian (the second biggest group).

Further, in 1882, the Ottoman Empire assessed that the estimated 24,000 Jews in Palestine represented just 0.3% of the world’s Jewish population.

By 1922, with the British Mandate now in place, had changed somewhat. The estimated population of Palestine in 1922 was 78% Muslim, 11% Jewish, and 10% Christian.

But, by 1945, this composition had changed to 58% Muslim, 33% Jewish and 8% Christian.

The reason for this massive shift was the success of the Zionist campaigning for Jews to migrate to Palestine which was promoted as their homeland. This was accelerated by Nazi Germany’s Jewish holocaust.

Even more dramatic was that by 15 May 1948 the total population of what was now decreed to be Israel was 805,900, of which 649,600 (80.6%) were Jews with Palestinians being 156,000 (19.4%).

The Zionist dream and reality

The Zionist dream was to establish and support a Jewish homeland through colonisation in Palestine with as much land and as many Jews as possible along with as few Palestinians as possible. In reality this was to be a settler colony state.

Ethnic cleansing critical to fulfilling Zionist dream

But Zionism historically has not been a prevalent ideology within Judaism. It is an ethnic nationalist movement that emerged in late 19^th century Europe.

Historically Zionism only achieved ideological ascendancy within Judaism, including the call for an exclusive Jewish homeland, recently beginning in the early 20^th century.

As mentioned above, in 1878 Jews were up to a mere 5% of the population of Palestinian.

There was no significant migration of Jews living outside Palestine to the supposed ‘homeland’. In fact, 99.7% of Jews were estimated to live outside the purported ‘homeland’.

However, Zionism’s dramatic rise was soon to become both the main force behind the creation of Israel and the new settler colony’s dominant ideology.

This domination is evidenced by the facts that by 1922 the Jewish population in Palestine had more than doubled to 11%. As Zionist ideology became increasing  dominant by 1945 it was 33% and then 81% three years later.,

In contrast to those Jews already living in Palestine these migrants were drawn to Palestine by the aggressively and effectively promoted extreme Zionist ideology (including religious and racial bigotry) calling for an exclusively Jewish homeland.

This was despite the fact that both Islam and Christianity had no less claim to Palestine than Judaism.

Nakba primarily marked the start of ethnic cleansing

This profound turnaround by 1948 was primarily due to the devastating impact, beginning on 15 May 1947 of a premediated military campaign by Zionist forces.

Palestinians called this campaign the Nakba (catastrophe) which refers to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine to make way for the creation of Israel in 1948.

Thousands of Palestinians were killed, hundreds of villages were destroyed, and 80% of the Palestinian population were forcibly expelled from their homeland.

Massive loss of Palestinian land since 1947

After more than a year of relentless violence, the newly created State of Israel captured 78% of historic Palestine.

Jewish courage against Zionism

The intention of the above historical context is to make the point that the dominant Zionist ideology in Israel that has driven the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, particularly since 1947 and including the current genocide in Gaza, is historically a recent phenomenon.

It is an ideology that is that does not have strong historical roots, was not previously dominant in the Jewish faith, and even today many Jews, including a brave minority in Israel itself, do not adhere to it.

Jewish actress and Bafta winner 85 year old Miriam Margolyes has publicly condemned Israel’s genocide in Gaza; describes Israel as like Hitler’s Nazis; targeted for her courage

In fact many Jews strongly oppose Zionism, including its claim of an exclusive Jewish homeland. This includes religious Jews.

Some have been come under strong personal and professional attack as a result. Jews living in Israel have also spoken out in opposition at great personal risk of harm.

A paywalled article by journalist Laura Raim in Le Monde Diplomatique  (June 2026) explores the challenges for Jews in France over the Zionist-Palestinian conflict.

It is an interesting piece which includes exposing Zionist claims over the legitimacy of their extremist and cruel ideology: Increasingly many Jews critical of Israel’s actions.

Courageous Israeli newspaper ‘Haaretz’ speaks truth to power daily over Israel’s repression and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in midst of prevailing Zionist hostile ideology

Throughout the world Jews have been at the forefront of the massive protests against the genocide in Gaza. This includes New Zealand with the well organised and committed Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa.

Courageous Jewish academics

Professor Maxine Rodinson was a French historian and sociologists whose Jewish parents were murdered in the Nazi holocaust; he was a fierce critic of Zionism and supporter of Palestinian self-determination; his 1968 book ‘Israel and the Arabs’ had a profound influence on me

Jewish historians and other academics have demonstrated personal courage in defending Palestinians’ right to self-determination. They have been the main academic source of my understanding of the Israel-Palestinian relationship.

Professor of history at Exeter University, Ilan Pappe is a Jew who has published extensively, rigorously and movingly on the evils of Zionism, including ethnic cleansing and genocide

Son of Jewish holocaust survivors and political scientist Dr Norman Finkelstein has powerfully exposed Zionist ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and its exploitation of Nazi Jewish holocaust despite persistent persecution

Professor Raz Segal lost job offer for speaking out over Gaza

The Guardian has recently published (6 August) a revealing article by journalist Alice Speri about a Jewish professor losing a prestigious job offer in the United States over his speaking out against the Israeli Gaza occupation: Jewish professor lost job offer.

Following the near-unanimous recommendation of a committee of academics after a rigorous search process, in June 2024 historian Raz Segal was offered a job at Minnesota University to lead its Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

But five days after making the offer, the university abruptly withdrew it following strong organised campaign of opposition by Zionist supporters including donors. Nevertheless, after much work, a legal challenge by Segal led to him being compensated $(US)250,000.

Jewish voices that need to be heard

Berlin born Gunter Warner is an early example of a New Zealand Jew who spoke out against Israel’s repression and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

Gunter Warner aged 92 years (Stuff) 

He managed to escape Nazi Germany in 1939 to New Zealand becoming, among other things, a teacher, prominent educationist, and a longstanding executive member of the Post-Primary Teachers Association (including as its national president).

Warner’s support for the rights of Palestinians continued until nearly the end of his life and six years before the Gaza genocide began. If still alive and able to do so, it is inconceivable that he would not have been a strong critic of Israel’s actions.

Jewish organisations opposing Gaza genocide in Prague, 2026

But let’s leave the final word to an open letter from global Jewish organisations in support of the ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’ (BDS) movement republished by MR Online (11 August): Global Jewish voices against Israeli genocide:

We, the undersigned Jewish organizations, collectives, and community members around the world, write today out of profound moral urgency.

The Israeli state is accelerating the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians through mass
displacement, settler violence, and the destruction of Palestinian communities. In Gaza, Israel is carrying out a genocide that has killed tens of thousands of people, devastated civilian infrastructure, displaced the vast majority of the population, and subjected Palestinians to starvation and collective punishment.

These crimes demand concrete action from us, in whose name they are being committed.

In the United States, Jewish Voice for Peace has expressed principled support for
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), demonstrating that Jewish ethical principles can and must be mobilized in opposition to oppression.

The scale of devastation has reached a point where silence is no longer defensible.

We therefore call upon Jewish organizations around the world to publicly endorse the BDS movement and to support coordinated nonviolent pressure to end Israeli impunity. We also urge governments and international institutions to respond to growing calls from civil society, human rights organizations, and citizens for concrete measures of accountability, including the suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement.

We affirm support for:

• Boycott, divestment, and sanctions as legitimate, nonviolent tools for advancing
  Palestinian freedom, equality, and human rights;
• Economic, cultural, academic, and institutional pressure on Israel until it ends its violations of Palestinian rights and complies with international law;
• The right of individuals, organizations, and institutions to advocate for and participate
  in BDS without censorship, retaliation, or legal penalty;
• Building broad Jewish support for BDS globally as an expression of solidarity with Palestinians and opposition to Israeli oppression.

This is not a moment for maintaining old divisions and political boundaries while an entire society is being destroyed. We may not agree on every political framework, but we believe the time has come to place our collective moral weight behind meaningful action, publicly support BDS, and demand accountability.

So I am sticking with ‘Israel’, ‘Israeli’ or ‘Zionism’ when discussing ethnic cleansing and genocide in Palestine. Those of Jewish ethnicity or faith don’t deserve to be tarnished by this evil brush.

 

History will readily absolve Jews but not Israel or Zionism.