David Lewis is entitled to define his Jewishness however he pleases (“Jewish identity and dissent in the shadow of war”, May 12). He is right that Jews are not a political monolith. There is no obligation for every Jew to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s present government, or every action of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
But that does not confer a right to Lewis to rewrite Jewish history. He begins by declaring his pride in South Africa “leading the charge” at the International Court of Justice against “the genocide being perpetrated against the Palestinian people”. He returns to the charge throughout, accusing Israel of having “already perpetrated” genocide in Gaza, and ending with the declaration: “Ethnic cleansing, genocide, war crimes. Not in my name.”
This is not a minor rhetorical flourish. It is the central accusation. And it is wrong. Genocide is not a synonym for war, civilian casualties, destruction, siege, displacement or even alleged war crimes. It is a specific legal and moral category requiring intent to destroy a protected group, in whole or in part.
Israel is not trying to exterminate Palestinians. Israel is fighting Hamas, the terrorist organisation that invaded Israel on October 7, massacred civilians, took hostages and then embedded itself among the population of Gaza.
