Gaza, 380 intellectuals denounce ‘genocide’: ‘Silence makes us accomplices’

Open letter signed by writers, artists and international cultural organisations. Appeal for a ceasefire, humanitarian aid and sanctions for non-compliance

‘The term genocide is not a slogan, but entails responsibility’. This is one of the strongest passages of the letter signed by 380 writers, artists and cultural organisations who today, Wednesday 28 May, chose to break the silence on the war in the Gaza Strip. The document, published by the Guardian, openly denounces the behaviour of the Israeli government, calling it ‘genocidal’ and calls for an immediate ceasefire, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid and international sanctions if there is no response.

Signatories include prominent names such as Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, Russell T Davies, Hanif Kureishi, George Monbiot, Jeanette Winterson, Irvine Welsh, Elif Shafak and Brian Eno. The initiative was coordinated by the writers Horatio Clare, Kapka Kassabova and Monique Roffey, and opens with a poem by Hiba Abu Nada, a Palestinian writer killed in an air raid in October 2023, who imagines a shelter among the stars for those living under the bombs today.

The letter underlines how the use of the word ‘genocide’ is no longer a matter of controversy among international law experts and organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN Human Rights Council, which have spoken of ‘genocidal acts’ by the IDF. Reinforcing the accusation were public statements by Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, referred to as ‘explicit expressions of genocidal intentions’.

The document distances itself from all forms of anti-Semitism and racism, also condemning the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, in which more than 1,200 Israelis died. ‘Calling these crimes crimes crimes against humanity is right,’ the signatories write, ‘but it is equally right to call the systematic attack on the civilian population of Gaza genocide.

According to figures released by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, deaths among Palestinians exceed 53,000 since the beginning of the war. While the international community debates definitions, say the authors of the letter, ‘Israel continues the systematic destruction of life in Gaza, by land, sea and sky’.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has firmly rejected the accusations, calling them ‘false and outrageous’, and an ‘insult that any decent person should reject’. But for the petitioners, the point is another: ‘We are witnesses and we refuse to approve with our silence’.

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