Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Rami Khouri: As Scholars Declare Genocide in Gaza, "Will Western Powers Take Action?"
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.
7 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
In the rush to vilify Israel, genocide scholars ignored the truth
This week, [21.6%] the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution stating Israel is committing genocide in Gaza
Under normal circumstances, [genocide scholar Dr. Sara] Brown said, any member can propose a resolution, which goes before a committee for comments and feedback. Controversial or high-stakes resolutions are brought before a virtual town hall to discuss the text. This time, when the resolution was proposed on an IAGS listserv, Brown said that she and others attempted to publish a dissent that was deleted by the moderators.
“One of the executive board members who moderates the listserv refused to publish it and said they are going to have a town hall,” Brown recalled. “Weeks passed as we waited for the town hall … I reached out to ask the president of the executive board when it would happen, and was told ‘we don’t have to hold one and we’re not going to.'”
In addition, Brown said, the resolution was posted anonymously, and the executive board refused to reveal its authorship, an unusual move that “raised red flags.”
“It’s very telling about the biases and agenda of the leadership that they refused to host a town hall … There is no interest in having a transparent dialog and debate about such an important and damning [resolution] in terms of the reputation of the IAGS,” Brown said.
This week, [21.6%] the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution stating Israel is committing genocide in Gaza
Under normal circumstances, [genocide scholar Dr. Sara] Brown said, any member can propose a resolution, which goes before a committee for comments and feedback. Controversial or high-stakes resolutions are brought before a virtual town hall to discuss the text. This time, when the resolution was proposed on an IAGS listserv, Brown said that she and others attempted to publish a dissent that was deleted by the moderators.
“One of the executive board members who moderates the listserv refused to publish it and said they are going to have a town hall,” Brown recalled. “Weeks passed as we waited for the town hall … I reached out to ask the president of the executive board when it would happen, and was told ‘we don’t have to hold one and we’re not going to.'”
In addition, Brown said, the resolution was posted anonymously, and the executive board refused to reveal its authorship, an unusual move that “raised red flags.”
“It’s very telling about the biases and agenda of the leadership that they refused to host a town hall … There is no interest in having a transparent dialog and debate about such an important and damning [resolution] in terms of the reputation of the IAGS,” Brown said.
https://jewishinsider.com/2025/09/international-association-of-genocide-scholars-resolution-israel-sara-brown/
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"86% of the members who voted" was the tip off.
Out of 500 members, 126 voted. In other words, [b]25.2% of the members participated in the vote for the anonymous resolution distributed through a listserv. 109 of the those who voted wanted the resolution passed.
In other words, 21.8% (not 86%) of the IAGS members voted in favor of the resolution vilifying Israel.
And due to its "you too can be a genocide scholar© if you pay us $30" policy, 20% of the IAGS members are currently located in Iran. That information was available to journalists at the time that the story about the scam resolution broke.
However, IAGS has deleted its twitter account and closed down access to its membership list in an effort at damage control concerning the scam resolution that 74.8% of the IAGS members did not vote for.
---------------------------------------------------
Of course Theocracy Now! amplified the scam resolution. Their ongoing efforts to spread misinformation far and wide have been well known for decades.
Rage baiting clicks is a great way for any outlet that promotes right wing, theocratic authoritarians (like the "Axis of Resistance©", aka terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis) to monetize their *activism*.
Cha-ching, Amy Goodman.
(in violation of the group's usual principles and practices) hopefully anyone who spread misinformation by failing to vet the details will correct and/or retract.