Statement Condemning the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) for Academic Fraud and Complicity in Propaganda Warfare

As a member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), I unequivocally condemn the organization’s recent resolution on Israel as a blatant act of academic fraud and a deliberate salvo in the information war against Israel. This resolution, passed by a mere 100 members—only 20% of the organization’s approximately 500 members—lacks legitimacy and exposes the IAGS’s vulnerability to exploitation. Of the 126 members who voted, roughly 80% supported the resolution, meaning that a staggering 80% of the total IAGS membership (approximately 400 members) either voted against it or did not vote at all, rendering the resolution wholly unrepresentative of the organization’s broader will.

The IAGS, open to anyone who pays a $125 membership fee, is not an exclusive body of scholars but a group susceptible to manipulation by activists. This resolution, backed by just 100 votes at a cost of roughly $12,500 in membership fees, represents one of the cheapest and most effective propaganda tactics in the eighth front against Israel—the media and propaganda war. This cynical exploitation of IAGS’s name has proven devastatingly successful while obliterating the organization’s credibility.

The resolution’s accusation of genocide by Israel is a baseless fabrication, unsupported by evidence and a shameful misuse of the term “genocide.” The following facts dismantle this fraud:

1. Humanitarian Realities: Gaza’s population has grown since the conflict began. Israel facilitates substantial aid, including increased caloric supplies and polio vaccinations, actions fundamentally incompatible with genocidal intent.

2. Israel’s Civilian Protections: Israel issues evacuation warnings before military operations, a practice antithetical to genocide. Conversely, Hamas, which initiated this war and holds hostages, could end the conflict instantly by releasing them but refuses to negotiate.

3. Fabricated Narratives: Allegations of starvation rely on manipulated images. Active markets and restaurants in Gaza contradict claims of systemic deprivation.

4. Complicity of International Actors: Many humanitarian agencies fail to denounce Hamas’s terrorism or advocate for peace, instead amplifying anti-Israel narratives that perpetuate a cycle of violence for political ends.

Categorical Evidence Against Genocide Accusations: The claim that Israel’s actions constitute genocide is not only false but impossible under the legal and factual circumstances, as demonstrated by the following:

- Absence of Genocidal Intent: Genocide requires specific intent to destroy a group “as such” (1948 Genocide Convention). Israel’s actions target Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, not Palestinians as a group. Military operations focus on combatants, with documented efforts to minimize civilian harm, such as precision strikes and warnings.

- Population Growth and Aid: Gaza’s population has increased, and Israel has facilitated massive humanitarian aid, including 1.5 million tons of supplies since October 2023, contradicting claims of intent to destroy. Conditions of life are not calculated to cause physical destruction but are impacted by Hamas’s diversion of aid.

- Hamas’s Role in Prolonging Conflict: Hamas’s refusal to release hostages and its use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes (e.g., tunnels under hospitals) drives the conflict’s intensity. Israel’s response is a legitimate act of self-defense, not a genocidal campaign.

By being deliberately deceived into endorsing this propaganda, IAGS has abandoned its scholarly mission and become an active combatant in the information war. A small faction of activists has manipulated the organization, exploiting its pay-to-join structure to push a false narrative. The consequences are catastrophic: IAGS has destroyed its own credibility, reduced itself to an absurdity, and disgraced the field of genocide studies.

I demand the immediate retraction of this fraudulent resolution and the expulsion of every signatory who endorsed it. These individuals, having exploited a vulnerable organization for propaganda, must be held accountable for this academic travesty. The damage to IAGS’s reputation and the broader field of genocide studies is profound and irreparable.

As a member of IAGS, I call for the organization to restore its commitment to rigorous, evidence-based scholarship and reject ideological activism. Failure to do so will solidify IAGS’s status as a tool of propaganda and a disgrace to the study of genocide.

Sincerely,

Grant Arthur Gochin

Member, International Association of Genocide Scholars