Boy George has it right in genocide debate | Letter

The debate over “genocide” is an ongoing topic in these pages. Maine rabbis say the term is wrongly being applied to Israel’s actions in Gaza. Press Herald readers say the term is a “legal distinction” and that the “Gaza genocide” is real. Now, Boy George has weighed in with his song “We Will Dance Again” with the opening line, “You say genocide, I say war….”

When courts seek the meaning of a word, they look at its original intent. Does “genocide” have an “original intent?” Yes! The word didn’t exist before World War II. It was adopted by the United Nations at its 1948 Convention on Genocide. Like the Geneva Conventions, it codified into law prohibitions against inhumane conduct during war.

Its definition read: “Genocide means any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” The first act: “killing members of the group.”

Given this definition, isn’t all war “genocide”? Didn’t the United States “intend” to destroy part of Japan when it bombed Hiroshima? Didn’t the British “intend” to destroy part of Germany when it firebombed Berlin?

The original meaning of “genocide” has been lost. In 1948, it applied only to deliberate killing of noncombatants outside of military operations. It didn’t apply to civilian deaths during military operations.

Sadly, Gazans found themselves trapped in an urban war where they became human shields. I agree with Boy George: “You say genocide, I say war.”

Erwin Rupert
Scarborough

Copy the Story Link

Tagged: letter to the editor