Translated from French by PAJU
Genocide. “For those who come from a Jewish family decimated by another genocide committed 80 years ago, the use or not of this term has a particular resonance,” reads the latest press release from the Union of Progressive Jews of Belgium (UPJB). However, the Jewish organization has decided, after more than a year of war in Gaza, to describe what is happening there as genocide.
This French-speaking Brussels association was formed in 1969 by members of the Belgian communist movement of Marxist and Trotskyist orientation. It does not sit on the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations of Belgium (CCOJB) and displays pro-Palestinian positions.
Its decision follows in particular the positions taken by “major human rights associations that are often our compass with regard to international humanitarian law,” reads its press release.
On December 12, 2023, the International Federation for Human Rights published this call to the international community “to stop the ongoing genocide“. On December 5, 2024, Amnesty International produced a 300-page report that states: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza“. And more recently, on December 19, the report of another NGO specializing in monitoring respect for human rights, Human Rights Watch (HRW), accuses Israel of committing “acts of genocide” in the Gaza Strip by deliberately restricting Palestinians’ access to water.
“It doesn’t please us, but what is happening in Gaza can no longer be considered collateral damage in a war against terrorism,” says Henri Goldman, a member of the UPJB. “For example, when we systematically destroy all drinking water supply networks, when we obstruct any significant humanitarian aid, we can no longer beat around the bush; we are really murdering a people.”
On this December 23, “the UPJB joins its voice to that of other associations to denounce this appalling enterprise.”
A communication coupled with recommendations: “it is time for the European Union to implement sanctions and effective means of pressure, in particular by banning arms sales and ending economic partnerships with Israel“, says the UPJB statement.
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