• Alene Bouranova

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    Photo of Allie Bouranova, a light skinned woman with blonde and brown curly hair. She smiles and wears glasses and a dark blue blazer with a light square pattern on it.

    Alene Bouranova is a Pacific Northwest native and a BU alum (COM’16). After earning a BS in journalism, she spent four years at Boston magazine writing, copyediting, and managing production for all publications. These days, she covers campus happenings, current events, and more for BU Today. Fun fact: she’s still using her Terrier card from 2013. When she’s not writing about campus, she’s trying to lose her Terrier card so BU will give her a new one. She lives in Cambridge with her plants. Profile

    Alene Bouranova can be reached at abour@bu.edu

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There are 37 comments on Is Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza? New Report from BU School of Law’s International Human Rights Clinic Lays Out Case

  1. Better late than never, thank you BU for finally doing the bare minimum and allowing this article to be published. Now we must push BU to disclose and divest from genocide!

  2. Glad you published this story. But to publish this, which concludes that Israel is committing a genocide, and keep the tag “Israel-Hamas War” is ridiculous. This was never a war against Hamas. It was an excuse to ethnically cleanse and commit genocidal acts against innocent Palestinians. Israel’s goal was never to recover the hostages. It’s not a war. It’s a genocide of the Palestinian people

    1. What about the other aspect to your request to ignore Hamas from this topic. It is very convenient of you to ignore the rape, murder, and massacre that Hamas performed to initiate the war. What country would just stand by after a neighboring party massacres thousands of its people and pledges to continue doing so time after time if allowed to? Wars have started for far far less. This is the nature of war. Just pretending like Hamas has no sort of connection to this is certainly wrong and if you don’t understand that, then I don’t know what to tell you.

      1. Oct 7th didn’t start this war. The kidnapping of thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons without charges and subjected to rape, torture, and murder dating back to 2002 did. You conveniently left that out.

        1. 2002 was in the midst of the 2nd of two Palestinian uprisings and the PA as well as Hamas have been guilty of many of the same human rights violations. You conveniently left that out.

    2. Hamas is committing genocide against Palastinians by fleeing to Qatar and hiding in tunnels, leaving Gazan civilians helpless. Hamas broke the stable cease-fire on October 7.

  3. Thank you for this article and interview. Just as our adversary system of justice guarantees even the guilty a right to competent and effective legal counsel, so also is it inherent in the exercise of clinical legal education and legal advocacy clinics in particular that from time to time or even frequently such a clinic and members of its faculty and interns may make statements, arguments, conclusions, etc. that not all students, faculty, or units of the University would necessarily agree with. Nevertheless, such advocacy is an important and essential aspect of legal education. I applaud the International Human Rights Clinic for its contributions to the discussion.

  4. Referring to Israel’s defensive war in Gaza against Hamas, which is still launching missiles at Israel from Gaza, as ethnic cleansing demonstrates a kindergarten-level understanding of the situation. So again I say shame on you for publishing the original piece, shame on you for accepting the ridiculous comments and shame on you for censoring opposing views.

  5. This reads like Hamas propaganda masquerading as an “objective analysis”. The numbers cited in the report (see footnote 256) are based on an OCHA report, which, in turn, quotes numbers from the “MoH in Gaza”.

    The MoH is the Ministry of Health … and you know who runs it … Hamas.

    So … to recap, a murderous and rapist terrorist organization that has been caught in numerous lies about the war already is providing numbers and information that is laundered by UNHR to support the Hamas cause.

    Where are the critical thinking skills that are supposed to be part of an academic environment?

    1. I have no idea where you get your news from, I would suggest you try a non-biased source or better yet many sources and cross reference them. Israel has been bombing/shelling/invading Gaza non-stop for well over half a year and the only countries saying it’s not genocide are the ones involved in causing that genocide by providing weapons. The “war” has cost how many billions of dollars? Look it up. Gaza has no army and is extremely densely populated due to its extremely small size. You can look up what weapons the U.S. has sent, not to mention Germany and the U.K. Where did it all go? Do you know how much a 2000 lb bomb costs? Not much, go look it up. Israel says 14,000 Hamas were killed, so that how many million dollars per kill? Do the math, why is it millions of dollars per terrorist killed? Very precise strikes with 2000 lb bombs and artillery shells? A million dollars buys a lot, as you will see, because you looked it up right? Sure makes Israel seem incompetent when it costs that much each kill doesn’t it? You doing that critical thinking are ya? They have turned Gaza into rubble. Perhaps you can find a current picture where it doesn’t look like hell on earth. Have a look at the BBC news feed if you want to see the truth of what is happening there. If you don’t care they are committing genocide, then thats up to you, but denying it is telling people the skys not blue. You can research this on your own and see it’s happening, or you can just look the other way and pretend it’s not. Even Israeli citizens are protesting in Israel. Go look up what weapons have been sent to Israel, go look at pictures of Gaza. You don’t want to get your numbers from rapists and murders, then why are you listening to the people who have murdered thousands of children and killed more hostages than they rescued? Look that up too and let us know if that’s true or not. 60+ billion dollars and they managed to rescue how many hostages in how many months?

      “We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly,” Gallant said.

      “We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza,” Gallant said. “There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything will be closed.”

      This is what they said and what they did. Check the BBC news feed for the last 8 months, let me know if all those pictures are fake or however you justify it to yourself. They have daily coverage. Why does every aid organization say this is happening and you don’t? Why does the UN, the ICJ, the ICC all think this is genocide and you don’t? You must be smarter than them, so lets hear your views on why its not happening. Can’t wait to find out what you think of the BBC news feed. Bonus points if you find a country that says its not genocide that isn’t sending weapons to Israel. More bonus points if you investigate the treatment of arrested Palestinians by Israel. Want to go for a trip to Gaza? You can show me around, its clearly pretty safe for civilians according to you. I mean you didn’t say how many civilians you think were killed, but clearly not enough to trouble you. How many thousands of children does Israel estimate it’s killed? How many before you care?

      1. Sadly, almost all Americans– even those that consider themselves to well informed, are completely in the dark regarding the truth of politicians/government in aspects of their function both with international and domestic interests.

        Our society is heavily propagandized with a worldview that is simply inaccurate.

        We are blind to what is going on and so the villains continue to plod onward unobstructed.

        Appreciate your post. Unfortunately our fellow citizens are not interested in truth.

        Also, as mentioned in other comments, appreciation to writers at BU for the original article.

  6. Any knowledgeable person can easily understand the falsehoods. Saying that Israel is committing genocide is like saying that the US commited a genocide in Afghanistan.

    1. Ronald, I really hate to tell you this but even in your oversimplification, you arrive haphazardly at a half-truth. War crimes were committed then and war crimes are being committed now. Just because US armed forces have the luxury of additional time to conduct collateral damage avoidance and precise (COIN, Counter Insurgency if you are not familiar) operations, does not mean that the IDF is incapable of the same measured, effective operations. On the date you wrote this there were few excuses for the IDF’s approach to this conflict. After the anniversary of the October 7th attack by HAMAS, there are somehow even fewer. It is safe to say you do not understand the difference between war and cruelty and you share that trait with HAMAS AND portions of the IDF unfortunately.

  7. Finally getting an official acknowledgment of Israel’s atrocities being rightfully categorized as a genocide is relieving. However, it is about time to fully divest from financially supporting Israeli and Zionist companies if you truly stand by these words, BU.

  8. To finally see BU develop some sense of integrity is commendable. Every initiative toward the truth is always appreciated. So thank you.

  9. Thank you for sharing this important report.

    I would only suggest one correction (on moral grounds, if not on legal ones), and ask whether Israel *AND* the United States are committing genocide in Gaza, as the ongoing mass killing, displacement, and starvation in Gaza would literally not be possible without our (financial, military, and diplomatic) support.

  10. After 245 days, you read a report about Israel’s crimes of genocide!
    Honestly at this point, this report is useless. And you are missing a major fact that the US is funding this genocide and is complicit in these war crimes.

  11. Thank you for publishing this report.

    There is little doubt that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Your analysis clearly demonstrates it.
    A follow-up analysis is warranted on how the US is funding this genocide and hence complicit.

  12. Glad to see some comments calling out the unbelievably obvious bias and lack of impartiality displayed in this article.

    There is truth to the crimes committed by Israel but there is absolutely no context provided as to why their actions are so disproportionate and no acknowledgement of the clear source bias in the figures presented. There is basis for condemnation of Israel military strategies but to call this a genocide is to call any remotely valid military endeavor genocide as well. What made me particularly mad among the other insanely misused tropes was claiming this qualified because of a lack of necessity, proportionality, and distinction. To pretend that Hamas is making this a simple military exercise separating the war from its citizens is heinous. To not consider the catch 22 Israel faces where no acts of defense mean they have to sustain brutal ground attacks and year round shelling is unreal. Incredible oversimplification.

    Over 300k Afghani civilians died by US in the war.

    1. You claim 300k Afghani civilians died at the hands of the United States. What you leave out is that this happened over a span of 20 years. And the U.S. passed the “Invade The Hague Act” long before that 300k figure was reached because it anticipated to be pursued criminally on the international stage. Independent analysis already has the death toll to be around 180k, and we’re only 10 months in, not 20 years, not even 10 years. At this pace, in 20 years there would be barely anyone left, and that’s being very conservative.

    2. Eric, you are correct in calling out the oversimplification, but in doing so you just flipped to the other side of the same coin. There is nuance that needs to be dissected here. The “Catch 22” is well known to occupying forces like the US has maintained for DECADES. Throughout this time they have nearly “PERFECTED” the art of COIN (Counter-Insurgency) operations and collateral damage mitigation. The United States. The provisioner of a significant portion of the IDF’s weapon inventory, that United States. The same United States that have been fighting wars against a very similar enemy since before I was born. A conductor of “valid military endeavors”. The IDF could it if they actually wanted to, it’s very clear they will do WHATEVER they can get away with. Their approach is much too similar to that of HAMAS when the IDF has exponentially more expertise and resources at their disposal. Let’s not make excuses for them.

  13. While the massive destruction in Gaza cannot be overstated, some key points not adequately addressed here include:

    1. To what degree is Hamas complicit in the destruction when choosing utilize schools, hospitals, temples, and similar facilities as places of refuge, weapon storage, etc…? Hamas deliberately elects to use such facilities know the international condemnation that Israel would face in destroying them. What options does Israel have and how much blame should fall on Hamas for such an abhorrent tactic?

    2. Are the illegal settlements in the West Bank a further manifestation of genocide? Is there any other evidence of genocide occuring against Palistinians in the West Bank? If not, is the issue more about Hamas and less about Palestinians in general?

    3. Prior to October 7, how many rocket attacks should Israel have endured before reciprocating?

    4. Is it reasonable to ask Israel to support any solution that does not include the unequivocal right to exist and their borders be recognized?

    %. What responsibility to Israel have to creating the current conditions in Gaza since the Nakba?

    These are fundamental aspects to this conflict that require more consideration.

    1. Regarding #1, you could also mention the death toll from rockets fired from Gaza that landed in Gaza. The Gaza/Hamas Ministry of Health will never report this. What is certain is that Hamas and Hezbollah are responsible for the deaths of Arab citizens of Israel, including the children playing soccer in the Golan Heights and the residents of a Bedouin village attacked on October 7.

      1. A report from Lancet estimates the death toll to be more than 200,000. Lancet, if you don’t know already, is a reputable western medical journal.

  14. What happened on the 7th October is still under investigation. War crimes were committed but the IDF is also responsible the killing of its own citizens under the ‘Hanibal directive’. So it looks like war crimes were committed on both sides. In addition there are many unaswered questions regarding the event, it’s timing, and who knew what when it went down. Lets hope the truth someday emerges.

  15. The article acknowledges that Israel denies it has targeted civilians as opposed to combatants. Yet the article proceeds on the assumption that it does. Nowhere does the article (nor the interviewee) offer facts to support that assumption. On what basis, besides a few reckless comments by some Israeli politicians, does the ICJ demonstrate a “CALCULATED effort to bring about the destruction of a group?”

    There are compelling arguments to be made protesting Israel’s political and military strategy in Gaza, as well as its discriminatory administration of the West Bank. The reckless accusation of genocide is a distraction from these real issues. Not only does it strengthen the hand of those seeking the ethnic cleansing/annihilation of Israelis (the goal of the October 7 attack), it also strengthens the Far-Right Israeli fringe that really would expel Palestinians from West Bank/Gaza if they had the political power to do so.

    1. The rest of us live in much more nuanced reality, two things can be true. Israel is defending itself from HAMAS terrorism. In its haphazard, reckless, and unempathetic approach, the IDF leadership is overzealous to put it simply. Whether the IDF intends to or not, it is committing genocide. The answer we actually need is: How do we as an international community stop the genocide and contribute to destroying HAMAS? If it is not already obvious to the world (GWOT, *throat-clearing noises*) making a people hate you just gives them more reason to join your enemies.

    2. The rest of us live in much more nuanced reality, two things can be true. Israel is defending itself from HAMAS terrorism.

      In its haphazard, reckless, and unempathetic approach, the IDF leadership is overzealous to put it simply. Whether the IDF intends to or not, it is committing genocide.

      The answer we actually need is: How do we as an international community stop the genocide and contribute to destroying HAMAS? If it is not already obvious to the world (GWOT, *throat-clearing noises*) making a people hate you just gives them more reason to join your enemies.

      Hope this helps,

      Donovan W.

  16. This article makes the case that all war is genocide. Always. There hasn’t been a single war in the last century that wouldn’t meet the standard for genocide laid out in this article.

    If you oppose genocide don’t start a war, especially with a far stronger opponent.

    1. If you need a good example of how to wage a war without committing genocide, you could just call the PR department of any US DOD entity that contributes to COIN (Counter-Insurgency) operations. We’ve been rolling up bad guys and mitigating collateral damage for decades now. Not all war is genocide and that’s not what the article is saying. If you think dropping unguided weapons in heavily populated areas, in modern times, is a good idea… I’d like to sell you some grenades to take care of your spider problem.

  17. When one repeatedly attacks civilian targets with no defensive capabilities again and again, you don’t have a war but simply a massacre. No defensive reason should ever justify this type of deliberate and brutal aggression towards civilians. It is genocide.

  18. Virtually all the “facts” used to assemble this report have been debunked. How does the writer differentiate between combatants, radicalized individuals who want their children to be martyrs and innocent civilians?

    Should it be found that isolated instances be considered “genocidal acts”, that doesn’t indicate that the State is guilty of genocide.

    I expect better from my Alma Mater.

  19. It is good to see that there are good people who condemn killing of innocent civilians especially women and children. If anyone kills an innocent person how can he/she sleep peacefully? off course not. just imagine if it might have happened to you that you find your house in pieces and all family member killed at once. It is the moment all world powers must stop cruel in this world wherever it is and whoever is committing cruel. This is vital to make this globe a peaceful globe. Otherwise this fire may spread to the entire globe. No one will won, all will loose. Wars destroy both sides. What we will leave for future generations never ending wars? is this the way of modern day civilized and developed world? Why we can not create win-win situation by living peacefully? Human beings are not enemies of humans, this is Satan that is enemy of humans. This is my request to world powers, please play your role to stop the wars, get together and live and let live. Invest in science and technology rather than the bombs that can destroy entire globe. Contribute to make this world a peaceful world. Thanks a lot.

  20. It’s genocide. And the United States is complicit. Netanyahu has no intentions of ever realizing a two-state solution. President Carter’s use of the term (two-state solution) came probably closest to a sincere effort to bring lasting peace and stability to the region. Ever since, the term has been used as a wild-card or even joker in a sad, sick game of domination and control.

    The United States backs Israeli, a nuclear power itself, who opposes Iran, who is striving to aquire nuclear weapons for itself. The USA-backing of Israel financially and militarily cloaks itself as morally or religiously responsible. In reality though, Israeli is using the USA to realize its own Zionist vision of a permanent Israeli state, by providing US nuclear superiority over the entire middle east.

    We’re kidding ourselves to back Israel so blindly. Historically, would it be possible for us to be living side-by-side, in the here-and-now with the indigenous peoples of Americas? We know the answer is no, and we know the answer is because of greed.

    Israel will draw us into WWIII, not because the Bible says so, let alone Ezekial 38, etc. They’ll draw us inito WWIII because we are suckers of our own greed, our “way of life.” It’s us or them, and if it’s them, that’s OK, so long as it’s happening over-there somewhere.

    The Russians growing alliance with China, China’s growing military strength, the US involvement in Ukraine and Israel, concurrent with domestic illegal immigration will leave us weaker economically and militarily than any name that could be aimed at Joe Biden’s mental state.

    It will be on us, because we stood by and let it happen, just so we can run a red light to get to the next gas station.

    AOC is young, female and very outspoken about the Genocide in Gaza.

    She’s right !!!

  21. Utter rubbish and propaganda.

    The UN lead on genocide who is from Kenya has reported Israel is not committing genocide. It is a war. They have tried to silence her and now will fire her in the coming months for have an opinion based on facts and not emotion.

    War is tragic. But people need to understand there is a difference. And with all the crazy happening around the world, why it this the one everyone wants to have an opinion on.

    The UN Human Rights council has countries like Russia and Iran as members. Seriously? How can anyone trust these people?

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