In 2020, the online news organization The Intercept revealed that HRW’s then-Executive Director, Ken Roth, accepted a $470,000 donation from a Saudi billionaire based on the condition that HRW would not use the money to protect the rights of the persecuted LGBTQ-plus community in the Middle East. 

Roth was compelled to return the donation after The Intercept report.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        14
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        In 1948, the United Nations Genocide Convention defined genocide as any of five “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide

        Sure sounds like what they’re doing to Palestinians in Gaza to me. Or do you think they’re going to let the innocent people they didn’t murder come back now that they’re occupying it?

        You know, because Israel is famous for giving Palestinians their homes and their land back.

        What is being done in Gaza is genocide.

        • Rapidcreek@reddthat.com
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          8
          arrow-down
          10
          ·
          1 year ago

          The “genocide” debate here is activists trying to seize the high ground after Hamas’s hideous acts. Their hope, after an assault of such barbarity, is to label the response “genocidal” and hope that people chase that shiny lure instead of remembering why this war happened at all.

            • Rapidcreek@reddthat.com
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              6
              arrow-down
              10
              ·
              1 year ago

              Quite the strawman. People deploying the word “genocide” are either ignorant of what the word means or are intentionally misusing it for political purposes because they would otherwise be faced with having to discuss why this war began at all. Word play debates do little to alleviate people’s suffering. Denial of the other side’s humanity & dueling victimhood, eliminate empathy. We’ve had FEW cases of legal genocide since 1948, the question is how do these debates help long term?

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                8
                arrow-down
                3
                ·
                1 year ago

                You were the one who said they were doing it to stop Hamas. So were the 5000+ children part of Hamas or not?

                Also, ‘legal genocide’ is weaseling out of this. Trump didn’t ‘legally’ commit rape against E. Jean Carroll. He still raped her.

                • Rapidcreek@reddthat.com
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  5
                  arrow-down
                  9
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  You were the one who said they were doing it to stop Hamas. So were the 5000+ children part of Hamas or not?

                  Again, you are forcing a strawman. This war began with the barbarity of October 7th. As with all wars, there are civilian causality.

                  I also wouldn’t put too much faith in the numbers as they come from Hamas. Not only do they not differentiate between their own members and civilians, but have been known to fabricate for propaganda purposes as I explained.

                  Also, ‘legal genocide’ is weaseling out of this.

                  The term genocide is a criminal charge and has a legal definition. Making up a definition is weaseleing out, not using a proper legal definition

                  Trump didn’t ‘legally’ commit rape against E. Jean Carroll.

                  Actually, the judge said he did commit rape.

        • BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          arrow-down
          9
          ·
          1 year ago

          Or do you think they’re going to let the innocent people they didn’t murder come back now that they’re occupying it?

          Given than this hasn’t happened yet, it feels a little premature to go tossing around words like genocide.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            9
            arrow-down
            4
            ·
            1 year ago

            How long do we have to wait for them not to let Palestinians back into Gaza before we can call it genocide?

            Seems like the people who say it’s too early to talk about gun legislation in America every time there’s a mass shooting.

            • BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              4
              arrow-down
              10
              ·
              1 year ago

              It not being a literal active war zone is probably a good first step, I’d say. That, and “back into Gaza” implies they’ve been forced out of Gaza, which isn’t true.

              If Israel were truly attempting to eliminate the Palestinians as a people, it would take a few hours. It’s not like they lack the firepower. I’ll readily concede that they’ve been much less careful about preventing civilian casualties, and they absolutely should be criticized for that, but that’s a significant and meaningfully different thing from deliberately targeting and killing civilians.

          • gedaliyah@lemmy.worldOPM
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            9
            arrow-down
            9
            ·
            1 year ago

            It seems like most people claiming Israel wants to reoccupy Gaza genuinely don’t realize that Israel voluntarily disengaged in 2005, closed the existing settlements, and withdrew all military. Or that part of the reason that Hamas was able to execute the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s history was due to Israel’s willingness to ease border restrictions.

        • DarkGamer@kbin.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          9
          arrow-down
          12
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          Israel is neither trying to destroy Arabs nor Muslims, What they are doing is defending themselves against a hostile nation that declared war on them by slaughtering their civilians. Sometimes keeping themselves safe means annexing land, and a genocide this does not make.

          Israel’s intent is not to destroy any group, if that were their intent, they would have done it by now. They certainly have the capability. Their intent is to keep themselves safe from people who are trying to kill them and refuse to surrender.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            12
            arrow-down
            3
            ·
            1 year ago

            Palestinians are a specific ethnic group. Interesting that you aren’t acknowledging that. And the majority of Palestinians that have been murdered were not part of Hamas.

            As far as calling Gaza or Palestine a nation, that’s laughable. When has Israel ever acknowledged their sovereignty?

            • DarkGamer@kbin.social
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              6
              arrow-down
              10
              ·
              1 year ago

              Palestinians are a specific ethnic group.

              No, Palestinians are Arabs.

              And the majority of Palestinians that have been murdered were not part of Hamas.

              Collateral damage is not genocide.

              As far as calling Gaza or Palestine a nation, that’s laughable. When has Israel ever acknowledged their sovereignty?

              Look up the definition of nation, I’ll wait. You seem to have it confused with statehood.

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                7
                arrow-down
                2
                ·
                1 year ago

                Nation:

                A relatively large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country.

                When has Palestine been organized under a single independent government?

                Also, ‘Arab’ is as much a single ethnic group as ‘European.’ Or even ‘Jewish.’

                Spain didn’t expel, murder and forcibly convert the Ashkenazi Jews. Because there weren’t any in Spain. It expelled, murdered and forcibly converted the Sephardic Jews. It was still genocide. I’m sure you’ll find that most Jews would agree on that point.

                • DarkGamer@kbin.social
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  5
                  arrow-down
                  9
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  1 year ago

                  Oxford dictionary:

                  nation: a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.

                  Also, ‘Arab’ is as much a single ethnic group as ‘European.’ Or even ‘Jewish.’

                  Arab is a specific ethnic group that contains a lot of diversity/tribes. Jewish is a collection of several ethnic groups, and European is a region, not an ethnicity.

                  It expelled, murdered and forcibly converted the Sephardic Jews. It was still genocide. I’m sure you’ll find that most Jews would agree on that point.

                  I honestly don’t know enough about this part of history to weigh in. Was there intent to destroy Sephardic Jews, or was Spain under attack by them and defending itself?

                  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    5
                    arrow-down
                    3
                    ·
                    1 year ago

                    I notice you have absolutely nothing to say about what I said about ethnic groups. Is it maybe because that would mean that systematic murder and displacement of the Palestinian people would be a genocide just the same as the expulsion of Sephardic Jews from Spain?