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The Big Lie: There Is No Ethnic Cleansing Going On in Gaza or the West Bank
(Los Angeles Jewish Journal) Stephen Smith - Critics claim that Israel "is practicing ethnic cleansing." There is only one problem: There is no ethnic cleansing going on in Gaza or the West Bank. A UN Commission of Experts defined ethnic cleansing as "a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas." The Israelis are not trying to change the make-up of the population by forcing Palestinians to move. If Israel wanted to ethnically cleanse Gaza, it has the military wherewithal to do so quickly and effectively. The reason that hasn't happened is because Israel has no intent to commit ethnic cleansing. In international law, intent matters. Indeed, Hamas is arguably the belligerent engaged in ethnic cleansing. Lobbing 4,000 missiles into Israel, indiscriminately firing them at both civilian and military targets, displays an intent to kill civilians. Israel is seeking security for its people, not the elimination of another people. That is not ethnic cleansing, and implying otherwise is not just libelous but dangerous. The writer is executive director of the USC Shoah Foundation.