‘Really distressing’: The word genocide ‘cheapened’ by accusing Israel of war crimes

Sky News contributor Kel Richards says it is “really distressing” how the word ‘genocide’ has been “cheapened” by accusations Israel has committed war crimes in its war on Hamas. The International Court of Justice is set to begin hearings later this week after South Africa filed a case against Israel. They have accused Israel of war crimes by violating the Genocide Convention in its war on Hamas. Crossbench Senator David Pocock has urged the Labor Party to ‘publicly support’ the international probe. “It really bothers me as a wordsmith the way the word genocide is being cheapened,” Mr Richards said. “The word was coined in 1943 by a bloke named Raphael Lemkin, who was a Jewish lawyer in Poland … in order to describe … what was happening to the Jewish people. “When you’re using genocide, you need to be able to point to the concentration camps and the gas ovens. “When you apply it to something which is not genocide, it cheapens the word, and you can’t use it when it really happens.”