European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights

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podcast

On Justice #6 ­ Gaza, International Law and the Discourse of Genocide

A majority of international experts, legal scholars, historians, and human rights organizations, including the UN Commission, describe Israel's attack on life, urban structures, and livelihoods in Gaza as genocide. The violence and destruction following Hamas' murderous attack have reached a scale rarely seen in recent history. Nevertheless, the debate about the applicability of the term “genocide” in Germany continues to spark heated discussions in legal, political, and academic circles. The discussion at HAU attempts to intervene in this debate by providing an analysis of the extensive facts about the situation on the ground in Gaza and placing the attack in the context of the history of genocides since the introduction of international law after the Holocaust.

On Justice #6 ­ Gaza, International Law and the Discourse of Genocide

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However, the debate over whether Israel's actions constitute genocide is not merely a question of terminology: states that have ratified the Genocide Convention are not only obliged to refrain from such crimes themselves, but also to prevent and punish them elsewhere. Instead of prevention, we see that these crimes, unlike the destruction of Aleppo or Grozny, were carried out with the logistical, military, and diplomatic support of most Western countries, especially the US and Germany. This puts the international order under massive pressure: What happens to the status of international law when its enforcement is rejected or ignored? How can the accountability of states be ensured in view of their complicity in genocide?

Palestinian international law expert Ahmed Abofoul and Israeli-American genocide historian Omer Bartov will contribute their professional perspectives to place the current debates in a broader historical and legal context.

The discussion will be moderated by international law expert Chantal Meloni and historian Stefanie Schüler-Springorum and was organized in collaboration with Berlin Review, ECCHR, and HAU Hebbel am Ufer.

This episode is also available on podigee and other platforms.

In discussion:

Ahmed Abofoul

Omer Bartov

Senior Legal Advisor for the International Crimes and Accountability program

Chantal Meloni

Stefanie Schüler-Springorum

Published in

November 2025

Copyright

© 2025 HAU

Credits

Eine Diskussionsreihe des HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Kooperation mit dem ECCHR (European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights). Gefördert im Rahmen des Bündnisses internationaler Produktionshäuser von der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien.

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