Letter: Genocide is a misnomer when talking about Gaza
The word “genocide” is broadly used by nearly everyone to describe what Israel has been doing in Gaza to the Palestinians. Strictly speaking, genocide is the deliberate killing of a specific people to destroy and eliminate the entire group. This narrow and strict definition of genocide does not describe Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The best example of modern genocide was the killing of millions of European Jews by Adolf Hitler. Palestinians killed in Gaza are what is referred to as collateral damage or the unfortunate casualties of war. Regrettably this has happened in all wars.
During World War II the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was done deliberately against the Japanese people to shorten the war, but few would consider it to be genocide.
Harold Nakagawa
Mililani
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