Council Member Dinowitz responds to genocide claims and defends Israel

Thank you.

And our last speaker is Councilmember Dinowitz.

Thank you.

I just have to say, after hearing some of the comments about visitors to the country, however you feel about those individual visitors,

you know, this word that I keep hearing, this genocide, this claim of genocide, is a claim that was made

before Israel even started retaliating against Hamas after October 7th.

when they murdered and raped over a thousand people.

And it's just ridiculous to me that before the retaliation was claims of genocide, after

after a ceasefire, that same word is being used.

And the problem is, what does it do?

It obscures the actual issues that are going on there, the actual trauma and the actual destruction that is happening in the region.

You are unable, we are unable to have a real conversation and really address actual policy issues because of the demonizing language that existed before there was any military action and after there is a ceasefire

in place.

And the demonization causes real harm.

And it is very specific to one country.

And the reason we know this, the reason we say we should stop doing any aid to Israel, is because the very same people saying that, out of one side of their mouth,

out of the other side say we should never sanction any country.

We should never boycott from any country because that will only serve to hurt the citizens and the people who live in that country.

But there is a special exception made for Israel and it is especially okay apparently to use this

demonizing language without evidence before the war begins and after the ceasefire is in place.

Thank you, Majority Leader.