The Ten Stages of Genocide Photo Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
South Africa – In 1987 expert law Professor, Gregory Stanton, published a paper examining the development and progression of genocides. Stanton initially identified eight crucial stages leading to acts of genocide before adding two more in 2012 completeing what is known as the Ten Stages of Genocide. These ten stages are being witnessed daily in Palestine. Yet the denial by the world’s elite continues.
According to Stanton’s model, some of these stages can occur simultaneously or in a different sequence. These stages have been systematically taking place since 1948. The Israeli government has classified Palestinians, creating a stark divide between them and Israelis. Israeli ministers and citizens dehumanise Palestinians, using derogatory terms such as “savages” and “animals” to describe them. Discrimination is pervasive, with Palestinians excluded from civil society, restricted from leaving Gaza, enduring harsh military checkpoints amongst other things.
More recently, the process of symbolisation has occurred. Palestinians, who were in Israel and detained on October 7th, were released with ID tags on their wrists or ankles. Similar to the Nazi’s use of Identifying Jews in concentration camps. Additionally, we witness government organisation through mandatory enlistment of its citizens over 18 years of age in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) and the provision of various weapons to settlers. Armed in order to persecute Palestinians as is occuring in Masafer Yatta. We also witness persecution and the displacement of Palestinian property and wealth in Masafer Yatta and other villages. Gaza, dubbed the largest open air prison and more recently a concentration camp, is another example of Israeli persecution of Palestinians.
The power of propaganda and media disinformation
One of the key elements in this genocide has been the manipulation of information. Propaganda and media disinformation have played a pivotal role in shaping public opinion, creating a distorted narrative which obscures reality.
News media outlets like BBC, MSNBC and others have already had to, on several times, retract stories. CNN, another major news outlet, has been embedded within the IDF to report on what is happening in Gaza. It has been confirmed by CNN’S Fareed Zakaria, if news outlets wish to enter Gaza under IDF air support, they “have to submit all materials and footage to the Israeli military for review prior to publication. CNN has agreed to these terms”.
SMread: Eight countries withdraw diplomats from Israel as genocide escalates
The role of academic and conscious voices
Amidst the chaos, voices of reason and consciousness have emerged. Academics, intellectuals, and individuals of influence are playing a crucial role in challenging the mainstream narrative and exposing the truth. Dr. Quraysha Sooliman, the Deputy Director at the Centre for Mediation in Africa at the University of Pretoria, has labelled the South African academic environment as “pathetic” due to those knowledgeable of genocides suddenly becoming quiet.
“In my years now at the university, the amount of people I have met, academics who’ve made a living out of talking about gender rights, women rights, women peace and security, about genocide, who do research on the Rwanda genocide and things like that, but they’re all absolutely silent. They can’t even take the word Israel in a conversation and everything is silenced the minute you raise your voice. For people of consciousness, those who have the ability to recognise that this is no longer about religion or about Arabs and Palestinians but this is about humanity, a fundamental aspect of our humanity, if you’re such a person then you need to do something. No matter what it is or how small it is.”
Conscious voices, whether in the arts, literature, or politics, have the power to mobilise public opinion. The collective effort of eight billion individuals can amplify the message and lead to meaningful change. The path to healing and justice lies in accountability for the perpetrators and the attainment of freedom for the oppressed. International consensus and sustained efforts are required to ensure that those responsible for this genocide are held accountable for their actions.
Selective freedom of speech and political biases
The final three stages in Stanton’s model are preparation, extermination, and denial. We have been witness to the extermination of the Palestinian people. More than 10 000 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF through airstrikes and carpet bombing of neighbourhoods. All funded by the US. Furthermore, these actions are justified by world leaders under the banner of ‘Israel has the right to defend itself’, a banner the world does not accept and can see right through. By trying to justify what many human rights organisations are calling war crimes, world leaders have completed the denial step.
Most recently, the DA has completed the step after axing Ghaleb Cachalia for tweeting, “I will not be silenced. Israel is committing Genocide. Full BLOODY stop”. This has highlighted the selective nature of freedom of speech and human rights and has also shed light on the ideological biases within the DA. When a party axes its member for calling a genocide a genocide, it truly shows how that party views Palestinians and how it fully supports an Apartheid regime that is carrying out a genocide. If the DA supports such, perhaps South Africans have the right to be fearful Apartheid might happen again suggests Sooliman
“For the longest time I kept on thinking why do black South Africans still fear that Apartheid will come back. Let me tell you, I have the same fear now. I fear that if this party comes in, without a shadow of a doubt, they will reintroduce certain laws and regulations that will begin to curtail our freedoms and our rights. Exactly as they did during Apartheid. We think that the black majority, the masses, the rural people, need to grow but they are more sincere and more insightful in their wisdom than many of us can ever hope to achieve. What they did to Chachalia speaks immediately to their ideology, to this euphemistic falsehood that they create. That they’re working for the individual rights and freedoms of everybody. They do not. They have a very selective agenda.”
The DA has failed to condemn the bombings in Palestine let alone call it a genocide. They have continued to push a two-sided narrative, going as far as painting Hamas as the oppressor, said Sooliman.
“This is about an oppressed people who are resisting a belligerent Apartheid, racist, occupation and then you’re trying to make a moral equivalence. It’s absolutely wrong. Thank God Cachalia wrote that so the people of South Africa and I hope the Indians wake up, can see exactly the category and the extent of the deception within the DA party.”
