Since October 7, 2023, the Gaza Strip has been under extensive and continuous attacks by the Israeli army. Estimates indicate that the number of victims has surpassed 60,000, predominantly women and children. In these assaults, critical infrastructure, public services, and health centers have been completely destroyed. Furthermore, the residents of Gaza are facing organized famine, mass displacement, and a total siege preventing the entry of humanitarian aid.

In response to this crisis, international legal bodies have taken action. The government of South Africa has filed a formal complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of "genocide." Additionally, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for a number of senior Israeli officials on charges of committing war crimes and using starvation as a weapon of war.

This stance is not limited to international institutions; even Israeli human rights organizations such as B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights have explicitly described Israel's policies as an "attempt at organized genocide." According to many prominent international law scholars, the systematic destruction of infrastructure, widespread homelessness, and inflammatory statements by Israeli officials provide sufficient evidence to prove genocidal intent.

 1.Why is What is Happening in Gaza Genocide?

The International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948) defines this crime as any act committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.

The available evidence in Gaza—including the obstruction of food and medicine, the targeting of hospitals and schools, and official statements advocating for collective punishment—can all indicate the existence of such intent. South Africa's formal complaint to the ICJ is based precisely on these points: acts such as the deliberate killing of civilians, the imposition of unlivable conditions with the aim of physical destruction, and the attempt to erase the Palestinian national identity. This analysis is corroborated by numerous media reports and international organizations.

 2. Israeli Public Opinion: Social Consent to Genocide

An examination of several credible polls reveals that a large segment of Israel's Zionist Jewish society supports the army's actions in Gaza. The December 2023 poll by the Israel Democracy Institute showed that 87% of Zionist Israeli Jews support the war, and 75% were opposed to reducing the intensity of bombing in residential areas. Other polls indicate that 82% of Zionist Israeli Jewish citizens agree with the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, and nearly half, referencing biblical stories like the destruction of Jericho, call for the complete annihilation of Gaza's inhabitants.

Such statistics demonstrate that a significant majority of Zionist Israeli Jews, without moral hesitation, support policies such as the killing of women and children. The main question is: what is the root of this mindset?

3.The Answer Lies in Education: Crafting a Militaristic and Exclusionist Mindset from Childhood

As we will explore, Israel's formal and informal education system—from public schools to religious teachings and security institutions—shapes the intellectual and cultural foundations of such a mentality from childhood.

1. Holocaust Education and the Transmission of Historical Trauma From a young age, Israeli children are required to visit Holocaust museums (including Yad Vashem). While ostensibly designed to preserve the memory of the victims, these educational practices effectively shape a national identity centered on the trauma of victimhood. The result is the reinforcement of a worldview that sees Arab neighbors as an existential threat, thereby making lethal defense justifiable.
2. The Idea of the Chosen People and Religious Narratives In religious educational texts, the concept of the "chosen people" holds a central position. Biblical narratives about conquering lands, destroying enemies, and divine promises to the Children of Israel are taught to children as heroic tales. These teachings provide a foundation for ethnic supremacism and the disregard for the humanity of other peoples.
3. Militarism from School to Mossad Programs affiliated with the intelligence Unit 8200 and early engagement by Mossad with teenagers are part of an institutionalized structure that, from a young age, frames "security duty" as a core component of social identity. Israeli children are raised with the mindset that "we are always at war" and that Palestinians are the eternal enemy.
4. Dehumanization of Non-Jews Within some extremist Jewish circles, beliefs are propagated that describe other peoples as "animals that God formed into the shape of humans for the sake of the Jews," or that "other nations were created to serve the Jews." Although these views are not official, they are reflected, implicitly or explicitly, in some religious schools and leave their mark on the collective unconscious.

4.Supporting Evidence from Academic Studies and Official Documents

Research conducted on the content of Israeli school curricula shows that the focus of Holocaust education is on group victimhood rather than fostering universal empathy or acceptance of the "other." Sociological studies of religious Zionist communities highlight the prominent role of the "promised land" concept and the divine legitimacy for colonization. There are documented reports of youth recruitment programs by Mossad and collaborations between schools and Unit 8200. Furthermore, human rights organizations have repeatedly pointed to the use of derogatory language towards Palestinians in the rhetoric of some political officials.

 Concluding Remarks

The human catastrophe in Gaza, which many consider a clear case of genocide, is not merely a product of official Israeli policies but is rooted in the public consent of its society. Polls clearly show that the majority of Jewish Israeli society supports actions such as imposing famine, relentless bombing, and the expulsion of Palestinians.

This reality shifts our analysis from a narrow focus on politicians to an examination of deeper cultural, educational, and psychological roots. This article argues that national identity in Israel is formed from childhood upon several key pillars: a sense of historical victimhood, a belief in ethnic superiority, a perpetual readiness for war, and the dehumanization of the enemy.

In such a context, the phenomenon of "children killing children" is not an accidental occurrence on the battlefield but a reflection of a deep-rooted mindset. It is a mentality that is reproduced from generation to generation, portraying violence not as a tragedy, but as a moral necessity.

Elaheh Sadat Mousavinejad, Expert, Center for Political and International Studies

 (The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the IPIS)