The Trump administration isn’t going to let America’s allies get dragged through the mud. That’s why they’re standing up for them.
And a Trump official went scorched earth after a top U.S. ally is rocked with attacks.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, has sharply dismissed accusations of genocide against Israel, calling them a “blood libel” and championing a powerful essay by war expert John Spencer that meticulously dismantles the charge.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy—a steadfast supporter of Israel until his assassination during his 1968 presidential campaign—Kennedy Jr. has taken a firm stand. “The genocide charge is a blood libel. Thank you Major Spencer for this withering deconstruction,” he stated.
The term “blood libel” historically refers to the false and vicious claim that Jews k*lled non-Jews to use their blood in rituals, a baseless accusation given Jewish dietary laws strictly forbid consuming blood, even in trace amounts like a speck in an egg. Such lies have fueled centuries of violence in Europe, claiming countless Jewish lives.
Kennedy praised an essay by John Spencer, a respected expert in war who chairs urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute and hosts the Urban Warfare Project Podcast. Titled “I’m a War Scholar. There Is No Genocide in Gaza,” Spencer’s piece directly refutes a New York Times op-ed by Brown University professor Omer Bartov, who accused Israel of genocide.
Spencer argues that Bartov’s claims fall short of the legal threshold for genocide, which requires explicit intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, in whole or in part.
“Genocide is not defined by a few comments taken out of context, by estimates of casualties or destruction, or by how war looks in headlines or on social media,” Spencer wrote. Having visited Gaza four times since October 7, embedded with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), he interviewed key figures like Israel’s Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and IDF commanders, reviewed operational orders, and observed targeting processes.
“Nothing I have seen or studied resembles genocide or genocidal intent,” he stated, noting soldiers often took significant risks to avoid civilian casualties.
Spencer debunked Bartov’s reliance on remarks like Prime Minister Netanyahu’s October 7 pledge that Hamas would “pay a huge price” after the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s history. “It is what any leader would say,” Spencer noted.
He also clarified Netanyahu’s reference to “remember Amalek,” a phrase etched at Holocaust memorials like Yad Vashem and in The Hague, as a call for vigilance against threats, not violence. “Bartov presents Netanyahu’s reference to ‘remember Amalek’ as a smoking gun,” Spencer wrote, but he emphasized its historical context as a warning, not a directive for mass k*lling.
Far from targeting civilians, Spencer highlighted Israel’s extensive measures to protect them. The IDF issues pre-strike warnings through texts, calls, leaflets, and broadcasts, opens safe corridors, pauses operations for evacuations, and tracks civilian locations with precision.
“I have seen missions delayed or canceled because children were nearby,” he recalled. “I have seen Israeli troops come under fire and still be ordered not to shoot back because civilians might be harmed.”
Israel’s humanitarian efforts further discredit the genocide narrative. Over 94,000 trucks have delivered more than 1.8 million tons of aid to Gaza, a historic level of support for an enemy population during conflict.
The IDF has repaired water pipelines, supported hospitals, enabled medical evacuations for over 36,000 patients, and coordinated millions of vaccine doses, alongside food, fuel, and medicine distribution through the UN and aid groups.
Spencer challenged Bartov’s casualty figures, like the claim of 58,000 deaths, including 17,000 children, sourced from a terrorist group. “These numbers come from a terrorist organization,” he pointed out, noting they mix civilians and combatants, count teens as children, and lack independent verification.
He contrasted Gaza with other conflicts—like the Korean War’s 2 million civilian deaths or the anti-ISIS campaign’s devastation—none deemed genocidal despite high tolls. “Civilian deaths are tragic, but in Gaza, they are also part of Hamas’s strategy,” Spencer wrote, citing the group’s tactic of hiding among civilians.
“War is hell,” he said. “It is inhumane, destructive, and ugly. But it is not automatically a crime.” Nations must follow rules of distinction, proportionality, and care to minimize civilian harm—standards Israel meets, Spencer argued.
“I have seen restraint, humanitarian aid, and deliberate compliance with legal standards, often at tactical cost,” he stated. “This is not a campaign of extermination. It is a war against Hamas, a terrorist army embedded in civilian areas by design. The law matters. So does precision. And above all, truth matters.”
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