Key takeaways:
- The International Association of Genocide Scholars may sound like the “world’s leading experts” on genocide, but all you need to become a member is a credit card.
- The IAGS claimed that an overwhelming majority of its membership voted in favor of a resolution declaring that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, despite a massive majority of its membership not even participating in the vote.
- These claims were amplified by media buying into the false narrative of Israeli “genocide” as promoted by anti-Israel activists hell bent on blackening Israel’s name.
“Israel committing genocide in Gaza, world’s leading experts say,” blared this BBC headline and similar others in the international media.
Damning stuff. After all, who should know more about genocide than the “world’s leading experts” on the subject?
But, like most of the anti-Israel news appearing daily, it’s bogus. It turns out that, as HonestReporting board member Salo Aizenberg discovered, all you need to be a genocide scholar is to own a credit card. For a minimum of only 30 dollars, you can become one of the “world’s leading experts.”
📌I am now officially a “genocide scholar” as a member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. I will uphold its mission to advance research & teaching on genocide and its prevention. See next link for my viral article exposing false claims of genocide in Gaza. 1/ pic.twitter.com/0bhhdvOSjp
— Aizenberg (@Aizenberg55) September 3, 2025
Aizenberg (and many other interested people) paid (as little as $30 for a year) to become a member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, which describes itself as a “global, interdisciplinary, non-partisan organization that seeks to further research and teaching about the nature, causes, and consequences of genocide, and advance policy studies on genocide prevention.”
“Non-partisan,” it certainly isn’t. Only a few days ago, the organization passed a resolution declaring that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Who were these experts passing judgment on Israel’s actions against Hamas terrorists in Gaza?
As Aizenberg discovered upon joining, the membership isn’t exclusively academics, historians, librarians, or even recognized experts on genocide.
I’ve been getting to know some of my fellow genocide scholars. Seems that Iraq is a center of knowledge in this field with 80 listed scholars of ~600 (13%). Remarkable, especially the Mahmood family with 5 scholars in the field. I wonder who voted for the Gaza resolution. pic.twitter.com/LeMVh87zMC
— Aizenberg (@Aizenberg55) September 3, 2025
Indeed, it became clear that the IAGS wasn’t checking who joins.
Case in point 🤷♂️ https://t.co/DZ25WagRNH pic.twitter.com/TbDKvLecFB
— Mark Zlochin – מארק זלוצ’ין༝ (@MarkZlochin) September 3, 2025
Shortly after pro-Israel activists started joining the IAGS to expose its failings, the organization appeared to take action, shutting down its membership page and removing its membership list from public view.
The organization’s social media also appeared to be offline as new applicants were marked as “inactive,” including genuine and legitimate genocide scholars who happen to be pro-Israel like Elliot Malin.
Umm, @GenocideStudies, what’s going on here? I paid my dues and am actually a subject matter expert.
Are you unhappy that there’s dissension? https://t.co/1EUDtJ7KzQ pic.twitter.com/OjoInSLZeg
— 𝔼𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕥 𝕄𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟 🎗️ (@ElliotMalin) September 3, 2025
Spinning a “Majority Vote”
As for the vote itself, the IAGS’s president, Mary O’Brien, proudly proclaimed that her organization’s genocide resolution was passed by an overwhelming majority, a claim amplified by some media that failed to check the actual numbers and do the math.
The @GenocideStudies president claims a resolution that Israel is committing genocide “passed by an overwhelming majority” and is a “really representative opinion” of experts.
It’s not. Only 28% of the membership actually voted.
Melanie O’Brien, your resolution is a sham. pic.twitter.com/LL33WH6HcV
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) September 2, 2025
At the time of the vote, the IAGS had some 500 members eligible to vote. Only 28% of the full membership bothered. So when some media or the IAGS’s staff claimed an overwhelming majority of the members — some 86% — voted in favor, they were not being transparent.
Many media outlets are reporting that 86% of members of @GenocideStudies voted in favor of a resolution stating Israel is carrying out a genocide.
Only 28% of the 500 members actually voted. And only 120 voted in favor.
You do the math.@washingtonpost, @Telegraph, you owe… https://t.co/vYZKdiUPeW pic.twitter.com/lqakJcLYni
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) September 2, 2025
Subverting the Organization
Even without getting into the substance of the resolution, it’s clear that the IAGS has been taken over by activists less concerned with actual genocide scholarship and more interested in anti-Israel activism.
Organization member Dr. Sara E. Brown noted:
We were promised a town hall, which is a common practice for controversial resolutions, but the president of the association reversed that. The association has also refused to disclose who were the authors of the resolution.
Perhaps the five Mahmood family members from Iraq, whom Aizenberg identified as fellow genocide experts, were responsible?
As the considerable media coverage proved, the inference of credibility that an organization like the IAGS possesses is a powerful weapon in the hands of anti-Israel activists posing as renowned experts in their field.
Too many organizations, including media, unions, trade associations, and others, have been hijacked by people hell bent on subverting everything to the Palestinian cause. And they’ll stop at nothing to blacken Israel’s name.
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