Prospect Podcast

Israeli genocide scholar: My country is in denial

Most Israelis refuse to see what their army is doing to Gazan people. This denialism has its roots in history

October 08, 2025
Illustration by Barbara Gibson. Images via Alamy and Shutterstock
Illustration by Barbara Gibson. Images via Alamy and Shutterstock

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This week, Alona is joined by Omer Bartov, the Israeli-American historian and professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University.

Two years after the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel, Israel’s retaliation has killed one in 33 Gazans. Omer argues that the war on Gaza is genocidal—and that many Israelis are in denial about what their government is doing.

On the podcast, Omer explains how this denial operates and its historical parallels. He argues that denialism has roots in his country’s origin story, as the onslaught becomes a “second Nakba”.

And he reflects on his personal journey, as an Israeli who grew up in the early days of the state.

To read Omer’s essay “A State of Denial”, the cover of Prospect’s latest issue, out today, click here.