Australia / Israel Review

Wikipedia’s Jewish problems have again made headlines. 

As of August 5, Wikipedia officially changed the heading of its page titled “Allegations of genocide in the 2023 Israeli attack on Gaza” to “Gaza genocide”, according to a report from Ynet.com. This title change reportedly followed a vote among Wikipedia administrators after months of debate, and news reports said Wikipedia editors now consider it a “settled fact” that genocide is taking place in Gaza. 

The article further stated that “supporters of the new title argue that there is a broad consensus in academia on the matter, citing academic articles by Holocaust historians, genocide scholars, human rights professors and legal and political experts.”

Amongst the so-called experts Wikipedia cites for this “consensus” is UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese, whose hate-filled social media posts employ such openly antisemitic rhetoric that the US has called for her removal from the position, and numerous other Western governments have condemned her. 

The footnotes section of the Wikipedia entry cites Boycott from Within (a Jewish-Arab group in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel), the Jewish Voice for Peace, the Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights that operates out of the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Amnesty International, and the (communist) People’s Forum, based in the US, amongst many other anti-Israeli NGOs.

The extensive entry titled “Gaza genocide” is divided into subtopics analysing the issue from various angles – academic, legal and cultural discourse on genocide, statements from politicians in Israel and abroad, the legal process at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and Israel’s actions on both local and international fronts. 

A significant portion is dedicated to American cooperation, particularly President Joe Biden’s, with the supposed “genocide.” Criticism from progressive “Squad” members against White House policy, such as Jewish Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Rashida Tlaib, is included, as are claims by climate activist Greta Thunberg and rapper Macklemore. 

Wikipedia editors who were opposed to the article’s title change said it violated Wikipedia’s policy on neutral titles and accused the online encyclopedia of being biased against Israel, reports said. They noted that Wikipedia kept the word “allegations” in another title – “Allegations of genocide in the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel” – but removed the term when accusing Israel of genocide due to a successful months-long campaign led by anonymous anti-Israel editors.