The "international community" has failed to stop Israel's genocide in Gaza

If the last month has made anything clear, it’s that Israel has a blank check to commit war crimes with total impunity

At the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in early October, the US military wasted no time deploying ships and troops to the region, effectively sending a message to the world: try to stop what is about to happen here and you will be destroyed.

Since then, the so-called “international community” has failed or refused to act in any meaningful way, allowing Israel to bomb hospitals, schools, and butcher upwards of 11,000 Palestinians as of mid-November. Yes, some countries recalled diplomats, and some countries severed ties, but diplomats can just as easily be returned and ties can just as easily be re-established. Not one of these reactions to Israel’s bloodbath have stopped or slowed it from happening. Whereas Russia was immediately slapped with an onslaught of impactful economic sanctions after invading Ukraine, Israel on the other hand has been spared the same fate. No sanctions. No embargoes. Just symbolic gestures which have done nothing to stem the flow of blood spilled in Gaza. The bulk of world leaders around the world have proven themselves to be either too powerless, too cowardly, or too complicit to act, a tragic recipe for the kind of horrific genocide we have spent over a month witnessing.

Similarly, the United Nations has also proven itself absolutely useless at preventing this massacre, issuing statements with no weight and resolutions with no bite. If any resolution does become a serious threat to Israel’s activities in Gaza, it is swiftly blocked by the United States. What good is an organization like the UN if it can’t prevent a genocide from happening?

As tends to be the case, direct action has made the most impact and picked up the slack where politicians and international organizations have failed. Protests across the world shut down entire cities in their demand for peace. Demonstrators blocked off entrances to weapons manufacturers like Raytheon and Boeing, and some even used their bodies to slow down shipments of armaments to Israel. Chambers of government have been repeatedly slammed with sit-ins, and politicians from both major US political parties willing to support this genocide can’t hold meetings, rallies, go out to dinner, or even enjoy a scenic train ride without being heckled.

Clear majorities in the United States want the killing to stop, in part driven by Israel’s comically disastrous propaganda efforts. Claim after claim is immediately debunked, each time chipping away a little more at what remains of their lingering credibility. It seems Israel doesn’t care about their propaganda being accurate, or even good — they just want to get the lie out as quickly as possible before the truth has time to catch up.

What has been made clear since October 7th is that US politicians have no interest in listening to anyone but the defense companies lining their campaign coffers, state leaders beyond America’s shores are too complicit or too cowardly to act, and the UN is entirely powerless to prevent a genocide if that genocide has the support of key members such as the United States.

The institutions put in place to stop these kinds of things from happening — along with the overall “international community” — has completely failed Gaza.