Getting caught up with semantics arguments seems like a waste of energy. Because, genocide or not, for many people impacted by any war with disproportionate power imbalance, it sure as fuck is as horrific as a genocide regardless of how one defines it. (I'm not necessarily criticizing the use of the word by some, I just think many activists get bogged down in defending the use word rather than addressing the horror.)
As a non-US-Citizen you might be unaware of the following:
That the USA is a 2 party system in which the candidate put forth by the RNC or the DNC are the 2 options, and that polling suggests an RNC advantage which will re-elect Donald Trump unless Biden wins instead.
The former Trump Administration backed a single state solution and armed Israel for the current conflict as well as similar destruction in 2016-2017 in which 86 buildings and associated roads were completely demolished by Israeli airstrikes. Trump has even on multiple occasions floated the idea of turning the entire region into a nuclear wasteland with fusion bombs.
If Trump does win again, this could be the final fair election a US Citizen will ever vote in. Both Donald Trump and George W. Bush of the Republican party lost the popular votes, the only 2 examples in over a century, but won the archaic Electoral College system of allotting EC Votes to voting districts. Trump first praised Xi Jinping for abolishing his own term limits and has spoken fondly of the idea even recently on the campaign trail. On January 6th following the 2020 election Trump supporters attempted to storm the US Capitol Building to stop them from certifying the election results in which Biden won the presidency. During this time, Trump intentionally kept the National Guard away and refused to call them in to stop the riot. Several people died during the insurrection attempt and several congressional offices were raided, but luckily it failed.
All that sounds cute, but is still no excuse to simply vote Biden. If the choices in the ballot are "get killed" or "get raped", the answer is not to welcome the rapist, but to vote third party (or blank/null) and to go sharpen your guillotines. Trump already demonstrated that he doesn't respect democratic electoral statements anyway, and a 2-party system is rotten and ill-designed to the core, if he's expected to win then playing fair and square in the hopes that you "only" get raped is self-defeating. Even if Biden wins, the RNC and the KKKronies are still going to (and are already doing so, see RvW) wipe their asses on democracy and condemn the US to accelerando the slow death.
So when I don't vote, and the revolution doesn't spontaneously happen from nothing and my life, and many vulnerable people's lives are made even worse. Then what? Sharpen harder? This is not the time to pick that fight because we have nothing to fucking gain from it and everything to lose.
You cannot expect to be well received when you choose an option more harmful to yourself and others and pretend it is rational. You could even vote Biden and still sharpen guillotines if that is your prerogative. Helping Trump win has no positive effects.
The headlines says it all about how serious we have to take his words. The ICC didn't even state "genocide" in the warrant request...
That doens't mean it isn't one. But the ICC was intelligent enough to only state war crimes we can witness without a doubt. Genocide would have the "intent" part that might complicate things at this stage.
Here is what the prosecutor stated as reasons for the arrest warrant request for Netanyahu:
Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Statute;
Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health contrary to article 8(2)(a)(iii), or cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
Wilful killing contrary to article 8(2)(a)(i), or Murder as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime contrary to articles 8(2)(b)(i), or 8(2)(e)(i);
Extermination and/or murder contrary to articles 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(a), including in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a crime against humanity;
Persecution as a crime against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(h);
Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(k).
A country lead by an autocratic, right-wing, dubiously elected leader sees a land that he doesn't consider a country (and actually considers it part of his country) shoot rockets at him. He rallies his people to war and starts indiscriminately bombing civilians in an effort to "demilitarize" the land and rid it of it's evil leadership. Meanwhile, another foreign land keeps supplying it with missiles and the ICC is looking to arrest the right-wing leader for his killing of civilians.
In one case, that leader killed 10,000 civilians and "arrested" (kidnapped) 2,000 more. Biden is opposed to this.
In the other case 35,000 civilians were killed and 10,000 more were "arrested" (kidnapped). Biden is ok with this.
If we get another 4 years of Trump, at least we'll know why. The system just needs less people to vote for Trump to win. If we get another 4 years of Trump it's going to be Biden's fault, not mine.
The US would invade the Netherlands before we ever allowed a US official to stand trial at the ICJ. That isn't hyperbole, it's stated government policy.
