Colin Barnes

I am delighted to announce that our study, “Debunking the Genocide Allegations: A Reexamination of the Israel-Hamas War,” has just been awarded the prestigious Bernard Lewis Prize by the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA). I am happy beyond words and would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my co-authors, Jonathan Boxman, Yagil Henkin, and Jonathan Braverman, as well as to the many colleagues and friends who helped us along the way with their criticism, advice, and encouragement. As I said at the award ceremony, our goal is not merely to refute what we regard as an antisemitic blood libel. It is also to defend the foundations of rigorous scholarship: the painstaking examination of primary sources, the critical evaluation of evidence, and the pursuit of historical truth. Equally important, we seek to defend the project of International Humanitarian Law against fundamentalist interpretations that undermine its original purpose and ultimately dilute its meaning. See full link to our study below. Since completing the original study, we have continued to expand our research in several directions. We have published an article in War on the Rocks examining the operational logic of urban warfare (see link below); prepared a forthcoming study drawing on declassified internal Hamas documents to expose the military misuse of hospitals in Gaza; and conducted an extensive investigation into humanitarian aid, food supplies, and the famine that never was. It will be published soon as well. These follow-up studies reflect our continuing commitment to rigorous, evidence-based research on some of the most contentious issues surrounding the war. And there is much more to come. This award is a tremendous honor, and an encouragement to continue this work.