Israeli Knesset speaker calls Gaza genocide accusations a ‘despicable lie’ in speech to European leaders

Israeli Knesset speaker Amir Ohana rejected the accusation against Israel of “genocide” in Gaza during a speech to European parliamentary leaders in Rome on Thursday.

“Everyone in this room knows the truth – Israel is not committing genocide. Enough with this despicable lie,” Ohana said. He received applause after accusing world leaders of making false claims about Gaza for political gain.

Ohana cited the murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust as an example of genuine genocide.

During his speech, Ohana held a copy of “And Every Single One Was Someone,” a unique 1,250-page book that commemorates the six million Jews during the Holocaust by containing the word “Jew” six million times. 

Ohana spoke at a two-day conference of parliamentary leaders from the Council of Europe’s (CoE) 46 member states, focused on democracy and the international rules-based order. The CoE is separate from the European Union (EU) and focuses on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Israel is not a member but holds observer status in the CoE’s Parliamentary Assembly.

He also criticized world leaders for failing to uphold their proclaimed democratic values.

“Many world leaders proclaim the importance of their values, yet when the moment of truth arrives, only a few are willing to defend them,” he said. Without naming specific leaders, Ohana accused some of embracing “false propaganda” to win “fleeting electoral applause in their simmering streets.”

“Some of the member-states represented here have a deeply dark place in the history books. I urge you this time to stand on the right side of history, fighting for freedom with us,” Ohana added.

Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 during the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack in southern Israel. The subsequent war against Hamas in Gaza has led to a dramatic increase in anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiments worldwide. Ohana warned that this troubling phenomenon represented “a global clash of civilizations, a battle between the forces of darkness, radicalism and extremism, and those of freedom, liberty and democracy.”w.

Despite his criticism of international leaders, Ohana’s speech was well received in Rome. Austrian lawmaker Petra Bayr, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, thanked him in Hebrew.