Controversy Erupts Around Genocide Scholars Org After Pro-Israel Activists Reveal It Only Cost $30 to Join

AP Photo/Adel Hana.

Controversy erupted this week over the International Association of Genocide Scholars’ recent vote to declare that “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide.”

The declaration was made after a vote of the IAGS’s membership on a resolution that included that specific wording and was quickly picked up by media outlets across the globe. The IAGS said at the time that 86 percent of its 500-person membership voted to back the three-page resolution.

The BBC covered the vote under the headline, “Israel committing genocide in Gaza, world’s leading experts say,” while Reuters blared, “Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, scholars’ association says.” The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, including innocent civilians, with the Hamas-linked Health Ministry saying the death toll has passed 64,000.

Since the Monday declaration, however, several pro-Israel activists have noted that anyone could sign up to join the organization of experts, and the IAGS website solicited membership for as little as $30 to everyone from “human rights activists” to “artists” to “independent scholars.”

The Times of Israel also reported that some of the pro-Israel activists made “fake” accounts to try and understand if the IAGS did vet its membership in any way beyond accepting payment. The Times of Israel reported:

A number of pro-Israel activists said they had joined the group, while others set up prank accounts.

One activist signed up as “Adolf Hitler” and joined the association’s women’s caucus and indigenous caucus. Others signed up as the Star Wars character Emperor Palpatine, the Cookie Monster, or set up accounts for their pet dogs.

Eitan Fischberger, a Middle East policy analyst, was one of those who signed up for $30 and wrote on X, “Unwilling to abide by the open membership model they once touted, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) has tanked its own website. Users can no longer see who the members are, individual member pages have been deactivated, and its X account has been taken down.” He added:

This includes myself, Cookie Monster, Emperor Palpatine, and Palestinian Hitler, among others.

Two outstanding issues remain:

1. Will there be any accountability for the lies this fake association spread?

2. Who do I speak to about my $30 refund?

Fischberger and his fellow new members of IAGS sparked a wave of anger online. Below are some of those reactions:

__