Postdoc Fellow
Peter Lidsky
UCSF
California
Overview
Peter Lidsky is a postdoc at @UCSF. He has made various statements on social media spreading xenophobia against Arabs, Islamophobia against Muslims and support for shooting of Palestinian children, while simultaneously denying the killing of civilians in Gaza, parroting the "Pallywood" conspiracy.
Justifying and denying the killing of Palestinian civilians and children
In a reply to a post discussing the future generation's reactions to those who stood by idly during the ongoing genocide of Palestinians, Peter resorts to whataboutism to dismiss it as irrelevant as even though he acknowledges that "there are 20k Palestinians killed", it's okay because "there are many more bloody events going on in the world".
He responds to a tweet showing videos of bloodied and orphaned children crying over their killed parents with "Pallywood", a conspiracy term used to claim video footage released by Palestinians are fake, a parody of "Hollywood".
He responds to another tweet describing an instance in which a Palestinian child's hand being shredded and gushing with blood as a result of an Israeli sniper's deliberate targeting with "what did this boy keep in his hand?".
Xenophobia and Islamophobia
Peter made a post on Twitter on December 22 in which he claims that "Arabs are 1000 times more barbaric than [Israelis]".
Peter Lidsky also amplified a tweet depicting a monkey receiving a Quran before becoming violent.
Context
The massacre by Israel in Gaza since October 10, 2023 has been marked by severe violence and allegations of war crimes. The The UN Human Rights Council and UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories reported clear evidence that war crimes have been committed during this latest surge of violence, emphasizing the need to hold those who violated international law and targeted civilians accountable.
As of November 24, 2023, Israeli forces had continuously engaged the Gaza Strip for 49 days, contributing to a mounting humanitarian crisis in the region. The death toll has been significant, with more than 15,000 Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Furthermore, 1.7 million civilians (80% of the population) have been internally displaced in Gaza as of November 23.
In contrast, the official death count in Israel stands at 1,200, where over a third killed were active military members, and many of the civilian casualties were reported as being a direct result of Israeli "scorched earth" tactics where helicopters fired hellfire missiles and machine gun rounds indiscriminately at people running in the fields, and tanks shelling civilian houses in the kibbutz.
Amnesty International conducted a detailed investigation into Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, focusing on incidents between October 7 and 12. The investigation revealed several alleged war crimes by the IDF, including:
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Indiscriminate Attacks on Civilian Areas: The IDF carried out thousands of air bombardments in the Gaza Strip, amounting to the equivalent explosion power of 2 atomic bombs, leading to widespread destruction. Attacks were found to be indiscriminate, failing to distinguish between civilian and military objectives. For instance, on October 7, an IDF strike hit a three-story residential building in Gaza City’s al-Zeitoun neighborhood, killing 15 members of the al-Dos family, including seven children. The youngest victim was just 18 months old.
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Strikes on Family Homes and Residential Buildings: On October 10, an air strike destroyed a family home in Gaza City’s al-Sahaba Street, killing 12 members of the Hijazi family and four of their neighbors. Three children were among those killed, with no evidence of military targets in the area at the time of the attack.
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Failure to Take Precautions to Spare Civilians: The IDF did not provide effective prior warnings to Palestinian civilians in many cases. Sometimes, no warnings were given at all, or they were inadequate, affecting whole buildings or streets full of people. This failure to take feasible precautions to spare civilians is a breach of international humanitarian law.
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Attack on a Refugee Camp and Public Market: An air strike on October 8 struck the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing members of the al-Naqla family, including children, and injuring many others. Additionally, on October 9, air strikes hit a market in Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least 69 people.
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Attacks on Hospitals and Medical Facilities: Israeli forces struck several healthcare facilities in Gaza. For example, the Indonesian Hospital was hit multiple times, killing civilians; the International Eye Hospital was completely destroyed; and the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital was forced to close following air raids. Additionally, well-marked ambulances were struck, resulting in casualties.
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Devastation of Gaza's Healthcare System: As of November 10, two-thirds of primary healthcare facilities and half of all hospitals in Gaza were non-functional. At least 521 people, including 16 medical workers, have been killed in 137 attacks on healthcare in Gaza.
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Claims of Hamas Using Hospitals Unsubstantiated: Israel claimed that Hamas fighters set up command centers beneath hospitals, but these claims have been contested and not corroborated by Human Rights Watch. The sweeping nature of Israel’s evacuation orders did not consider specific requirements for hospitals and patients, revealing their actual intent.
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Blockade of Gaza Strip: The total blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip has been described as a war crime of collective punishment by Human Rights Watch.
Biographical Information
Peter Lidsky is a postdoc at at UC San Francisco, where he works as research fellow at the Andino Lab. He's a graduate of the University of Zurich.
Social Media and Weblinks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-lidsky-71997540/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LidskyPeter
