In Episode 48 of The Enlightenment Podcast, Shamim and Hanan are joined by Professor Omer Bartov, one of the world’s foremost Holocaust and genocide scholars, whose moral clarity and scholarly rigor have led him to unequivocally describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide—a position he reached through a deeply personal and professional journey.
Professor Bartov is the Dean's Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University and has been described by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum as one of the world’s leading specialists in genocide. Born in Israel, he served in the Israeli Army and fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, eventually rising to the rank of company commander before embarking on an academic career that would make him a globally respected historian.
He is the author of multiple award-winning books, including Anatomy of a Genocide and his latest, Genocide, the Holocaust and Israel-Palestine – First Person in History in Times of Crisis. His forthcoming book, Israel: What Went Wrong?, is due to be published in April 2026. In a principled stand, Professor Bartov resigned from the editorial board of Yad Vashem Studies after two decades, when his colleagues refused to confront Israel’s killing and maiming of thousands of Palestinian children.
In this compelling episode, Professor Bartov reflects on his own transformation from soldier to outspoken critic of Israeli policies, unpacks the historical and legal frameworks for understanding genocide, and speaks about the ethical responsibility of scholars in times of moral crisis.
Professor Bartov’s Work:
Anatomy of a Genocide → https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Genocide-Death-Called-Buczacz/dp/1451684533
Genocide: The Holocaust and Israel-Palestine – First Person in History in Times of Crisis → https://www.amazon.com/Genocide-Holocaust-Israel-Palestine-First-Person-History/dp/1350332321
Israel: What Went Wrong? (Coming April 2026) → https://www.amazon.co.uk/Israel-What-Wrong-Omer-Bartov/dp/0374618186
The Eastern Front, 1941-45: German Troops and the Barbarisation of Warfare (St Antony's Series)
→ https://www.amazon.com/Eastern-Front-1941-45-Barbarisation-Warfare/dp/0333949447/
Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis, and War in the Third Reich (Oxford Paperbacks)
→ https://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Army-Soldiers-Oxford-Paperbacks/dp/0195079035/
Professor Bartov on Social Media:X (Twitter) → https://x.com/bartov_omer LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/omer-bartov-6336343a/
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/OmerBartov/
Website → https://vivo.brown.edu/display/obartov
Enlightenment Podcast Social Media:
https://feedlinks.link/enlightenmentpodcast
#TheEnlightenmentPodcast #OmerBartov #GazaGenocide #HolocaustScholar #GenocideStudies #EndGazaGenocide #JusticeForPalestine #BrownUniversity #IsraelWhatWentWrong #DecolonizeHistory #MoralCourage #GenocideAwareness #PalestinianRights #HumanRightsNow #ScholarActivism