Cassif, of the left-wing Hadash-Ta’al alliance, read out Grossman’s recent remarks during a parliamentary session. Chair Nissim Vaturi, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right Likud party, replied, “That’s not a quote, it’s fabricated,” and ordered Cassif out of the chamber.
Grossman had said in an interview published Friday by Italy’s La Repubblica: “For years, I refused to use the term genocide. But now I can no longer refrain, after what I read in the newspapers, after the images I saw and after conversations with people who were there.”
Haaretz has described Grossman as Israel’s most renowned writer and a “conscience of the nation.” He has spoken openly against the occupation, called Israel’s rule there “apartheid,” and lost his 20-year-old son Uri in the 2006 Lebanon war.
Cassif has twice been disciplined during the Gaza conflict—excluded from sessions and had his pay suspended—after calling Israeli soldiers’ actions war crimes.
Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people. Israel’s response has since killed more than 61,000 Palestinians.
In December 2023, South Africa filed a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, joined by countries including Spain, Turkey and Ireland.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have made similar allegations, as did Israeli NGOs B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights last week.
Israel has repeatedly rejected the claims, saying it follows international law and has the right to defend itself after the October 7 attack.
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Source: PAP, Haaretz