The Council of Europe has declared that Russia’s destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage is consistent with genocide.

“Noting that more than a thousand cultural sites had been damaged or destroyed since the beginning of the war, the Congress underlined that the targeting and looting of cultural sites appeared to reflect a systematic policy aimed at erasing Ukraine’s historical and cultural identity, consistent with a genocidal intent,” the Council said.

It’s not the first time Russia’s war in Ukraine has been designated a genocide by international authorities. Multiple European national parliaments have already done so with the Council of Europe deeming Russia’s forced transfer of children as an act of genocide in 2023.

      • Sop@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        414·
        7 months ago

        No idea what you’re on about. The destruction of Palestinian cultural heritage is 100 times worse than that of Ukraine so the council of Europe recognising only the latter as genocide shows how little their declarations mean.

        • InverseParallax@lemmy.worldEnglish
          74·
          7 months ago

          How exactly?

          The Dome of the Rock is not in Gaza, it’s in the West Bank, and in excellent shape: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock

          Designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, it has been called “Jerusalem’s most recognizable landmark”[9] along with two nearby Old City structures: the Western Wall and the “Resurrection Rotunda” in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.[10] Its Islamic inscriptions proved to be a milestone, as afterward they became a common feature in Islamic structures and almost always mention Muhammad.[1] The Dome of the Rock remains a “unique monument of Islamic culture in almost all respects”, including as a “work of art and as a cultural and pious document”, according to art historian Oleg Grabar.[11]

          Gaza itself isn’t what you’d call a cultural touchstone, it’s just an autonomous zone run by its duly elected government named: (*checks notes) Hamas? That doesn’t sound right.

          But hey, if you’re really pissed off, tell Egypt to re-open their border crossings, might help ease the suffering.

          The reason they haven’t is because the last time someone was nice to the Palestinians, we had https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September

          The PLO’s strength grew, and by early 1970, leftist groups within the PLO began calling for the overthrow of Jordan’s Hashemite monarchy, leading to violent clashes in June 1970. Hussein hesitated to oust them from the country, but continued PLO activities in Jordan culminated in the Dawson’s Field hijackings of 6 September 1970. This involved the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) seizing three civilian passenger flights and forcing their landing in the Jordanian city of Zarqa, where they took foreign nationals as hostages and blew up the planes in front of international press. Hussein saw this as the last straw and ordered the Jordanian Army to take action.[10]

          Jordan allowed the fedayeen to relocate to Lebanon via Syria, where they later became involved in the Lebanese Civil War. The Palestinian Black September Organization was founded after the conflict to carry out attacks against Jordanian authorities in response to the fedayeen’s expulsion; their most notable attack was the assassination of Jordanian prime minister Wasfi Tal in 1971, as he had commanded parts of the military operations against the fedayeen. The following year, the organization shifted its focus to attacking Israeli targets and carried out the Munich massacre against Israeli athletes. Though the events of Black September did not reflect a Jordanian–Palestinian divide, as there were Jordanians and Palestinians on both sides of the conflict, it paved the way for such a divide to emerge subsequently.[12]

          Not great neighbors to have.

          • fukhueson@lemmy.world
            102·
            7 months ago

            In addition, there are objectively more sites damaged or destroyed in Ukraine.

            https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/damaged-cultural-sites-ukraine-verified-unesco

            As of 16 October 2024 UNESCO has verified damage to 457 sites since 24 February 2022 – 143 religious sites, 231 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 32 museums, 33 monuments, 17 libraries, 1 archive.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_cultural_heritage_during_the_Israeli_invasion_of_the_Gaza_Strip

            The Palestinian Ministry of Culture has published reports on the impact of the war on Gaza’s cultural heritage. As of February 2024, they report that 44 people involved with arts and culture were killed and around 200 historic buildings were damaged or destroyed, along with 12 museums and numerous cultural centres.

            The posted article also confirms this comparison.

            • Sop@lemmy.blahaj.zone
              55·
              7 months ago

              What a nonsensical comparison to make. There’s no denying the incomprehensible horrors Palestinians are put through by Israel. From carpet bombings, to denial of humanitarian aid to the killings of humanitarian workers and journalists. The Palestinian genocide is one of the most well documented genocides we’ve seen with literal confessions of Israeli politicians and lawmakers. There is no excuse for the support from European governmental bodies to Israel.