Group releases dictionary of ‘highjacked’ terms misused since outbreak of Israel-Hamas war

An advocacy group has released a dictionary full of terms that it says have been hijacked and misused, particularly for the past three years, since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

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“The initiative emerges from a growing recognition that the erosion of language is not merely a semantic concern,” says Michal Cotler-Wunsh, the CEO of the International Legal Forum, the group behind the new online resource.

“When terms such as ‘genocide,’ ‘apartheid,’ ‘war crimes,’ and ‘crimes against humanity,’ are detached from their legal definitions and repurposed as political weapons, the consequences extend far beyond a specific conflict, article, post, or courtroom. The integrity of law itself is placed at risk.”

Columnist Jesse Kline keeps you up to date with what’s happening in Israel and the effects of antisemitism on life here in Canada. Friday mornings.

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The dictionary not only defines the terms, but provides which countries the terms have been weaponized against. It provides real-world examples and examines how words have been misused. Its release falls on Oct. 7, the third anniversary of when Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostage.

Following the outbreak of the war, there has been an anti-Israel movement in the form of protests, antisemitic incidents and rallies to “honour martyrs” in Canada and across the world. Several university campuses in Canada housed encampments that demanded support for Israel come to an end and called the war a genocide.

The term genocide was coined in the aftermath of the Holocaust, when six million Jewish people were targeted and systematically murdered by the Nazi regime in Europe.

Genocide as defined in the 1948 Genocide Convention “requires the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group as such,” Cotler-Wunsh told National Post.

“That ‘intent’ is not a technicality. It is the legal distinction between genocide and other crimes.”

She said the attempt to “hijack” such terms is done to “demonize, delegitimize, and apply double standards to ‘the Jew’ among nations.”

“It has enabled the unleashing of this unconventional weapon, the ultimate lie in the ‘progressive’ antisemitism playbook: accusing Israel of genocide, even as it defends itself from openly declared genocidal intent launched with Hamas’s pre-meditated war crimes and crimes against humanity,” she said.

The term was used against Israel immediately after October 7, even before they responded to the attack, she added.

In a 2025 report and again in 2026, the United Nations accused Israel of committing genocide. Many experts and Jewish advocacy groups strongly denied that claim. In response, a statement from Israel said the report “relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others.”

The dictionary lists Canada as a country that the term genocide is weaponized against.

“Canada continues to embolden genocidal terror and tyranny,” said Cotler-Wunsh.

“War is hell. Tragedies occur, especially when that is the intent of those who deliberately and systematically hide amongst and below civilians. That is precisely why these terms and their equal and consistent application are vital.”

According to the International Legal Forum, the dictionary is intended to make vital legal principles and terms accessible to a broad audience.

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