Cultural Genocide in Palestine. The systematic erasure of Palestinian tangible and culinary heritage

This dissertation investigates genocidal actions targeting both tangible and intangible cultural heritage in Palestine, perpetrated through deliberate Israeli State policies. It argues that cultural destruction functions not merely as evidence of genocidal intent but as a structured mechanism within a systematic genocidal project-constituting what may be understood as a legal "cultural vacuum" (Novic, 2016). The research draws on a multidisciplinary methodology encompassing international and cultural law, sociology, and anthropology, with particular attention to intangible heritage and culinary traditions as vehicles of collective identity. Central to the analysis is the persistent gap in international law: the notion of cultural genocide, though originally conceived by Raphael Lemkin as one of eight techniques of genocide, was excluded from the 1948 Genocide Convention due to political pressure from Western colonial powers, and remains unenforceable to this day. Legal sources examined include the Genocide Convention, Rome Statute, Hague Conventions, UNESCO frameworks, ICJ jurisprudence, and Israeli domestic legislation. Special attention is given to gastronomic erasure: the systematic rebranding of Palestinian culinary heritage- including hummus, olive oil, and za'atar-under an Israeli, kosher and supposedly "biblical coat" (Khalidi, 2020, 2024), rooted in the colonial and Zionist logic of terra nullius. The results demonstrate that the destruction of a people's culture targets the very roots of their existence, severing the intergenerational transmission of identity-passed down, as this research claims, through the simple yet profound act of preparing and sharing food. The dissertation concludes with a call for the reconceptualization of international legal frameworks to include cultural genocide as a punishable offense, and a reflection on law's ethical and epistemic limits when confronted with cultural erasure.