Take 2 at the ICJ: The circus continues

12 February 2024

It is hard to imagine that until a few months ago the letters “I-C-J” carried very little significance for your average man in the street. Alas, by now for anyone with the slightest inkling of current affairs knowledge the three letters have become synonymous with words such as “genocide” and "crimes against humanity” along with the interesting new legal buzzword of “plausibility”. Those seeking to deny the people of Israel its fundamental right to self-defence have weaponized these words to devastating effect before the international institution, as the Jewish state once again finds itself standing in the dock before a smug and self-righteous world.  

The pain and anger we feel at these accusations runs deep, all the more so in the certain knowledge that these accusations are false to their very core. And there is nothing many of us would like to do right now than to disregard the blood libels with contempt and instead focus our energies and concerns in supporting our Jewish brethren in Israel and around the world.   Unfortunately, the current crusade against the Jewish state looks likely to be with us for some time to come, both at The Hague and elsewhere, and we disregard it at our peril.   It remains as important as ever to show the world that we will not stand by in the face of these vile slanders, that we stand ready to demonstrate the truth and to show the lies up for what they are.  

It bears noting therefore that come 19 February we will be exposed to yet another episode of vacuous moral posturing by the “international community” at the ICJ, this time at the behest of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA).

By way of some background (much of which is taken from the sterling work produced by Professor Anne Bayefsky and her colleagues at the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, which readers would do well to explore further for themselves at www.jcpa.com), on 30 December 2022 the UNGA passed a resolution to seek an “advisory opinion” from the ICJ on issues pertaining to the “Occupied Palestinian Territories” and Israel’s practices therein.

The questions currently occupying the mind of the UNGA (such as it is!) are on the “legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967…”, how such Israeli practices “affect the legal status of the occupation” and on the “legal consequences that arise for all States and the United Nations from this status…”.  

These questions arise in the context of the UN Human Rights Council’s latest standing committee, the so-called “Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel” (COI) which has been tasked exclusively to investigate the crimes of Israel and to report on these crimes twice yearly to both the Human Rights Council and to the UNGA.  

It would of course stand to reason that an “independent” Commission of Inquiry mandated to investigate this crucial global issue judiciously, without fear or favour, would consist of members of the very highest integrity and good repute. Indeed, the very resolution of the Human Rights Council which brought this Commission into being calls for the appointment of commissioners to be “constantly keeping in mind the fundamental obligations of truthfulness, loyalty and independence pertaining to their mandate” as well as “uphold[ing] the highest standards of … integrity …. in particular… probity, impartiality, equity, honesty and good faith”.

But of course the Council is not taking any chances. True to form, it has ensured that the COI is manned by hardened veterans of the war against Israel. Navi Pillay, chairperson of the COI, is fully a creature of the global human rights community, notably serving as judge president of the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. Her reputation as a full-throated Israel critic was solidified during her reign in this last position and before that with her singular contribution to the Durban, South Africa World Conference Against Racism antisemitic “hate fest” (to quote a prominent US senator at the time) in August of 2001.

Pillay is joined on the COI by commissioners Miloon Kothari and Chris Sidoti, both of whom have brandished their anti-Israel mala fides with aplomb over the last years. Kothari openly makes reference to the “Jewish lobby” in public interviews and Sidoti has been grossly disparaging towards claims of antisemitism, remarking on one occasion that certain Jews are want to throw around accusations of antisemitism “like rice at a wedding”. These are the “impartial”, “honest” and “good faith” people who have been tasked to investigate Israel and to bring her for judgment before the ICJ.

Unsurprisingly the Commission’s report to the UNGA which has resulted in this referral to the ICJ is full to the brim with heated rhetoric and countless unfounded accusations against the state of Israel and her people. AIPAC (the America Israel Public Affairs Committee) on its website sums up several of the key features of this report as follows:

much of it is based on rehashed one-sided and discriminatory U.N. reports and resolutions that inaccurately blame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the Jewish state.

it makes no effort to hide its bias, finding the “root causes” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are “overwhelmingly directed towards Israel.”

it challenges the fundamental nature of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and a refuge for those seeking to flee antisemitism.

it equates terrorists firing rockets at Israeli civilians, and targeted Israeli actions to protect its population from these indiscriminate attacks.

Most dangerously, according to AIPAC, “the report lays the groundwork for future attacks and boycotts against Israel” and “indicates it may seek “individual criminal responsibility” and calls on third-party countries to take actions against Israel.”

It is noteworthy that the above-mentioned questions which form the heart of the Commission’s referral are posed not as queries seeking a balanced and fair-minded judgment from the ICJ, but rather as rhetorical statements in which guilt has long since been determined. The ICJ is asked to opine on “legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination’, how “these practices affect the status of the occupation” and “the legal consequences that arise from this status”. Based exclusively on this defamatory report Israel is assumed to be guilty of these unlawful practices, and all that is left is for the ICJ to advise on the legal (punitive?) consequences to now be meted out to her.

Much like the infamous Stalinist trials from another dark period in history, Israel’s guilty verdict has been pre-ordained, and all those age-old rules and procedures of natural justice and fairness have been trampled underfoot in the rush to condemn and castigate the only Jewish state for having the temerity to engage in self-defense against its ruthless enemy.

Coming as this case does only months after the most brazen and cruel attack yet on the innocent civilians of the state of Israel, one is indeed hard-pressed to conclude that the UN Human Rights Council and its Commission of Inquiry will never be satisfied with anything less than the complete capitulation of Israel to her enemies both near and far.

Of course this will never happen. But as we hear Indonesia (the country which has oh-so-valiantly offered to lead the charge against Israel in the Hague) attempting to make the case against Israel next week before the judges of the ICJ, let us take comfort from the plain fact that the only thing Israel is guilty of is daring to stand up for herself and defend her citizens against a cruel and remorseless enemy.

In the face of this terrible foe, she can do no other than defend her people, and as her supporters we ourselves can do no other than stand faithfully by her side, reminding the world of the terrible lies being spun against her and of the veritable truths which will ultimately be their undoing. Am Yisrael Chai.