Accusing Israel of genocide is an inversion of the truth designed to leave it defenceless

Jan 14, 2024 by Jill

by Charles Moore, Telegraph:

South Africa’s case before the ICJ is seeking to achieve via lawfare what Hamas attempts via warfare.

[…] Hamas’s greatest joy came because the great majority were Jewish. That was the victims’ only “guilt”. That was why Hamas exterminated (or kidnapped for future bargaining and torment) everyone they could find.

For a few days, the world seemed to understand this. There was no limit to what such killers would do, so people acknowledged that Israel must fight back. It was self-defence, or death.

But only for a very few days. On October 9, for example, the UN Human Rights Council met, and – before Israel had counterattacked – held a moment of silence for “the loss of innocent lives in the occupied Palestinian territory and elsewhere”. “Elsewhere” was the only word that hinted at what had actually happened two days earlier. The suppression of the truth had already begun.

It was a quick move from truth-suppression to truth-inversion. As soon as Israel went after Hamas in Gaza, international bodies, pressure groups, hostile powers and much of the media assailed the “disproportionate” response. Within a fortnight, the Muslim Council of Britain was urging its followers to write to their MP to stop the Gaza “genocide”. On Thursday, South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague began, presenting as legal fact the idea that Israel is committing genocide.

The South African delegation includes Jeremy Corbyn, who, famously, was “present but not involved” for a wreath-laying ceremony which included tributes to the terrorists who killed Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. He seems to be playing a similarly decorative political role on this occasion. One of the luminaries in the South African legal team is John Dugard, a former Cambridge law professor who once chaired the UNHCR’s special commission on human rights in the Palestinian territories. He is a leading advocate of the idea that Israel is an “apartheid state”.

Listening to the BBC radio news report of South Africa’s case on Thursday, I heard its diplomatic correspondent, Paul Adams, begin his analysis thus: “The last three months have been shocking enough, but hearing it all summed up by South Africa’s lawyers is devastating. How, many wonder, can this not be a story of genocide?” Many will indeed wonder that if they rely on the BBC for information. Adams’s frail sandcastle of “many wonder” is no defence against his own propagandist tide.

“Genocide” arose as a concept in international law because Hitler killed Jews. There is sadistic bad taste in using the term against the state created to prevent the repetition of such a policy. What does it say about our Holocaust education that this sly libel can be believed?

A recent press release from the Islamic Human Rights Commission describes Israel’s actions in Gaza as “textbook genocide”. What textbook? You can consult the rule itself. The Genocide Convention of 1948 identifies genocide as the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, religious or racial group, as such”. Israel’s sole battle aim is to destroy Hamas in Gaza. If the ICJ decides to regard Hamas as a group such as the Convention describes, then genocide will have become a human right, with its victims rebadged as its perpetrators.

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Archived here (may be read in full)

Must watch: Submission to the International Court of Justice at The Hague from Israel’s Ministry of Justice Advocate Galit Raguan, She (1) meticulously exposed Hamas’ military tactics and strategy, including using human shields & embedding themselves in civil areas. (2) Highlighted Israel’s unprecedented efforts to mitigate civilian harm during operational activity, and (3) addressed Israel’s extensive actions to alleviate humanitarian hardship in Gaza, despite Hamas’ relentless attempts at obstruction. (Hat Tip: International Human Rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky)

Watch also: Prof. Malcolm Shaw‘s submission