Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein and ZOA Director of Research & Special Projects Liz Berney, Esq. released the following statement:
ZOA strongly condemns the unwarranted, absurd, unjust decision today by the so-called UN “International Court of Justice” (ICJ) modifying (meaning making even worse) its previous unjust, unwarranted, absurd, dangerous provisional measures order. The ICJ decision unconscionably seeks to prevent Israel from destroying Hamas’ terror army. Specifically, today’s ICJ decision orders Israel to:
(1) halt Israel’s military offensive in Rafah. This unconscionable so-called “provisional measure” really acts as an unlawful final order against Israel before the case is even heard. This ICJ order (which is fortunately unenforceable) seeks to save and give victory to terror organization Hamas. Israel’s operation in Rafah is necessary to prevent Hamas’ terror army from promptly regrouping and perpetrating more October 7th genocides against Israelis, and is the only viable way to recover Israeli hostages and to make it possible for 100’s of 1,000’s of Jews to return to their homes in southern Israel, next to Gaza. Moreover, there is no prospective civilian casualties justification for this order. Israel has already successfully moved almost one million Gazans from Rafah to safe zones within the past two weeks; 70% of Rafah is completely evacuated; and Israel continues to take extraordinary measures to protect civilians.
(2) “maintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.” This absurd provisional measure ignores that Egypt is the party that is keeping the Rafah crossing closed and causing humanitarian aid waiting at the crossing to rot. Israel is the wrong target of this absurd order.
(3) take effective measures to ensure unimpeded access in Gaza for pro-Hamas UN investigators, commissions of inquiry, and fact-finding missions mandated by “competent organs of the UN” to investigate false accusations that Israel is committing genocide. This order is designed to harass and delegitimize Israel with more false charges. And of course, there are no “competent organs of the UN.”
(4) to submit a report on all measures Israel takes to give effect to the order within one month. This provisional measure is designed to burden Israel while Israel is fighting a war for the survival of her people and the Jewish State.
Two ICJ judges – ICJ Vice President Julia Sebutinde (a brave, astute jurist from Uganda) and pro-hac judge (for this case only) Aharon Barak (former Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice) – opposed all of the foregoing unwarranted orders.
The unjust provisional measures ordered today moreover have the same serious failings as the ICJ’s previous (January 26, 2024) unjust provisional measures ordered against Israel, pointed out by dissenting Judges Barak and Sebutinde. Both sets of provisional measures stem from a case brought in bad faith by the antisemitic, severe human-rights-violating South African regime; are based on outrageously false allegations; fail to meet the pre-condition for provisional measures, including because there is no indication that Israel has any genocidal intent; are purportedly based on the inapplicable genocide convention; fail to employ the correct legal standard – namely, International Humanitarian Law, which is not violated by prospective harm to civilians proportionate to the prospective military objective; ignore Israel’s extraordinary measures to protect civilians; and reverse reality by attacking the victim of genocidal terrorism, Israel.
The 13 ICJ judges who wrongly and unjustifiably voted to damage Israel include biased Muslim antisemites, such as the ICJ President Nawaf Salam, from Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon and Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf from Somalia. The New Arab noted that ICJ President Salam’s “diplomatic career as Lebanon’s Ambassador to the United Nations was marked by his advocacy for Palestinian rights.” There are also ICJ judges from human-rights violators China and plaintiff South Africa, and an American ICJ judge, Sarah Cleveland, who was an international law counselor to the hostile-to-Israel Obama State Department, and was vice chair of the extremely anti-Israel UN Human Rights Commission.
ICJ judgeships are politicized positions that virtually guarantee that the judges will rule against Israel. The ICJ judges are elected by the biased-against-Israel UN Security Council and UN General Assembly. In order to be elected, prospective judges need to run campaigns attempting to show that their sympathies lie with the UN’s automatic majority of anti-Israel members. Sarah Cleveland’s election to the ICJ in 2023 was backed by President Biden and his Secretary of State Blinken, and followed Cleveland’s extensive election campaign in unfriendly foreign countries. (See “The Biden-Backed U.S. Judge at the ICJ Who Voted in Favor of Ruling Against Israel,” Al Arabiya, May 24, 2024; Biden’s election plug for Cleveland on Cleveland’s campaign website.)
Sadly, the ICJ is an unjust, antisemitic kangaroo court. Israel should ignore the ICJ’s absurd, unwarranted provisional measures orders.