The International Court of Justice [sic] issues an admonition to Israel to do what it’s already been doing; plus UNRWA decides that inciting future terrorists is fine but employing active terrorists and kidnappers might be a no-no
The International Court of Justice has decided that finding Israel guilty of genocide against Palestinians was just too big and sticky a pill for even its Israel-hating jurists to swallow this time, and settled for a stern warning to Israel to make sure not to commit genocide. The Court even managed to cough up a demand that Hamas return the Israeli hostages.
Israel will of course comply, not because the ICJ has any teeth, but because Israel has never had any intention to commit genocide, and anyone with a functioning brain knows it. Hamas will of course not comply. The whole sorry “legal” spectacle has been another example of the impotence of “international law” in such matters, except as propaganda:
The substance of the ruling is not specific, but generally demands Israel live up to its obligations under the genocide convention. It did not “order” an immediate ceasefire.
It’s a toothless order, but will be used against Israel despite it not being a finding that Israel committed genocide. …
The only bright spot was the statement at the end that the ICJ expresses concerns for the hostages and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.
The vote was 15-2. The Uganda judge wrote a dissent that read in part this way:
South Africa has not demonstrated, even on a prima facie basis, that the acts allegedly committed by Israel and of which the Applicant complains, were committed with the necessary genocidal intent, and that as a result, they are capable of falling within the scope of the Genocide Convention — Similarly, since the acts allegedly committed by Israel were not accompanied by a genocidal intent, the Applicant has not demonstrated that the rights it asserts and for which it seeks protection through the indication of provisional measures are plausible under the Genocide Convention — The provisional measures indicated by the Court in this Order are not warranted.
Interestingly Israel-friendly. I looked up Israel/Uganda relations and didn’t find a whole bunch about the current situation, but it doesn’t seem antagonistic these days. I was also surprised to read that Uganda has a Jewish community of converts, and that Chabad has a center in the country.
Netanyahu’s comment on the ICJ ruling was as follows:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments on the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague:
"Israel's commitment to international law is unwavering. Equally unwavering is our sacred commitment to continue to defend our country and defend our people.
Like… pic.twitter.com/gZen5QKZsA
— Chaim • ???? (@ChaimSmierc) January 26, 2024
I think this encapsulates the situation: “The charge of genocide leveled against Israel is not only false, it’s outrageous.”
In case you’re wondering, the ICJ is “the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.” In other UN news, our State Department made this announcement:
The United States is extremely troubled by the allegations that twelve UNRWA employees may have been involved in the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. The Department of State has temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on January 25 to emphasize the necessity of a thorough and swift investigation of this matter. We welcome the decision to conduct such an investigation and Secretary General Guterres’ pledge to take decisive action to respond, should the allegations prove accurate. We also welcome the UN’s announcement of a “comprehensive and independent” review of UNRWA. There must be complete accountability for anyone who participated in the heinous attacks of October 7.
UNRWA has been educating Palestinians in hatred of Israelis and Jews for many decades, and the evidence has been overwhelming for many decades. What’s new? Evidence of direct involvement of UNRWA employees in terrorist acts as perpetrators. Otherwise, I don’t see UNRWA or the UN doing any soul-searching about its role in brainwashing Palestinians and the rest of the world to hate Jews. Any “decisive action” would probably be limited to firing these particular people if the evidence of their guilt is overwhelming (perhaps video evidence and/or testimony of released hostages?). I would be very surprised if it amounts to any more than that.
The absurdity of the “Israel committing genocide” claim is mind bending. If Israel really wanted to “commit genocide” upon the Palestinians, it wouldn’t be terribly difficult for them to do so. What they’re actually doing is far, far more difficult and costly in terms of IDF soldiers lives. It’s much harder to selectively identify and target terrorists combatants while doing everything they reasonably can to minimize non-combatant civilian casualties than it would be to simply carpet bomb all of Gaza into complete oblivion. The entirety of Gaza is only an area of 141 square miles after all.
yes uganda was one of the minor resettlement location. the subject of a debate going back to the ’10, over zionism, bibi’s grandfather, nathan milievsky, was opposed to that position, in the post war era, Idi Amin after training under British and Israeli auspices turned on both,
but yes to accuse genocide a country whose people had lost half their population, even before the resettlement, who were victims of an actual instance of genocide is a blood libel of remarkable chutzpah or whatever the Arab word is, that South Africa, a country that doesn’t seem to understand the term brought the case, is a further irony, as even Fetterman noted with Malema’s prominence and ‘kill the boer’ as the unofficial anthem,
I’m reminded of the Goldstone report and the work of Richard Falk. the latter was in an old reference from the Springstrangeness blog,
Nonapod, if only because as you write “the absurdity of the […] claim is mind-bending” (and that’s wholly correct in my view) I’m inclinded to reformulate “wouldn’t be terribly difficult” (and I understand what you mean there on merely “material” grounds) to “would be utterly impossible for the Israelis to do while remaining Israelis”.
It’s simply not within my imaginative capacity to conjure, otherwise.
this wasn’t the post I was going for,
https://spinstrangenesscharm.wordpress.com/2023/11/19/is-a-cease-fire-hostage-deal-in-the-making/
but it does illustrate a point about nomenclature, there is no such entity as palestine,
I was watching lawrence of Arabia somewhat more closely, the main battleground was the
Hejaz, the fiefdom of the Hashemites, and other tribes like the Howeitat, of Sheihk Auda bin Tayi played by Anthony Quinn, this was where Lawrence had cast his net, the film touches on the Sykes Picot split but not on Balfour Declaration, that would take another hour to resolve itself
I guess Ugandans still remember Entebbe. I’m sure Bibi does, since his brother Yonatan, who lead the raid, was the only Israeli casualty.
sdferr, To be clear, I myself of course take it as a given that the Israelis wouldn’t commit a genocide upon any group (as I feel that anyone with even the narrowest understanding of the history of the Jewish people would as well). I was merely making a reductio ad absurdum.
I gotcha, Nonapod, and thought/assumed that was your ground all along. I’m guilty of overdoing stuff, betimes, no doubt.
no good deed
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-africa-67977497?
so much for that bit of sanity, is everyone ‘else on crazy pills’
Now that that August Body has spoken, will the demonstrators here and elsewhere drop the genocide rant? Not likely is it.
In case you weren’t aware, Israel and Uganda had a great working relationship until idi amin decided to go crazy.
Uganda’s army and police were trained by Israelis, their agriculture industry revolutionized by Israel and trade partnerships into the mid-70s.
Out and out Marxism is my take
yes third world politics specially in central Africa are complicated
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/revealed-how-israel-helped-amin-to-take-power-100683.html
Yuseveni, the current President for Life, was part of the Anti Amin coalition, his dissertation was on Fanon, the johnny appleseed of decolonization, but has mellowed as time has gone by,
Leah
In case you weren’t aware, Israel and Uganda had a great working relationship until idi amin decided to go crazy.
Uganda wasn’t the only African country that had good relations with Israel. I knew a Nigerian in grad school who had named his daughter Golda, for Golda Meir.
Not probable, or even plausible. Good for Uganda for offering an objective measure of events past, present, and progressive.
Israel should sue for defamation, right… I mean, left, right?
I’ve hated NGO’S for a long time.
Iran used to be a first-world nation. Afghanistan was, then it wasn’t, then it was, and now it isn’t again, too. Change… is precarious.
The problem for South Africa and empathetic interests, is that Israel has followed transnational convention, and the plaintiffs can neither confirm attribution nor quantity in their allegations. So, the protesters will have to wait for their dose of murder, rape, torture, and abductions. DEI and DIE another day… when, if ever again, Israel takes a blind, sympathetic knee.
South Africa came from a similar rotten basket as Fatah, the leadership cadre had training in the East Bloc sometimes under directly Soviet patronage, the Umkhonto du Sizwe,
the Israelis at one point shared technical information about their nuclear program,
with South Africa, at Valindaba, they did advance to a degree
did the Soviets really care about Racism Sexism or whatever coffee clatch of interests
mostly likely not, but they were good at miming concerns, they wanted the Uranium, Gold Palladium and other resources,
What is obvious is that firing twelve UNWRA employees barely scratches the surface of UN involvement in the October 7 atrocities. Teaching hatred and genocide for decades has predictable results.
Iran used to be a first-world nation. Afghanistan was, then it wasn’t, then it was, and now it isn’t again, too. Change… is precarious.
==
Neither was ever a 1st world country.
no but they were advancing in the third world ranks, those pics you see of unveiled women in the 70s suggested that, how real was that veneer is an open question though, in part because of influences from Mawdudi the deobandi cleric which spread in the 70s after Zia’s coup, the proliferation of madrassas across the NorthWest Frontier, that gave rise to the Taliban, notably the one at Akhora Khottak, Younes Khalis was the godfather of the Taliban, who it would turn out gave sanctuary to Bin Laden, and was a recipient of CIA funds, I discovered that from Steve Coll,
the Shah did push for social reform and land reform ticking off the same combination of merchants and mullahs that had ousted Mossadeq
@Nonapod
Exactly so. And this is something I keep bringing up. Let’s not pretend Jewish or Israelite history started yesterday (in spite of UNESCO and UNRWA attempts to deny things like the Arch of Titus) or that Jews have always been the victims of genocide (though that is certainly the majority of cases in the past couple thousand years). The old Iron Age city of Gaza shows all the hallmarks of being violently wiped out along with the local population during the Israelite period, after which the city lost its autonomy and was first ruled by the Jews and then whatever empire came across to take it from them. And that was in a relative backwater of the Iron Age.
If the Israelis truly wanted to wipe Gaza out now, with overwhelming conventional superiority, they would. And there would be little anyone could do to stop them.
It’s The International Court of Injustice.
UNWRA knew damn well the billions of $$$$ of aid to Gaza was being used to build tunnels and purchase / make military hardware.
In response, the US State Dept (a dept that should be reduced in size by 85% – they are useless) has “temporarily halted” aid to UNWRA.
“Temporarily ?”
Unbelievable
The problem is that Hamas would very much like Israel to commit genocide.
That Israel hasn’t even tried is utterly galling, riling, exasperating for them.
So all they can really do at this point is continue to fire missiles, hold hostages, lie through their teeth…and make THAT ACCUSATION (or get some of their wretched friends to do it for them).
Oh and also commit to utterly destroy the State of Israel and all Jews everywhere (which somehow goes under the radar!!).
Technical question: Is wiping out Hamas (but NOT Gaza), while leaving the West Bank alone, considered genocide?
Dear me! I keep forgetting—Because the Gaza Strip is honeycombed with tunnels (multi-level, at that) and covered with Hamas weapons factories, Hamas weapons storage area and Hamas missile batteries—all built under the direct observation of the UN, various global media outfits and NGOs—Hamas has engineered things SO THAT wiping out Hamas MUST—ALMOST NECESSARILY MEAN wiping out Gaza.
Which is why the Israeli forces have been going door-to-door (so to speak) at tremendous cost…
Essentially, and the point has been made before, Hamas is holding its entirely population hostage.
Related?
“The residents of Gaza want to overthrow Hamas’
New footage shows Gazans evacuating through humanitarian corridor, chanting, ‘The people want to overthrow Hamas.’ “—
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384231
Hmmm. To be taken with more than a pinch of salt…?
File under: NOW MORE THAN EVER is the time to overthrow BIBI!!
By the way…more proof (if any were needed) of Israel’s genocidal intentions…
“The footage is from the humanitarian corridor that was opened and secured in recent days west of Khan Yunis and allows Gazans to safely move to the Al-Mawasi humanitarian area. The evacuation route was opened by the IDF to allow the safe passage of civilians, while the IDF continues to fight Hamas.”
NOW MORE THAN EVER
Barry Meislin:
During the Great Covid Lockdown I was talking to an old New College friend who was complaining indignantly about Gun Stores Being Open!
I cheerfully replied, “Now more than ever!”
Which is, among other things, a Firesign Theatre call-out, part of our mutual history. My friend laughed. Tension defused.
Would that life were more often that simple.
Well THIS shor is interestin’…
Heh, looks like “Biden” is ALSO funding South Africa…
(Color me very, very unsurprised….)
” South Africa’s ties to Hamas, Iran exposed amid financial troubles, genocide case against Israel;
” South Africa’s ties to Hamas, Iran exposed amid financial troubles, genocide case against Israel “—
https://justthenews.com/government/diplomacy/south-africas-ties-hamas-iran-exposed-amid-financial-troubles-genocide-case
Key grafs:
‘…the ANC said earlier this month that it was able to stabilize its finances, according to The Sunday Times. It did not give specifics as to how this was accomplished.
‘ The same week that the ANC got its finances in a better state, South Africa brought the genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, according to South Africa’s Daily Maverick news outlet.
‘ High-profile South African activists such as former Institute of Race Relations CEO Frans Cronje and Accountability Now Director Paul Hoffman both said earlier this month that reports are emerging that Iran fixed the ANC’s finance problem.
‘ “The South African government is the same thing as Hamas. It’s an Iranian proxy, and its role in the war is to fight the ideological and ideas war to stigmatize Jews around the world,” Cronje during an interview on Chai FM Radio….’
Hmmm. Time to call John Fetterman?