Statement by the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (IJL) in response to South Africa’s ICJ Application Accusing Israel of Genocide
IJL calls on governments, international institutions and the international legal community, to denounce and reject the cynical and dangerous misuse of the Genocide Convention The attempt to harness the Genocide Convention to target the very people whose murder led to the Convention reflects a growing phenomenon of undermining the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own through accusations comparing Israel with the Nazi regime. In practice, it is intended to deny Israel the right to defend itself against those seeking its destruction. The deeds of Hamas, including the October 7 massacre, accompanied by its clear statements of intent to bring about the destruction of Israel while calling for the murder of Jews fulfill the definition of Genocide. By labeling Israel’s defensive war against Hamas an act of genocide, South Africa is effectively stripping the term of its meaning. If this is genocide, then many instances of the use of force in response to an armed attack could easily meet that definition.
Read here the full statement