JUSTICE - No. 65

3 Fall 2020 (shechita) as well as Muslim halal. n Filing a complaint in the ICC at The Hague against the Palestinian Authority, its president, and senior members of the Palestinian Authority in connection with the funding of terrorist prisoners and the families of terrorists. n Filing a position paper with the ICC against the possibility of proceedings against Israel for “war crimes.” I am submitting my candidacy for an additional term as President of the Association. If elected, I will continue the line that I have been following, namely, to focus the activities of the Association on legal proceedings in the fight against antisemitism and in defense of the legitimacy of the State of Israel. I would like to briefly review my outline for the main activities of the IJL for the coming three years. This is a program based on continuity of current activities, as well as developing new areas and points of emphasis. As for continuity: 1. We will continue all open proceedings in various jurisdictions, in Strasbourg and at The Hague; 2. We will initiate further proceedings in the war against antisemitism, focusing primarily on countries in Europe, but also include other regions, such as South America; 3. We will significantly increase the legal proceedings that we undertake against antisemitic incitement on social networks. But I also want to focus on several new projects: 1. The Security of Jewish Communities Many organizations make an important contribution to the physical security of Jewish communities. We want to contribute by establishing a robust and efficient legal framework that will provide a legal response to even “minor”physical and verbal attacks against Jews in both large and small communities. We are currently working on a pilot that will take on this challenge in a number of communities. 2. Broadening the Scope of Our Activity Against “National”Antisemitic Activity a) We will use legal means, in various countries, to oppose activities, whether or not they are strictly defined as antisemitic. For example: we will oppose legislation restricting traditional Jewish customs that symbolize essential features of our religion and nationality, such as brit mila (circumcision) and shechita (ritual slaughter). b) We will oppose legislation limiting the claims for restoration of property belonging to Jews who were murdered or forced to flee their homes during or after the Second World War. 3. “Legal Warfare”Against the Activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Aimed at Destroying the Jewish State I preface this point by declaring that the Jewish people have no history with respect to any hostility against the Iranian people. On the contrary, there has been a historical friendship between the two peoples dating back to the times of King Cyrus. There is also no historical hostility between the modern State of Iran and the State of Israel. Our two countries are geographically distant from one another, and there have been no direct conflicts between our two states. Indeed, there have been many issues of common interest. Nevertheless, an essential stance of the Iranian regime’s ideological platform is the destruction of the State of Israel as the State of the Jewish People. The destruction of “The Zionist Entity,” if it were to come about, God forbid, would be a catastrophe for our people, perhaps the greatest in the history of mankind. In 1933, and the years that followed, few believed that the words and actions of Hitler and Nazi Germany would lead to the genocide of the Jewish people. We must assume that the words and actions of the regime in Iran would, if their leaders could carry out their plans, lead to the destruction of the State of Israel and many of its inhabitants. The incitement and the activities of Iran against the State of the Jewish People already today contravene the Genocide Convention. We cannot but assume that what is said in Tehran and in Qom is not mere rhetoric, and that what is taking place in the nuclear facilities and the missile bases in Iran and elsewhere, and the activities of Iran’s proxies throughout the Middle East, are part of a plan aimed at destroying the People of Israel. We are a small organization, without weapons and even without diplomats. But as an association of lawyers and jurists, we must fight for the legal rights of our people and our country and, in this way, prevent a further genocide. Let us continue in the path of Hersch Lauterpacht, Raphael Lemkin and René Cassin, to fight with the moral and legal weapons that we have available, against the evil which may, God forbid, come about. We are fully focused on preparing an action plan for this legal battle. December 6, 2020