https://lnkd.in/eFdHHT8B At Israel’s creation, in May 48', its founders envisioned a country defined by humanist values and one that upheld international law. The Declaration of Independence, Israel’s founding document, insisted that the state “will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race, or sex” and [..] would “be faithful to the principles of the UN's Charter.” But from the very beginning, this vision was never fulfilled—after all, for nearly two decades after the signing of the declaration, Palestinians in Israel lived under martial law. Israeli society has never been able to resolve the contradiction between the universalist appeal of the declaration’s ideals and the narrower urgency of the founding of Israel as a Jewish state to protect the Jewish people[..] But now the war in Gaza and the judicial crisis that preceded it have made it harder than ever to go on this way, pushing Israel to a breaking point. The country is on an increasingly illiberal, violent, and destructive path. Unless it changes course, the humanist ideals of its founding will disappear altogether as Israel careens into a darker future, one in which illiberal values define both state and society. Israel is on track to become increasingly authoritarian in its treatment not just of Palestinians but of its own citizens. It could fast lose many of the friends it still has and become a pariah. And isolated from the world, it could be consumed by turmoil at home as widening fissures threaten to break up the country itself. Such is the perilous state of affairs in Israel that these futures are not at all outlandish—but neither are they inevitable. Israel still has the capacity to pull itself back from the brink. The cost of not doing so may be too great to bear[..] Hamas’s bloody Oct. 7 attack hit Israel at a time when it was already facing tremendous domestic instability. The country’s electoral system, which relies on proportional representation, had in recent decades allowed the entry of ever more fringe and extreme political parties into the Knesset, the Israeli parliament[..] In 2023, Netanyahu and his far-right allies then pushed for a judicial reform bill that sought to substantially reduce the SC’s oversight at the proposed reform would protect him from an ongoing criminal case against him. His ultra-Orthodox allies wanted the reform to prevent the drafting of thousands of yeshiva students, who have long been exempt from military service. And the religious Zionists designed the reform to block the SC’s ability to limit the construction of settlements. Israel is on an increasingly illiberal, violent, and destructive path. The proposed judicial reform sparked massive protests across the country, revealing a society deeply fractured between those who wanted Israel to remain a democracy with an independent judiciary and those who wanted a government that could do more or less whatever it pleased[..]
Dossevi Trenou’s Post
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International Security & Sustainability, Human & Disability Rights, Health & Wellbeing, DEI; US Army Veteran
At Israel’s creation, in May 1948, its founders envisioned a country defined by humanist values and one that upheld international law. The Declaration of Independence, Israel’s founding document, insisted the state “will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race, or sex” and that it would “be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.” But from the very beginning, this vision was never fulfilled—after all, for nearly two decades after the signing of the declaration, Palestinians in Israel lived under martial law. Israeli society has never been able to resolve the contradiction between the universalist appeal of the declaration’s ideals and the narrower urgency of the founding of Israel as a Jewish state to protect the Jewish people. Over the decades, this intrinsic contradiction has surfaced again and again, creating political upheavals that have shaped and reshaped Israeli society and politics—without ever resolving the contradiction. But now the war in Gaza and the judicial crisis that preceded it have made it harder than ever to go on this way, pushing Israel to a breaking point. The country is on an increasingly illiberal, violent, and destructive path.
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With the perversion of Justice against The Jewish People and Israel, there is a need to establish a World Court against Jew Hatred Fifteen years ago I had the honor of meeting Professor Harry Reicher of UPenn Law School at a lecture on the Third Reich's Laws Against the Jews.* Professor Reicher was the leading scholar on how Nazi Germany legalized the anti-Jewish laws(The Germans had the reputation of being a law abiding people) that led up to the Holocaust. Sadly, Professor Reicher passed away in 2014, but with the utter perversion today of the so-called justice system of world bodies for "War Crimes"–The ICC, ICJ, UN as well as the many NGO's that have attacked Israel and sided with her enemies(Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, American Friends Service Committee, et al.), there is a pressing need to fight back with a Court of our own created to fight Jew Hatred. It is time to put these enemies of the Jewish People on the dock for their crimes against Israel and their slandering of the Jewish People. While I have no suggestions for who would be the Chief Judge and Chief Prosecutor, I have a list of defendants that should be indicted. 1. Karim Khan ICC 2. Antonio Guterres UN 3. Director-General of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation Zane Dangor and South African Ambassador to the Netherlands Vusimuzi Madonsela at the ICJ 4. Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland 5. Anyone who accuses Israel of Genocide Obviously, this is only a start, and there are many more guilty people to be named and indicted and I invite your suggestions. *The German need for law to promote Jew Hatred and other atrocities was described elegantly by Karl Marx –paraphrased "If the Germans would start a revolution in a railway station, they would all have to buy tickets for a train before starting their uprising."
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Craig Mokhiber, arguably the World's foremost legal human rights expert in matters of indigenous people's rights, international policy, and implementation / malpractice: "Israel is on trial for genocide in the International Court of Justice (the ICJ). The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested arrest warrants for Israel’s leaders for crimes against humanity. Millions of people across the globe, Palestinians, Jews, Muslims, Christians, students, workers, and others, are mobilized to challenge Israeli settler-colonialism, apartheid, and genocide. The 76-year-old wall of impunity, built brick-by-brick by the US, the UK, and other Western governments, is beginning to crumble. On July 19, 2024, it (the ICJ)ruled on a request for an advisory opinion submitted by the UN General Assembly, setting out with stunning legal clarity, the rights of the Palestinian people and the requirements of international law in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Court found definitively that Israel was committing apartheid and racial segregation, that all of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza are occupied territory, that the occupation is unlawful, that Israel must remove all settlements, settlers, soldiers and occupation infrastructure, dismantle the apartheid wall in the West Bank, provide reparations to the Palestinians, and allow all those forced out to return home. Equally important, the Court said that all states have a legal obligation not to recognize or assist the occupation and are obliged to help to bring an end to Israel’s occupation and other violations. And it found that all states must end all treaty relations with Israel that relate to the Palestinian territories, cease all economic, trade, and investment relations connected to the occupied territories. Thus, the ICJ has given clear international legal authority to the anti apartheid movement, and to the call for boycott, divestment and sanctions. Crucially, it rejected arguments by the U.S. and other Western governments that sought to claim that the Court should defer to post-Oslo negotiations between the occupier and the occupied, and to the politics of the Security Council, rather than the application of international law." https://lnkd.in/ezdQmYXi
The World Court has ended the Oslo ruse
https://mondoweiss.net
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In a letter to the British prime minister, hundreds of legal figures, including some who have held some of the land’s most senior judicial roles, have said the government is breaching its obligations under international law, including the genocide convention, when it comes to Israel’s war in Gaza. Here the Guardian explains what the genocide convention is, the responsibilities it confers on signatories and its relevance. What is the genocide convention? The convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide – otherwise known as the genocide convention – was approved in 1948 and came into effect in 1951 after the second world war and the Holocaust, in which Nazi Germany killed more than 6 million Jews. The concept of “genocide” was created by Raphael Lemkin, a Jewish law professor,and the convention created the first international legal definition of the term. How does it define genocide? The convention, which has been ratified by 153 countries including the UK (in 1970) and Israel, defines genocide as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. The acts include killing members of the group, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, destroying their living conditions so as to bring about their destruction, preventing them from giving birth and forcibly transferring their children to other groups. It is considered to be the most serious war crime. https://lnkd.in/dH35aDbZ
What is the genocide convention and how might it apply to the UK and Israel?
theguardian.com
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This article — and the others linked within it — is a great read.
In this article, I respond to claims that Israel has no valid rights to Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and that Israel is "occupying" Palestinian territory. "In conclusion, Israel has valid claims under international law to the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem which deserve to be seriously examined. Most recently, ICC Judge Péter Kovács, in his partly dissenting opinion criticized the majority’s assumption that the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem were indeed wholly Palestinian. At the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897, the Zionist movement affirmed as its goal “the establishment in Eretz Yisrael of a home for the Jewish people secured under public law.” Menahem Begin, Israel’s former Prime Minister, famously said that the Jewish people returned to its homeland not by the right of force, but by the force of right. These international legal rights deserved serious consideration by the ICJ."
A Response to Alonso Gurmendi: The ICJ Must Consider Israel’s Legal Rights to the Occupied Palestinian Territory
https://opiniojuris.org
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No way.... true religion is there to unite us and has the target to bring people together in oneness..... some human interpretations make a mess out of this. Religions promote non-violent interaction as equals. This leads to mutual understanding and empathy, exchanging fear and hatred for trust and solidarity. Religions let humanity grow together in relation to God. www.samadeus.org & www.pax.ngo
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to establish a ministerial committee to draft an updated enlistment law for ultra-Orthodox Jews, according to an Israeli media report. https://lnkd.in/eKtjaGwk
‘Law to Override Court Ruling’ - Netanyahu Sets Sights on New Law to Conscript Ultra-Orthodox Jews
https://www.palestinechronicle.com
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One of the most important historic venues for German history: The 27th annual conference of the German-Israeli Lawyers' Association (#DIJV) started today in Frankfurt's St Paul's Church (Paulskirche). #Paulskirche: A symbol of the struggle for a #constitution and also a symbol of the consequences of the failure of the struggle for a constitution. As our Federal Minister of Justice Dr. Marco Buschmann vividly describes in his welcome message, our constitutions provide the framework for controversial political debates. In order to preserve that right, we as citizens are called upon to #protect our constitution and its institutions (protecting does not mean preventing or hindering controversy). Impressive speeches: The presidents of the constitutional courts of both countries, Israel (#UziVogelmann) and Germany (Prof #StephanHarbarth), have used the opportunity to take a look at the constitutions or - in the case of Israel - the equivalent of a constitution in both countries. Both presidents emphasised the dangers (quite different in the two countries) to which our constitutions are exposed. The big topic this morning, explained by Prof #YoramDanziger, another judge at the Supreme Court of Israel, was the appointment of constitutional judges in Israel and Germany; an important and topical issue for society in Israel. The #independence of the judiciary as part of the #SeparationOfPowers is an integral element of a #democracy. Israel has the particularity that there is no written constitution, that basic laws can be passed with a simple majority and that there is only one chamber in parliament. This system entails risks, including the risk that the parliamentary majority will place its ‘stooges’ in positions as judges. This would undermine the system of checks and balances and jeopardise democracy. The advances made by Israeli Justice Minister Yarin Levin under Benjamin Netanyahu's government give cause for concern, a topic DIJV has expressed a clear view on. The statements by #ThomasHaldenwang, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, on the threat to legal peace posed by #jihadist terror and terror by anti-Israeli activists, among other things, are also a cause for concern (as demonstrated once again today by the attack on Joe Chialo, Berlin's Senator for Culture). The high-calibre delegation from #Israel and the high-calibre line-up of speakers underline the #importance of the country of Israel for Germany, also in the area of the legal profession. This is especially true at a time when Israel is facing several wars of aggression and constant terrorist attacks, at a time when more than 120 Israeli citizens are still in the hands of terrorists. Everyone is united today in the hope of a speedy return of the hostages and peace for Israel and the entire region. #Constitution #DIJV #SupremeCourtofIsrael #Bundesverfassungsgericht
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What is Persecution? Persecution is a crime that is defined as severe discrimination that results in the denial or infringement of fundamental rights. The “fundamental rights” referred to in the definition of persecution are generally understood to be those found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Cove- nant on Civil and Political Rights including the rights to life, liberty, security of person, equality and non-discrimination, freedom of expression and assembly and religion and to be free from arbitrary arrest, detention and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. When persecution is committed on a widespread or systematic basis it is a crime against humanity. Crimes against humanity are a set of crimes that are considered to be among the most serious violations in international law, along with genocide and certain war crimes. In addition to perse- cution, acts like murder, enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer of populations, imprison- ment in violation of basic rules of international law, torture, sexual violence, and other inhumane acts are crimes against humanity when committed on a widespread or systematic basis. They are not isolated or sporadic acts but are part of a larger policy or practice of targeting. As the interna- tional law scholar Antonio Cassese explains, crimes against humanity are treated this way because they “offend against and injure a transcendent good, the value of the human being in the moral code, a value that cannot be compromised.” A brief history of persecution under international law: The Nuremberg Charter was written to establish laws and procedures for the trials against high-level officials of Germany’s Nazi regime after World War II. It established that crimes against humanity encompassed “persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated.” In addition to the unprec- edented violence unleashed against Jews after the start of the war, the Nuremberg Tribunal also viewed as forms of persecution laws which stipulated, for example, that all Jews should be treated as foreigners, banned from holding public office, denied further immigration into Germany and prohibited from publishing German newspapers. Since the trials at Nuremberg, other international bodies set up to administer criminal justice after massive atrocities, for example regarding the genocides in Rwanda and the former Yugosla- via, have found that discrimination intended to and resulting in an impairment of an individual’s fundamental rights constitutes persecution, and when committed in a widespread or systematic manner, constitutes a crime against humanity. For example, the International.
