Israel and its lobby have, for years now, been engaged in a frenzy of activity to further insulate Israel from accountability by using their influence in the West to effectively outlaw organized opposition to Israel. Foremost among these efforts has been the Israeli campaign to penalize calls to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel for its gross violations of human rights. As a result, countless laws and policies are now on the books across the U.S. and the broader West, trampling on core constitutional principles and internationally guaranteed human rights in defense of Israeli impunity. But an advisory opinion issued last month by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) should help to turn that around.
In its historic ruling, the ICJ found that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza is entirely unlawful, that Israel practices apartheid and racial segregation, and that all states are under a duty to help bring this to an end, including by cutting off all economic, trade and investment relations with Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In other words, as a matter of international law, all countries are obliged to participate in an economic boycott of Israel’s activities in the occupied Palestinian territory and to divest from any existing economic relations there.
Because the court was bound by the parameters of the request from the UN General Assembly that triggered its findings, it did not address duties and obligations relating to activities inside the 1948 Green Line. However, the court’s authoritative statement of the requirements of international law makes clear that proponents of BDS have not only the moral high ground but also a firm grounding in international law.
The court’s advisory opinion in July comes on the heels of the commencement of genocide proceedings against Israel in the ICJ last December, and a request in May by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and the Defense Minister for crimes against humanity, including extermination. Together, they represent a historic shift away from 76 years of Western-sponsored Israeli exceptionalism and impunity, feeding hope of a new era of accountability.
Recognizing this, Israel, as well as its Western allies accused of complicity in Israel’s international crimes (chief among them, the U.S., UK, and Germany) have been scrambling to oppose, delay, and obstruct action by these courts, both by intervening in court proceedings and, in some cases, by threatening court officials. And indeed, the ICC warrant process has already been inordinately delayed when compared to previous cases. Nevertheless, for its part, the ICJ advisory opinion was both timely and uncompromising in its application of international law to Israel.
Israel and its allies also defensively claim that advisory opinions of the ICJ are “non-binding” and, indeed, the court cannot compel a state to comply with its findings. But what this tactic ignores is that the laws to which the court refers in its authoritative opinion are, in fact, binding on all states. For example, the court observed that the right of the Palestinians to self-determination, their rights under international human rights and humanitarian law, and the prohibition of Israel’s acquisition of territory by force impose so-called “erga omnes” obligations, that is, binding obligations that apply to all countries.
Among these obligations are the duty not to recognize or assist the occupation in any way, and the duty to take action to realize the equal rights and self-determination of the Palestinian people. It follows that any policies or acts by a Western country that in any way recognize Israel’s occupation, assist Israel in that occupation (economically, militarily, diplomatically, etc.), or prohibit persons under its jurisdiction from respecting international law by boycotting or divesting from Israel’s illegal occupation, would be unlawful.
Of course, the U.S., which has long ignored the constraints of international law and invested decades of effort in carving out an exception for Israeli impunity, is likely to reject the court’s findings and oppose the implementing resolution of the UN General Assembly, which is expected to follow. Some other Western states invested in the Israeli axis, like the UK and Germany, may follow suit. But it is likely that most countries, including other Western states, will adjust their policies to ensure legal compliance.
Groups and individuals targeted by efforts to penalize BDS or to compel people to reject it will now have an important new tool in their legal arsenal as they assert their rights either administratively or judicially. They can now invoke the authoritative ruling of the World Court to credibly assert that participating in boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israeli occupation, colonization, and apartheid is not only a moral imperative and constitutional and human right, but also an international legal obligation.
I’m always amazed that people who end up in court don’t simply use the very large body of declassified US and UK government archival materials that explicitly say the relevant government officials knew they were violating the Law of Nations, The Laws of Land Warfare, the US Constitution, the Montevideo Convention, the OAS Charter, the Atlantic Charter, and the UN Charter to obtain an unaccountable racial, theocratic, so-called “Jewish” state at any cost.
There is no single legal definition of the term “Jewish” or governing domestic or international law on the subject. The one thing we do know is that neither the “Jewish State” nor “Arab State” defined by the human rights instrument “C. Declaration” in General Assembly resolution 181(II) ever came into existence.
Our State Department explained that Palestine could not be partitioned into workable, separate, viable states under the UNSCOP Majority Plan; that it would create a permanent problem that would require significant US funding and resources; that it would harm US relations with other states; and that it would require the US government to legally discriminate against its own citizens on racial and religious grounds (something it lacked the authority to do, and had refused to do in the past), e.g. See: The Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs (Henderson) to the Secretary of State
top secret [Washington,] September 22, 1947.
Nothing about the 2SS has changed or suddenly become a viable permanent, legal solution. Our government is a creature of the US Constitution and has no legal standing to fund or employ policies that are prohibited by that document.
Israel’s Been Like This Since 1948
August 12, 2024
We have been lied to for decades about the creation of Israel, writes Jonathan Cook. It was born in sin, and it continues to live in sin.
By Jonathan Cook
“Israel army issues new displacement order from northern Gaza.” That headline, about yet another Israeli operation to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians in the tiny, besieged and utterly destroyed enclave of Gaza, was published Thursday in Middle East Eye.
When I began studying Israeli history more than a quarter of a century ago, people claiming to be experts proffered plenty of excuses to explain why Israelis should not be held responsible for the 1948 ethnic cleansing of some 750,000 Palestinians from their homes — what Palestinians call their Nakba, or Catastrophe.
1. I was told most Israelis were not involved and knew nothing of the war crimes carried out against the Palestinians during Israel’s establishment.
2. I was told that those Israelis who did take part in war crimes, like Operation Broom to expel Palestinians from their homeland, did so only because they were traumatised by their experiences in Europe. In the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, these Israelis assumed that, were the Jewish people to survive, they had no alternative but to drive out the Palestinians en masse.
3. From others, I was told that no ethnic cleansing had taken place. The Palestinians had simply fled at the first sign of conflict because they had no real historical attachment to the land.
4. Or I was told that the Palestinians’ displacement was an unfortunate consequence of a violent war in which Israeli leaders had the best interests of Palestinians at heart. The Palestinians hadn’t left because of Israeli violence but because they had been ordered to do so by Arab leaders in the region.
In fact, the story went, Israel had pleaded with many of the 750,000 refugees to come home afterwards, but those same Arab leaders stubbornly blocked their return.
Every one of these claims was nonsense, directly contradicted by all the documentary evidence.
That should be even clearer today, as Israel continues the ethnic cleansing and slaughter of the Palestinian people more than 75 years on.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/08/12/israels-been-like-this-since-1948/
Opposing BDS = opposing Palestinian rights = anti-Palestinian racism
Power does not submit easily to law. The neocon/greater Israeli hold on America has designed war policy since Reagan’s second term.
Greater Israel’s objectives necessitate being able to skirt the principle negating territory by force.
Today we see Gaza and the WB in the crosshairs. Diplomacy and law are seen as obstacles to overcome.
Max Blumenthal, of the Grayzone, points to the way forward. “Israel is so confident, knowing that it cannot survive (with expansionist goals) without its direct line to the Gentile Authority in Washington, that the US will defend it no matter what. As soon as that relationship changes, as soon as US CITIZENS ARE ABLE TO ALTER THAT RELATIONSHIP, then things start to change in the region and genocide becomes less likely. YOUR TASK IF YOU ARE IN THE US IS TO CHANGE THAT RELATIONSHIP. See 13:43 to 14:2 for the quote, but entire discussion is worthwhile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT2k4yPtqnM
This can be greatly facilitated when Palestinian intellectuals and publications like Mondoweiss engage the discussion and debate on how best to effectively achieve self-determination and peaceful co-existence. This will enlighten Americans on how best to tame the neocons and get to a future that serves Israelis, Palestinians, and everybody else.
State Department Approves Over $20 Billion Arms Package for Israel
The approval for the arms deal, which includes F-15s and tank ammunition, came the same day Israeli airstrikes killed newborn twins in Gaza
August 13, 2024
“On Tuesday, the State Department approved a series of potential weapons sales to Israel worth over $20 billion that includes F-15 fighter jets and tank munitions. The approval comes as Israeli airstrikes continue to slaughter civilians in Gaza, including newborn twins who were killed hours before the State Department announced the new support for Israel.
In total, the US announced five new arms deals for Israel. The biggest is for 50 F-15 fighter jets and related equipment, worth $18.8 billion. Israel will also receive $102.5 million in advanced air-to-air missiles, about 33,000 120mm tank cartridges worth $774 million, 50,000 high-explosive 120mm mortar rounds worth $61.1 million, and $583.1 million worth of medium tactical vehicles.
It’s unclear how much of the massive weapons sale will be funded by US military aid. The announcement came a few days after the State Department said it was releasing $3.5 billion in military assistance for Israel in the form of Foreign Military Financing, a program that gives foreign governments money to buy US weapons.
It will take years before the F-15s and other weapons will be delivered to Israel, although, according to Reuters, the tank rounds would be almost immediately available for delivery. The notification begins a period where Congress could potentially block the sales, but it’s expected to breeze through since only a few dozen progressive Democrats are opposed to arming Israel.
The approval of the deals shows strong support from the Biden administration for Israel’s genocidal war, which according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians, or about 2% of Gaza’s entire population. The Health Ministry’s numbers are believed to be a low estimate since it doesn’t account for thousands of people who are missing and presumed dead under the rubble or others who have died due to indirect causes.”
https://news.antiwar.com/2024/08/13/state-department-approves-over-20-billion-arms-package-for-israel/