Free the Hostages - Petition to the International Red Cross
JERUSALEM INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE LEADS COALITION OF 50 GROUPS URGING THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS
TO SECURE RELEASE OF THE GAZA HOSTAGES
A coalition of 50 organizations urge the ICRC to verify the status of more than 150 Israelis kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4507HRUDpNQ
In the wake of Hamas’ barbaric rampage through the civilian communities of southern Israel, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, an Israeli human rights NGO, led a coalition of 50 organizations in urging the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to verify the status of the 150+ Israeli hostages taken into captivity in Gaza.
“Hamas has openly advertised its penchant for torturing, raping, denying medical treatment, degrading, humiliating, and threatening to execute these hostages,” said Uri Morad, Director of International Law & Public Diplomacy for the Jerusalem Institute of Justice (JIJ). “The International Red Cross must act urgently to locate and establish communication with the kidnapped Israelis if it has any hope of fulfilling its mission and bringing an end to this war.”
In a joint letter, JIJ advocacy efforts were joined by prominent Israeli, North American, and European organizations who are committed to countering anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias, including the Anti-Defamation League, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, NGO Monitor, Middle East Forum, and StandWithUs. The group also included several Jewish and Christian communities, including the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, Israel Christian Nexus, and numerous diaspora synagogues.
Specifically, the coalition urged the International Red Cross to take the following steps:
- Locate and establish communication with the Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
- Call for Hamas to cease its heinous acts of raping and sexually abusing Israelis.
- Condemn the use of human shields as military targets, including hospitals and schools, and the horrifying practice of exhibiting and mutilating dead bodies.
- Facilitate the immediate return of the Israeli hostages.
“This past week constitutes the worst time in Jewish history since the Holocaust, a time when the International Red Cross was, by its own admission, ‘impotent’ in the face of Nazi persecution and genocide,” said Flavia Sevald, CEO of JIJ. “In today’s war, the perpetrators may have changed, but their agenda is the same. The International Red Cross has a double duty to get it right this time.”
The coalition urges the ICRC to locate the hostages, demand Hamas cease raping and abusing them, condemn using human shields, and facilitate the hostages' return to Israel. Lives hang in the balance.
The ICRC has a duty to act now to prevent further torture, rape, and murder of innocents. Sign and share this critical petition so that together, we can pressure the ICRC to pressure Hamas to #FreeTheHostages.
Jerusalem Institute of Justice (JIJ) is the only Israeli human rights NGO with consultative status before the United Nations that is pro-Israel. Within the international community, JIJ has persistently advocated for the release of Israeli citizens from captivity. Within Israel, JIJ provides free legal aid to minority ethnic and religious groups, with a track record of 25 precedent-setting victories in the Israeli Supreme Court.
PETITION TO THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS
Dear International Red Cross,
We, the undersigned, express our profound concerns regarding the current atrocities perpetrated by Hamas and other terrorist organizations within Israel. We respectfully urge the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to act in accordance with its mandate to prevent the ongoing breaches of International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
Commencing from the morning of Saturday, 7th October, Hamas and other terrorists affiliated with various extremist groups from the Gaza Strip have infiltrated Israeli territory, resulting in the mass murder and abduction of hundreds of civilians and soldiers. This ongoing terrorist assault represents a blatant and persistent violation of human rights and international humanitarian law, including customary law and Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.
The data regarding this ongoing conflict is both alarming and unequivocal, resulting in the tragic loss of over 1,300 innocent lives and the abduction of more than 150 Israelis, including women, children, the elderly, and other individuals granted special protection under IHL. These abductions were carried out violently within their homes. Moreover, more than 3,000 individuals have sustained injuries. Notably, over 5,000 rockets have been indiscriminately launched towards Israeli citizens from the Gaza Strip, a clear violation of fundamental IHL rules. Evidence is also emerging of a pattern of gross human rights violations, including torture, dismemberment, beheadings, the use of rape as a weapon of war, and the desecration of victims' dead bodies and the use of the abducted as human shields.
The ICRC was established precisely to safeguard and assist victims of armed conflicts and ensure compliance with IHL. As part of its mission, the ICRC is obligated to actively contribute to the application of the law in armed conflict scenarios.
In light of this, we respectfully request that the ICRC undertake the following actions, integral to its mandate, to protect the rights of those being abducted, injured, killed, and targeted by Hamas and other terrorist groups:
- Locate and establish communication with kidnapped Israelis:
- Locate and establish communication with the Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, ensuring their treatment and living conditions align with IHL. 1.
- Enforce compliance with IHL by Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, specifically:
- Cease the murder of civilians and soldiers.
- Halt the indiscriminate launching of missiles and rockets.
- Stop targeting civilians and groups protected under IHL.
- Cease the heinous acts of raping and sexually abusing Israelis.
- End the use of human shields to cover military targets, including buildings such as hospitals and schools.
- Put an immediate stop to the horrifying practice of exhibiting and mutilating the bodies of those murdered by them.
- Return Israeli hostages taken into the Gaza Strip, including Hadar Goldin, Oron Shaul, Avera Mengistu, and Isham Al-Sayed. 1.
We are aware of the recent statement issued by the ICRC and we trust that, in line with its mission and commitment to humanity and IHL, the ICRC will urgently and effectively address these critical matters to alleviate the suffering and uphold the rights of those affected by this outrageous situation.
PETITION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS. THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO SIGNED!
What will come of the recent escalation in the West Bank?
Last week, rockets were fired from Jenin, in the West Bank, toward Israel for the first time in 18 years. This week, Israel launched its biggest operation in the West Bank in decades. Tension and violence are escalating between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank, but what is the cause, and what does this mean in the larger question of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
The Israeli military operation in Jenin is a counter-terrorism campaign that is mainly a response to a string of terrorist attacks in recent weeks. On June 19, Israel launched a raid in Jenin in search of several Palestinian terrorists planning attacks in Israel, and they were quickly met with armed resistance (Lynfield, “Israeli Forces launch raid in Jenin”).
A day after this, on June 20, two Palestinians killed four Israelis at a settlement near Nablus, in the West Bank. Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which operates out of Gaza, claimed responsibility for the gunmen (Gritten, Four Israelis killed by Palestinian gunmen”).
Four days later, on June 24, another terrorist, claimed to be a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, opened fire on Israeli soldiers at the major checkpoint connecting Ramallah and East Jerusalem (Fabian, “Shooting at checkpoint near Jerusalem”). The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade is the military wing of Fatah, a Palestinian political group which lost the only election, in 2006, to Hamas but still has power in the West Bank.
Now, this week, after mounting tensions in the region, Israel has launched its biggest operation in the West Bank in two decades. Israel has announced that this counter-terrorism operation is to destabilize terrorist groups in the West Bank which have become too comfortable and too dangerous.
The operation has involved numerous drone strikes and an armed brigade on the ground, targeting terrorist hot spots in Jenin and in the refugee camp in the city. Israel has claimed that this operation is not aimed at taking and holding territory (Mckernan, “Biggest West Bank incursion in 20 years”), but to disable terrorists from carrying out attacks on Israel.
These recent terrorist attacks, and the Israeli response, is a result of decades of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The two have never been able to agree on borders or on coexistence, sparking several wars and many operations. This recent violence is an extension of the historic conflict, but it is influenced by modern issues, and it is being fought between complex parties.
The Palestinians launch terrorist attacks against Israel because they do not want the Jewish state to exist in the land they view as theirs. Several of the groups that hold power and operate in Palestinian land are not interested in a political solution, and often refuse to negotiate with Israel. The groups responsible for the recent attacks, mainly Hamas and Fatah, both have military wings that operate in the West Bank, and specifically in Jenin.
The groups receive much of their funding from Iran and call for radical Israeli cessions to achieve peace. Hamas wants Israel to fall back to the pre-1967 borders, they want to grant all Palestinians the right of return, and they want what is now Israel to become an Islamic state. Of course, these demands are impossible, and they are used as an excuse for violence.
Since Israel, obviously, refuses to cooperate with Palestinian demands, terrorist groups have been able to grow and operate in Palestinian land. Terrorist groups have found a safe haven in the West Bank, and specifically in Jenin, and the most recent Israeli operation shows that Israel refuses to allow terrorists to operate in the region. If Palestinian authorities continue to foster these terrorist groups, Israel may continue to launch operations against them, escalating the conflict between the parties.
This operation, the biggest in twenty years, may be a sign of more to come between Israel, the Palestinian groups in the West Bank, and the Palestinians across the rest of the region.
By Ethan Wenger – JIJ Intern
Boycotting UN Investigations
The Only Productive Boycott for Israel
In relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the UN routinely conducts investigations and releases corresponding reports. These reports, which claim to offer an overview of the situation, are often prejudiced and fail to give equal weight to the merits of each side.
After the 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in 2021, the Geneva–based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) created a three-person commission, to be headed by Navanethem “Navi” Pillay. Exceptionally, the most recent investigative body has taken a scope which extends beyond the 2021 conflict, urging Israel to take actions to solve the greater Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Pillay’s multiple associations with supporters of BDS, as well as the UN’s disproportionate historical focus on Israel through constant condemnation, further take away from the report’s legitimacy. The report has rightfully been criticized as one-sided, though the Israeli Government’s decision to not cooperate with the commission will further complicate Israel’s relations with the UN as a whole, even on issues with which Israel and the UN agree on. Additionally, it will be manipulated by international critics as purported proof of Israel attempting to hide damaging information.
Despite the consequences associated with any decision to not cooperate with the UN, Israel should refuse to cooperate with investigations of this type. It should do this to take a stand against investigations made in bad faith and avoid legitimizing reports whose unfavorable findings could be easily predicted when taking the international bodies and commission which made the report into account.
The United Nations’ disproportionate focus on Israel has been documented, with a majority of resolutions criticizing the country, despite it containing a fraction of a percentage of the world’s population and land area.[1] Putting aside the attention that could be given to more rights-abusive countries, the UNHRC itself seats members such as China, Cuba, Pakistan and Venezuela, who are engaged in severe repression and human rights violations.
The report further weighs in on the sources of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a whole and identifies Israeli actions as the main cause. This large-scale conclusion goes beyond the usual confines of UN investigations and demonstrates the pre-existing beliefs about the nature of the conflict which the investigation sought to prove. Furthermore, the commission’s brief mentions of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas’s human rights abuses fail to meaningfully place liability on both sides in the conflict or include the threats which Israel faces. Through tone and relative content, the report emphasizes critiques of Israel above all else.
Navi Pillay’s history regarding Israel is ambiguous at best. Pillay, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, signed a letter to US President Joe Biden calling on Israel to withdraw entirely from the West Bank shortly before she was appointed head of the commission.[2] She further stated that “Apartheid is now being declared a crime against humanity in the Rome Statute and it means the enforced segregation of people on racial lines and that is happening in Israel.”[3]
While this does not provide any concrete blame of Israel for the violence in 2021, it should come as little surprise that Pillay later stated that "[the report] is as an indicator of the asymmetrical nature of the conflict and the reality of one state occupying the other."[4] Pillay’s colleagues, Miloon Khotari and Chris Sidoti, have similarly clear pre-existing notions about Israel. Khotari, has referred to the Second Intifada as simply a “wave of Palestinian resistance,” described Israel’s government as a theocracy and openly called for an end to military cooperation with Israel.
Similarly, Sidoti has worked with pro-BDS organizations such as the Australian Center for International Justice and the Independent Commission for Human Rights, established by Yasser Arafat himself in 1993.[5] These appointments greatly diminished the legitimacy of the commission from the beginning, and the backgrounds of its members and the UN bodies which created it give the appearance that the investigation was never a major factor behind the tone and substance of the report.
The COI investigation’s boundaries make cooperation disadvantageous, as its scope and mandate both ensure abnormal treatment. The investigation can include events going all the way back to the founding of Israel, and this COI will continue indefinitely, with more reports to follow each year even after the current report’s release. The wide scope and continuous nature demonstrate the UN’s obsession with condemning Israel, as no other COI has ever been given this kind of never-ending mandate.
Israel could cooperate with proceedings and argue that it has nothing to hide, though doing this would not lessen international blame on Israel and it would continue to be subject to both double standards and disproportionate emphasis by the UNHRC and by the international community at large. Instead, the cooperation would be taken as simply a prerequisite for the investigation itself, and there would be a report written in a similarly one-sided manner.
The significance of negative reports could prove damaging to Israel’s reputation amongst some, though importantly, these reports will continue to be released with or without Israel’s cooperation. Boycotting will allow Israel to take an active stance in fighting a report which Israel feels is unfair, as opposed to letting the UN villainize Israel and only voicing disagreement after it is done.
While some might argue that refusing to cooperate with an investigation will isolate Israel from allies and the international community as a whole, Israel’s allies understand this. The commitment between them and Israel to their alliances will remain in all likelihood no matter what conclusions the UNHRC might reach from its numerous investigations, as they have for decades. Because of this, Israel has limited benefits to cooperating with the UN on this issue and little downside for refusing to do so.
Israel should not and does not deny that many Palestinians have a poor quality of life for a variety of reasons, and accordingly has investigated reported incidents based off of investigations such as the Goldstone reports, even without cooperating during the reports’ productions.[6] In this way, while the decision to boycott the investigation does not solve the underlying problem of discrimination against Israel and can give off an appearance of concealing evidence, Israel has the standing and experience to make this decision given the nature of the investigation.
By Ethan Kanef, intern at JIJ
[1] Becker, R.N., Hillman, A.L., Potrafke, N. et al. The preoccupation of the United Nations with Israel: Evidence and theory. Rev Int Organ 10, 413–437 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11558-014-9207-3
[2] #NowistheTime. June 14, 2021, https://nowisthetimecoalition.com/.
[3] “Navi Pillay on Israel Being an Apartheid State: Short Version.” Www.youtube.com, 29 Jan. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sIEfCf1Dhs. Accessed 12 July 2022.
[4] “Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, and Israel, Issues First Report.” The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, June 7, 2022. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/06/commission-inquiry-occupied-palestinian-territory-including-east-jerusalem
[5] Bayefsky, Prof Anne. “The Newest Anti-Israel UN Action Must Be Challenged – Now.” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, jcpa.org/article/the-newest-anti-israel-un-action-must-be-challenged-now/. Accessed 11 July 2022.
[6] Goldstone, Richard. “Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israel and War Crimes.” The Washington Post. WP Company, April 1, 2011.
HRC 50th Session - Written Statement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8SAwlfw0D4
Read Original Document
Mr. President,
We, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, an Israeli NGO fighting to promote human rights, defend democracy, and improve the overall quality of life for Israelis and Palestinians alike, find it of the utmost importance to reject the so-called independent commission of inquiry named “The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (COI)”.
Israel-UN relations have known many lows throughout the years. From General Assembly resolution 3379 equating Zionism with racism, through the anti-Israel 2001 Durban World Conference against Racism which devolved into a vicious forum for Israel bashing and antisemitism, the UN has shown time and time again that its founding values of universality, impartiality, objectivity, and non-selectivity, are disregarded when it comes to the condemning of Israel. Let us be clear, this systematic campaign is done with the clear intention of delegitimizing the only democracy in the middle east.
The COI was formed in the wake of the 2021 Gaza Conflict, a conflict which erupted as a result of the indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars by the Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza. The formation of this COI constitutes an escalation in the UN’s hostile approach towards Israel. If up until today the UN’s resolutions had more of a declarative nature, this COI was formed to prepare the ground for operative steps against Israel. This commission goes as far as to call upon third states to ignore Israel’s sovereignty and take action in regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Furthermore, the COI was tailor-made to enable the International Criminal Court to take legal action against Israel on the basis of the alleged Israeli breach of the Rome Statue.
It is enough to look at the COI’s mandate to grasp its prejudice towards Israel. The bias of the COI is especially evident in the terminology used in the text of the mandate, which designates the commission to “Investigate all underlying root causes of recurrent tensions, instability and protraction of conflict, including systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity”. This kind of terminology has been put forth to prepare the ground for the commission’s expected false conclusion that Israel is an apartheid state. In addition, this terminology shows the commission will try to assign all the responsibility on the continuation of the conflict on Israel.
Furthermore, this commission of inquiry was assigned an extremely wide scope to investigate. Although the inquiry was formed as a response to the 2021 Gaza conflict, the scope of the investigation, as designated by its mandate, permits it to focus on issues related to the conflict since 1948. If this commission was formed as a response to the conflict in Gaza last year, why is it investigating the history of the conflict since 1948? Moreover, the terrorist organization Hamas is not mentioned even once in the resolution or the text of the mandate. This goes to show, once more, the minor role Hamas will be given in this commission’s report.[1]
This commission is of unprecedented measures. It has received an extremely large budget of millions of dollars, an unusually large staff of 18 permanent workers, and is also one of only 2 UN bodies ever created with an open-ended mandate. No other commission of inquiry has ever received a continuing mandate. Additionally, like any other “objective” UN inquiry on Israel, the choice of the inquisitors is intended to pre-determine the answer – even though this is in clear violation of UN rules. The Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate-holders states very clearly that members of inquiries are required to follow to a specific code of conduct - they are supposed to uphold the highest standards of impartiality. “The work of the Council shall be guided by the principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity, and non-selectivity”.[2]
The three members of this Commission are anything but independent. The head of the Commission, Navi Pillay, was a key leader of the 2001 UN Durban World Conference against Racism which called Israel a racist state. Additionally, as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights during the 2008-9 and 2014 Gaza wars, Pillay played a pivotal role in promoting the Goldstone report and the outrageous slander that Israel targeted and murdered children. Since leaving office, she’s made a habit of promoting BDS and accusing Israel of apartheid. In a speech to the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s seminar “The Year of Oliver Tambo and The Palestinian Struggle under Apartheid Rule, Pretoria, South Africa,” Pillay stated the following: “Apartheid is now being declared a crime against humanity in the Rome Statute, and it means the enforced segregation of people on racial lines, and that is what is happening in Israel.”[3] At the same event, Pillay also noted that she has met with members of the BDS campaign and that she hoped this “Palestinian struggle to end colonization”[4] will “catch on, as did the anti-apartheid movement.”[5] Is having an individual who has already accused Israel numerous times of being an apartheid state and who has publicly endorsed the BDS campaign lead this commission consistent with the UN’s own standard of impartiality?
In addition, the two other members of the committee, Miloon Kothari and Chris Sidoti, both hold anti-Israel extremism and Palestinian partisanship records. In 2002 Khotari issued a report claiming Israel was guilty of “ethnic cleansing” during the Second Intifada. In 2006 he claimed in a UN press release that the factors underlying the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians are the World Zionist Organization and Jewish National Fund’s colonization activities in the Jordan Valley. Chris Sidoti provides strategic guidance and advice to the Australian Centre for International Justice which works in partnership with the Palestinian Human Rights Organization Council. This Australian Centre issued a report in 2021 that calls on the Australian government to endorse BDS and the criminal prosecution of Israelis.[6] In conclusion, none of the three members of this so-called independent Inquiry meet the UN’s own rules of independence, impartiality, and objectivity.[7]
The result of this witch hunt is a foregone conclusion. This unfair commission of inquiry is expected to accuse Israel of being an apartheid state and thus target its legitimacy as a state. Therefore, we call on the Human Rights Council to revoke the resolution forming this commission. Alternatively, we recommend the removal of the three prejudiced judges heading the commission and that impartial judges be instated in their place.
Let us finish with, none other than, former Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, who in a talk with Israeli students admitted the UN’s bias towards Israel saying the following:
“Unfortunately, because of the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict, Israel’s been weighed down by criticism and suffered from bias — and sometimes even discrimination.”[8]
[1] https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/co-israel/index
[2] https://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/RES/5/2
[3]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sIEfCf1Dhs&ab_channel=NTUInstituteofScience%26TechnologyforHumanity
[4] Ibid.
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF61qfb5J-k&ab_channel=Africa4Palestine
[6] Ibid.
[7] https://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/RES/5/2
[8] https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-faces-bias-at-un-ban-says/
52 Palestinians Tortured = UN Crimes Against Humanity
Jerusalem Institute of Justice- Submission to The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel
Dear Honorable Commission,
We, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, are a not-for-profit human rights organization, with Special Consultative Status at the UN Economic and Social Council, fighting to promote human rights, defend democracy, and improve the overall quality of life for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Due to our hope of ever-lasting peace in the region, we find it of the utmost importance to address your call for submissions of relevant information and documentation to the mandate of the Commission.
The attached report concerning the Crimes against Humanity committed against Palestinian citizens by the Palestinian Authority (PA) was filed by our organization at the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on the 20th of February 2019, together with the report on Mahmoud Abbas’s Crimes against Humanity. The report includes testimonies of 52 Palestinian civilians who have suffered the grave atrocities of arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and murder by the PA during the time period of 1991 to 2004. We argued that a full investigation of crimes against humanity should be pursued, and a case should be lodged, against Mahmoud Abbas, as President of the PA, for his role in the murder, torture, and unlawful imprisonment of innocent Palestinian civilians. Following this communication, and others, an investigation of the “Situation in Palestine” was commenced by the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC on the 3rd of March 2021. The submission of this report is in accordance with the COI’s mandate to collect evidence and information of abuses of international human rights law and identify those responsible.
On November 11, 2018, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected an appeal and upheld the district court ruling that found the PA liable for unlawful imprisonment in a precedent-setting ruling and ordered the PA to compensate the 52 plaintiffs. The victims, suspected by the PA of “collaboration with Israel,” suffered extreme physical and emotional trauma that has caused numerous long-term damages. The Supreme Court found all testimonies reliable. As President of the Palestinian Authority, Abbas has played a pivotal role in exercising effective authority and control over the imprisonment, torture, and murder of these Palestinian civilians, in furtherance of a state policy designed to deter resistance towards his Government. During his time in power, Abbas has directed or allowed these crimes to be committed against these Palestinians and many more. Abbas’s acts of arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and murder against these Palestinians and many more constitute crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
We urge the commission to look into these violations of Human Rights committed by the Palestinian Authority and include them in their report due to be presented in the Human Rights Council’s June regular session.
Yours sincerely,
Flavia Sevald, CEO,
Jerusalem Institute of Justice,
Murder of Palestinians = UN Crimes Against Humanity
Jerusalem Institute of Justice- Submission to The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel
Dear Honorable Commission,
We, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, are a not-for-profit human rights organization, with Special Consultative Status at the UN Economic and Social Council, fighting to promote human rights, defend democracy, and improve the overall quality of life for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Due to our hope of ever-lasting peace in the region, we find it of the utmost importance to address your call for submissions of relevant information and documentation to the mandate of the Commission.
The attached report concerning Hamas’s Crimes against Humanity was filed by our organization at the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, on the 24th of July 2019. We argued that a full investigation of crimes committed within the Palestinian territories should be pursued, and a case should be lodged, against Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political wing of Hamas, for his role in the crimes against humanity committed through widespread and/or systematic acts of murder, imprisonment, and torture of civilians in the Gaza Strip. Following this communication and others, an investigation of the “Situation in Palestine” was commenced by the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, on the 3rd of March 2021. The submission of this report is in accordance with the COI’s mandate to collect evidence and information of abuses of international human rights law and identify those responsible.
As leader of Hamas, Haniyeh has played a pivotal role in developing and enforcing Hamas’s extremist ideology and consistent human rights violations against the Gazan civilian population as well as others. Haniyeh knew of and was in a position to prevent the crimes against humanity that have been committed against the civilian population of Gaza; yet he has manifestly failed to do so. Haniyeh’s crimes have had and will continue to have devastating consequences on the entire population of Gaza and the rest of society in the surrounding region. These crimes benefit no one but Hamas’s leadership.
Haniyeh’s acts of widespread and systematic murder against the civilian population of Gaza constitute crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute). In addition, the crimes of torture committed by Hamas security forces and police officers also constitute crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute.
We urge the commission to look into these violations of Human Rights committed by Hamas and include them in their report due to be presented at the Human Rights Council’s June regular session.
Yours sincerely,
Flavia Sevald, CEO,
Jerusalem Institute of Justice,
Abuse of Palestinians = UN Crimes Against Humanity
Jerusalem Institute of Justice- Submission to The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel
Dear Honorable Commission,
We, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, are a not-for-profit human rights organization, with Special Consultative Status at the UN Economic and Social Council, fighting to promote human rights, defend democracy, and improve the overall quality of life for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Due to our hope of ever-lasting peace in the region, we find it of the utmost importance to address your call for submissions of relevant information and documentation to the mandate of the Commission.
The attached report concerning the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Crimes against Humanity was filed by our organization at the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on the 20th of February 2019. We argued that a full investigation of crimes against humanity should be pursued, and a case should be lodged, against Mahmoud Abbas, as President of the PA, for his role in the systematic and widespread campaign of murder, torture, and unlawful imprisonment against parts of the Palestinian population in the territory of Judaea and Samaria, known as the “West Bank”. Following this communication, and others, an investigation of the “Situation in Palestine” was commenced by the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC on the 3rd of March 2021. The submission of this report is in accordance with the COI’s mandate to collect evidence and information of abuses of international human rights law and identify those responsible.
As President of the Palestinian Authority, Abbas has played a pivotal role in exercising effective authority and control over the widespread or systemic murder, imprisonment and torture of the Palestinian civilians, in furtherance of a state policy designed to deter resistance towards his government.
During his time in power, Abbas has directed or allowed these crimes to be committed against various Palestinian groups – including those deemed to have been critical of the current PA government or which have supported rival Palestinian factions. Abbas knew of and was in a position to prevent the crimes against humanity that have been committed against the civilian population of the West Bank, yet he has manifestly failed to do so. Abbas’s acts of widespread and systematic murder against the civilian population of the West Bank constitute crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“Rome Statute”). In addition, the crimes of torture committed by the Palestinian Authority’s police officers constitute crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute.
We urge the commission to look into these violations of Human Rights committed by the Palestinian Authority and include them in their report due to be presented in the Human Rights Council’s June regular session.
Yours sincerely,
Flavia Sevald, CEO,
Jerusalem Institute of Justice,
Children of Gaza = UN War Crimes
Jerusalem Institute of Justice- Submission to The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel
Dear Honorable Commission,
We, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, are a not-for-profit human rights organization, with Special Consultative Status at the UN Economic and Social Council, fighting to promote human rights, defend democracy, and improve the overall quality of life for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Due to our hope of ever-lasting peace in the region, we find it of the utmost importance to address your call for submissions of relevant information and documentation to the mandate of the Commission.
The attached report concerning Hamas’s war crimes was filed by our organization at the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on the 13th of September 2018. We argued that a full investigation of crimes committed within the Palestinian territories should be pursued, and a case should be lodged, against Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political wing of Hamas, for his role in the commission of war crimes through the recruitment, enlistment and use of children below the age of 15 to participate directly in hostilities in an armed conflict. Following this communication, and others, an investigation of the “Situation in Palestine” was commenced by the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC on the 3rd of March 2021. The submission of this report is in accordance with the COI’s mandate to collect evidence and information of abuses of international human rights law and identify those responsible.
As a senior leader of Hamas for many years, Haniyeh has played a pivotal role in the exploitation of the most vulnerable in society, the children of Gaza. Not only did Haniyeh fail to prevent war crimes against children committed by Hamas operatives, he has actively encouraged the indoctrination from an early age and recruitment of child soldiers to bolster the Hamas military and paramilitary forces. Firstly, as the de facto and subsequently the de jure leader of Hamas, Haniyeh knew of and was in a position to prevent the enlistment of children as active participants in hostilities, but failed to do so. Secondly, and even more egregiously, Haniyeh was an active proponent of the conscription through his attendance of graduation ceremonies for military training camps aimed at recruiting children, and giving numerous speeches in which he advocated children joining the military struggle against Israel.
The use of children under 15 to participate in armed conflict is also considered a criminal activity pursuant to Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
We urge the commission to look into these violations of Human Rights committed by Hamas and include them in their report due to be presented in the Human Rights Council’s June regular session.
Yours sincerely,
Flavia Sevald, CEO,
Jerusalem Institute of Justice,
Amnesty International = Bias Against Israel
We have written a letter to Amnesty International in response to their extremely biased report against Israel titled “Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity”.
Dear Amnesty International,
We, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, an Israeli NGO fighting to promote human rights, defend democracy, and improve the overall quality of life for Israelis and Palestinians alike, find it of the utmost importance to address your recent report titled “Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel system of domination and crime against humanity”.
We believe the report’s attempt to allege that Israel has maintained “a system of oppression and domination” over the Palestinians that meets the international definition of apartheid is a preposterous and baseless claim. Israeli Arabs take an active part in Israeli life, as military and police commanders, as ministers, as diplomats, and as Supreme Court judges. In addition, there’s an Arab party in the current coalition and in June 2021 Israeli Arab Parliament Members held a conference in the parliament of the so called apartheid regime of Israel titled: “Between Occupation to Apartheid”. The report also accuses Israel’s “apartheid” of extending “over Palestinian refugees whose right of return to their homes remains controlled by Israel.” To claim that Israel imposes a system of oppression and domination on Palestinians that live in Lebanon, Jordan, or the United States is completely absurd.
We condemn the terminology used in the report referring to the terrorist organization “Hamas” as solely an “armed group”, whereas this organization clearly falls under the various definitions for terrorism. Furthermore, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States have all designated it as a terrorist organization. Hamas periodically violates International Humanitarian Law by firing rockets and mortars from densely populated areas, thus placing Gazan civilians in grave danger as “human shields.” In the most recent Israel-Gaza conflict, in May 2021, Hamas (the armed Palestinian groups that the report refers to) fired thousands of indiscriminate rockets towards Israeli towns, killing thirteen Israelis. Hamas also misfired hundreds of rockets that fell into the Gaza Strip, killing Palestinians and damaging Palestinian property, these acts are heinous war crimes, yet your report does not mention them even once. The report only mentions alleged war crimes committed by Israel.
Moreover, this report is above all a blatant means to delegitimize the State of Israel and criminalize Israeli laws and practices that are designed to safeguard Jewish identity, such as the Law of Return. The report infers that this law is a form of oppression of Palestinians: “This unequal and separate citizenship structure has resulted in stark discrimination against Palestinian citizens in several ways”. To propose that the law constitutes a form of discrimination towards Palestinians is outrageous, since its sole purpose is to safeguard Israel’s Jewish character. Furthermore, this law and others are enshrined under international law and parallel the practices of many nation-states.
Yours sincerely,
Flavia Sevald, CEO,
Jerusalem Institute of Justice,
If you agree with this letter and want to send a petition to Amnesty International letting them know that you stand up for Israel and believe their report is biased click the button below to sign the petition. It will get sent to Amnesty International’s London
headquarters.
PETITION TO AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Dear Amnesty International,
I stand with the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, an Israeli NGO fighting to promote human rights, defend democracy, and improve the overall quality of life for Israelis and Palestinians alike, and find it of the utmost importance to address your recent report titled “Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel system of domination and crime against humanity”.
We believe the report’s attempt to allege that Israel has maintained “a system of oppression and domination” over the Palestinians that meets the international definition of apartheid is a preposterous and baseless claim. Israeli Arabs take an active part in Israeli life, as military and police commanders, as ministers, as diplomats, and as Supreme Court judges.
Moreover, this report is above all a blatant means to delegitimize the State of Israel and criminalize Israeli laws and practices that are designed to safeguard Jewish identity.
We call upon Amnesty International to cease their attack on Israel!
I declare that the State of Israel does not perpetuate apartheid and has a right to exist as the homeland of the Jewish people.
Signed by
Stop the Apartheid Lie - Petition Against the UNHRC
With an extremely wide scope, an unreasonable budget of $18 million, 18 full-time employees and three members with a track record of hostility towards Israel chosen to lead the inquiry, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has initiated a permanent “Commission of Inquiry” (COI) into Israel, which constitutes a blatant and unprecedented direct attack on Israel.
The United Nations (UN) is perhaps the most biased global human rights organization in modern history when it comes to Israel. During the 70 plus years of Israel-UN relations, much ink has been spilled on the disproportionate preoccupation of the UN with Israel. Starting with a disgraceful resolution determining that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination, to an unequivocal recognition by former UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon officially confirming that the UN is biased against Israel. But every time you think they hit rock bottom, a new low is waiting around the corner. This time the hypocrisy and prejudice that characterize the UN’s approach toward Israel have reached new lows.
With an extremely wide scope, an unreasonable budget of $18 million, 18 full-time employees and three members with a track record of hostility towards Israel chosen to lead the inquiry, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has initiated a permanent “Commission of Inquiry” (COI) into Israel, which constitutes a blatant and unprecedented direct attack on Israel.
The pretext for this inquiry was to investigate the May 2021, 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas, in which Hamas fired thousands of indiscriminate rockets towards Israeli towns, killing innocent Israelis and Palestinians alike. The real reason for this inquiry though is to accuse Israel of systematic discrimination and repression based on the national, ethnic, racial or religious identity of Palestinians. In other words, to classify Israel as an Apartheid state.
The UN refuses to allow the facts and the reality on the ground to divert it from its course. A reality in which Arab Israelis are intertwined in all aspects of the Israeli society. They are leading commanders in the Israeli Defense Forces, they hold high positions in the Israeli Police Forces, and they serve as ministers, diplomats, and even judges at the Israeli Supreme Court. But all of this is completely irrelevant for the UN.
As part of the orchestrated apartheid campaign, Amnesty International, the world’s largest human rights organization and a leading player in antisemitic campaigns, published a 211-page report accusing Israel of implementing an institutionalized regime of Jewish oppression and control over the Palestinians. The report denies Israel’s right to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people. It is a clear and blatant demonstration of modern antisemitism. It features twisted legal analyses and a series of fabrications intertwined with ridiculous terminology. One that describes, inter alia, the designated terror group Hamas, as an “Armed Group”.
The publication of the report at this time is intended to strengthen the legitimacy of the UNHRC Committee and its conclusions. A foregone conclusion. In addition, Amnesty calls on the international community to exercise pressure on Israel by calling for an Arms Embargo on Israel and calling on the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate Israel for committing the crime of Apartheid.
Israel understands very well that this is a rigged game. The committee’s conclusions were reached even before the committee began its work. I expect that the committee will determine that Israel is an apartheid state.
A similar process took place several months ago when the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced the opening of a criminal investigation against Israel, in a disgraceful political decision that lacks any legal or moral justification.
Israel has officially announced that it will not cooperate with the UNHRC probe and will not allow its members to enter Israel. Israel has recently refused a request by Ms. Navi Pillay, the Commission’s chair to meet with Israeli officials. This will not be the first time that Israel chooses not to cooperate with initiatives and resolutions that meet all the characteristics of modern antisemitism. Open boycott instead of cooperation, is Israel’s new approach.
PETITION TO THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Dear United Nations Human Rights Council,
I stand with the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, an Israeli NGO fighting to promote human rights, defend democracy, and improve the overall quality of life for Israelis and Palestinians alike, and find it of the utmost importance to reject the so-called independent commission named “The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel”.
The mandate and structure of this “inquiry” have been designed to rewrite history from 1948, to find Israel guilty of apartheid and to declare the “root causes” of “conflict” to be Jewish infringement of Muslim rights. The commission’s plan is to falsely accuse Israel of racism, to validate criminal prosecutions of Israelis and to call upon “third states” and “business enterprises” to boycott, divest and sanction Israel.
Also, the three members of this Commission are anything but independent. The head of the commission, Navi Pillay, was a key leader of the 2001 UN Durban World Conference against Racism which called Israel a racist state. As United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights during the 2008-9 and 2014 Gaza wars, Pillay played a pivotal role in promoting the Goldstone report and the outrageous slander that Israel targeted and murdered children. Since leaving office, she’s made a habit of promoting BDS and accusing Israel of apartheid. In addition, the two other members of the committee, Miloon Kothari and Chris Sidoti, both hold anti-Israel extremism and Palestinian partisanship records.
The result of this witch hunt is a foregone conclusion. Therefore we demand the Human Rights Council to revoke the resolution forming this commission.