By Eyal Nadav
“…at the court in The Hague, judges from all over the world will sit, but only one judge who personally experienced the Holocaust. Perhaps he can explain to them the difference between this and a terrible war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in which many civilians are also being killed, among others. Maybe they will listen to him. Probably not."
At the Amsterdam airport, the immigration officer asks me in a friendly way why I have arrived. There is a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, I reply. On what subject, he asks. It's hard for me to get the word genocide out of my mouth. About the war in Gaza, I answer. He then asks, without warning, a question that concerns every Israeli since October 7: Is your family safe?
Cold now in The Hague. The courthouse shone in the afternoon with the temperature two degrees below zero. Tomorrow morning will be the scene of a rare international confrontation, a political spectacle masquerading as a legal event: South Africa's claim that Israel has failed to live up to its obligations under the Genocide Convention, a convention that was among its initiatives ( Israel) after the Holocaust.
That he is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Behind South Africa, and Israel is already well aware of this, are many other countries and entities, working intensively to weaken its justification for war. The government in South Africa has a long standing with Israel over its support for the apartheid regime, but the moral and ideological reckoning is now accompanied by interests, including economic ones.
There are many sad ironies in this event. The first is that Israel is the country of people who suffered the worst genocide in history. The second is that Hamas, on the morning of October 7, carried out a pilot genocide within our borders. And if it wasn't for the IDF, it would continue to kill and rape. Here again, the first legal case related to October 7th is the one brought against the State of Israel. Not against the killers and their financiers, from Iran to Qatar. Another irony, the South Africans and their helpers will attack: you, the victims, have become criminals yourself.
The debate will go on for years. But South Africa is seeking an interim injunction ordering Israel to stop its ("genocidal") actions. The bar required to issue such an order is incredibly low. It is enough to show that the Palestinians may be harmed in general for the court - if it wants - to issue the order.
There is a serious war going on in the Gaza Strip and there is no doubt that the Palestinian population is suffering greatly, just as there is no doubt that the IDF is suffering painful losses. The security authorities do not particularly doubt the number of dead that appear. But between the large number of victims, massive destruction of infrastructure and genocide - there is a huge gulf, moral and real.
Does not matter. The order will reverberate from one end of the world to the other, a Palestinian propaganda tool of the best kind. "Proof" that Israel is murdering them, or aiming to eliminate them as a people, in an organized manner. The order will be accompanied by illustrations: quotes from Israel's rowdy gang, from minister Amichai Eliyahu through Knesset member Nissim Vatori to clown prankster Yanon Magal.
The crime of "extermination of a people" requires proof of intent. Go explain to the world that government ministers, members of the ruling coalition and their propaganda mouthpieces only want to attract fans on Twitter and that in reality every business is done with close legal backing. At Friday's hearing, when Israel's position is presented, they will explain that too, but will also insist on technicalities, for example, that South Africa should have taken a series of actions before going to court.
All this poisonous egg is hatching now. It scares the decision makers, more than they are willing to admit. War crimes issues can degenerate very quickly and on a very personal level for them. "Thinking sharpens before an international tribunal," a lawyer who deals with it commented to me, "like the thinking of a hanged man." With this sharp thinking, as first published in Ynet, the greatest legal genius to emerge in Israel, former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak, was called to serve the Flag.
The man who called him to ask him to enlist is close aide, Secretary Ron Dermer. Dermer made it clear that Prime Minister Netanyahu is aware of this. I saw Judge Barak today, on the way to the flight. We shook hands and nothing more. Barak moved with judgment and restraint. No interview, no words.
He clarified to the State Department that he will remain in The Hague until the interim order is issued or as long as necessary according to the court's instructions. Those who have spoken with him in recent months say that the events of October 7 awakened in him that hidden trauma from the March 1944 pursuit of children in the Kovna ghetto. An enterprise in which his mother and he escaped by the skin of their persecutors' teeth.
This is the trauma of genocide, the real one.
Tomorrow morning, at the court in The Hague, judges from all over the world will sit, but only one judge who personally experienced the Holocaust. Perhaps he can explain to them the difference between this and a terrible war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in which many civilians are also being killed, among others. Maybe they will listen to him. Probably not.
*Translation - posting 11.1.2024 on Viktor Eliezer's facebook from an article on the website ynet.co.il
