NEW YORK – T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights responded to today’s opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which calls for provisional measures to prevent further death and destruction in Gaza, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages. T’ruah reiterated its position that all parties, with the support of international actors, must work toward a negotiated ceasefire that would end the Israeli bombing of Gaza as well as Hamas’s missile attacks on Israel, release the hostages, allow sufficient humanitarian aid into Gaza, and bring an end to the war as soon as possible.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, said:
“As the Israel-Hamas war drags on and the number of casualties grows, we welcome the opinion of the ICJ calling on Israel to adhere to the obligations of the Genocide Convention and to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the International Criminal Court. We agree that Israel must:
- take all measures within its power to prevent civilian casualties and acts that would violate the Convention;
- prevent and punish incitement to genocide by Israeli officials (a measure supported by former Israeli Supreme Court President Justice Aharon Barak, the ad hoc judge appointed by Israel to the panel at the Hague);
- ensure the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza;
- preserve evidence; and
- provide a report on actions taken to comply with these measures within a month.
“We call on Hamas to comply with the order of the ICJ for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
“We reject South Africa’s allegation that Israel is committing the crime of genocide. The specific legal meaning of genocide differs from the colloquial use of the term. The crime of genocide, first defined by Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in the wake of the Holocaust, has a specific legal definition and requires a high burden of proof. The ICJ did not make any determination today as to whether genocide is being committed, and that was not the purpose of this stage of proceedings. The court’s limited ruling found that there is a plausible case to be considered in future stages of this litigation.
“We do not need to wait for any ruling to tell us that the extent of death and destruction in Gaza is unbearable. Our hearts are broken by reports of over 25,000 Palestinians killed, the majority of them women and children. Parents are unable to feed their children, disease is spreading, and doctors are forced to operate without anesthesia. Nearly 2 million Gazans have been displaced, and even as we write this, nearly half the population of Gaza faces starvation. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu and many of the extremist members of his government — whom Israelis have been protesting for more than a year — continue to incite hatred and violence with dangerous rhetoric.
“This Shabbat, Jewish communities read the story of the crossing of the Red Sea, including the drowning of the Egyptian pursuers. Famously, the midrash imagines God forbidding the angels from celebrating the deaths of the Egyptians, who are God’s creations. While some in Israel may want revenge for the atrocities of October 7, it is crucial to remember that most Gaza residents — like the ordinary Egyptians who suffered under Pharaoh’s rule — are civilians also trapped under a cruel government and that all people are equally creations btzelem Elohim, in the image of God.
“This Shabbat also coincides with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The ICJ in its current form was established following the Holocaust, along with other international bodies and international laws, in part to ensure that no other people would experience atrocities such as those carried out by the Nazis. While this court is far from perfect, we affirm that it is a necessary institution and essential part of the international legal system.
“The ICJ does not have jurisdiction over Hamas, as a non-state actor, but the international community must find ways to hold Hamas accountable for its war crimes. These crimes include the atrocities of October 7, the continued missile attacks on Israeli civilians, and the placement of military equipment and fighters in civilian structures, including hospitals and schools. Regardless of who starts a war, and regardless of the actions of the other side, all parties must follow the Laws of Armed Conflict and be held accountable when they do not.
“The ICJ was right not to call on Israel alone to cease military action. The best path forward is international support for a negotiated bilateral ceasefire. International intervention is necessary to bring an end to this war and to set Israelis and Palestinians on the path to a political solution that protects the human rights of all.”
About T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights mobilizes a network of more than 2,300 rabbis and cantors from all streams of Judaism that, together with the Jewish community, act on the Jewish imperative to respect and advance the human rights of all people. Grounded in Torah and our Jewish historical experience and guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we call upon Jews to assert Jewish values by raising our voices and taking concrete steps to protect and expand human rights in North America, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
