Israeli officials are lobbying U.S. lawmakers to pressure South Africa into dropping its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, according to a report published Monday.
Axiossaid it obtained a classified Israeli Foreign Ministry cable sent Monday to the country’s embassy in Washington, D.C. and all its U.S. consulates threatening consequences if South Africa proceeds with its case in The Hague – which is backed by dozens of nations and regional blocs, as well as countless legal and genocide experts.
“We are asking you to immediately work with lawmakers on the federal and state level, with governors and Jewish organizations to put pressure on South Africa to change its policy towards Israel and to make clear that continuing their current actions like supporting Hamas and pushing anti-Israeli moves in international courts will come with a heavy price,” the cable states.
Obviously fearing it will lose the genocide case, "Israel is lobbying members of Congress to press South Africa to drop its legal proceedings in the International Court of Justice over the war in Gaza, according to an Israeli foreign ministry cable." https://t.co/NsoEdYtroz
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) September 9, 2024
As Axios reported:
The Israeli diplomats were instructed to ask members of Congress to issue public statements condemning South Africa’s actions against Israel and threaten that it could lead tosuspending U.S. trade relations with South Africa. That’s unlikely to happen because the U.S. wants to maintain its relationship with South Africa in order to counter the influence of Russia and China.
According to the report, Israeli officials are hoping that South Africa’s new coalition government – the country’s first to not be led by the leftist African National Congress since the beginning of post-apartheid majority rule – will eschew “boycotts and punishments” and prove more malleable.
This isn’t the first time that Israel has been accused of trying to intimidate those who seek to hold it accountable for its obliteration of Gaza. Earlier this year, its government launched a pressure campaign urging world governments to condemn the ICJ trial.
South Africa filed its genocide case against Israel in December, alleging that statements and actions by Israeli government officials and armed forces “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part” of the Palestinian population in violation of Article II of the Genocide Convention.
A final ICJ ruling is not expected for years. Israel says the case is “baseless” and has accused South Africa of “functioning as the legal arm of Hamas,” which led the attacks in which more than 1,100 Israelis and others were killed – at least some by so-called “friendly fire” – last October 7. More than 240 other people were kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
Since October, Israeli forces have killed or maimed at least 145,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, while forcibly displacing almost all of the embattled strip’s 2.3 million people. Israel’s ” complete siege” of Gaza has caused widespread starvation and disease. Eliminationist rhetoric by Israeli politicians, military officials, journalists, entertainers, and others started shortly after the Hamas-led attack of October 7 and continues to this day.
In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to uphold its obligations under Article II of the Genocide Convention. Israel’s far-right government and military have been accused by human rights groups of ignoring the order.
As Israeli forces launched a major ground invasion of Rafah four months later, the ICJ issued another order for Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive” in the city, where around 1.5 million forcibly displaced and local Palestinian residents were sheltering. Instead of heeding the order, Israel ramped up its assault on Rafah.
At the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan is urging the tribunal to promptly act upon his May application for warrants to arrest Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders – at least one of whom, political chief Ismail Haniyeh, was subsequently assassinated by Israel.
Israeli and U.S. officials have threatened ICC members with retaliation if the tribunal issues arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. In June, 42 House Democrats joined Republican lawmakers in passing legislation to sanction ICC jurists in the event they authorize the Israeli leaders’ arrest.
The U.S. is by far Israel’s biggest benefactor, providing billions of dollars worth of weapons and invaluable diplomatic cover including United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolution vetoes.
Many experts say the U.S. is complicit in Israel’s genocide. A group of Palestinians, Palestinian Americans, and rights groups is seeking to hold President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin criminally accountable for supporting Israel’s Gaza slaughter at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Brett Wilkins is is staff writer for Common Dreams. Based in San Francisco, his work covers issues of social justice, human rights and war and peace. This originally appeared at CommonDreams and is reprinted with the author’s permission.
"…a classified Israeli Foreign Ministry cable sent Monday to the country’s embassy in Washington, D.C. and all its U.S. consulates threatening consequences.."
What consequences can the ASI threaten the USA with ? They'll stop the money pipeline into reelection campaigns ? Shriek about "anti-Semitism" ? Make Hollywood (which they do not actually "control"; I'm just playing off the trope) start putting out overpriced, poorly written "woke" propagandist s**t that is losing studios billions ?
Because that last thing is already happening & has been for YEARS before Oct 7th.
Media tells us that time started on 7Oct. Constantly.
At least History has advanced almost a month since September 11th.
Saddam, Assad, the Taliban, and Qaddafi really got us on Sept 11. :)
Israel knows Congress bends their knees for the Zionist and that they can be bought. We have a compromised Congress, compromised Rep/Dem Party, compromised State Department/Military/MSM. Israel acts like it owns the USA, why is that? Israel is a depraved, demented, inhuman Government and sees America as it's SLAVE. We need ALL Zionist OUT of D.C., meaning we have to vote against the Rep/Dem Party.
Nothing lasts forever. They’ll be out of power some time this century. Maybe someone worse will replace them.
Ariel Sharon: "We don't worry about America, we run America and America knows it." ( Countercurrents.org – cook031114)
You expect the US to act in the interests of US citizens, but it actually acts in the elite interests of whomever is in power at a given time. US dominance is abused until the US is no longer dominant… Then, it’s on to the next power.
It really makes one question MAD. If no one cares about the actual citizenry, MAD might be seen as a good thing by a particular elite.
The US acts in the interests of Israel and AIPAC. Since 2022, it has also been acting in the interests of Ukraine.
I wouldn’t say the US has acted in the interests of Ukraine, unless “taking massive casualties and losing lots of territory” is in the interests of Ukraine.
That is in the interests of Ukraine since it portrays itself as a victim in need of endless aid. Zelensky wants to be seen by the world as a martyr.
What a crock of sh-t?!!!
Israel is guilty as charged!
Israel agrees with you. They acknowledge it by action. They know and do not doubt it for a moment they would not stand a chance in hell in a free and impartial court serving laws that are halfway moral in nature. And why would we expect any different from these childbutchering monsters – and I'm speaking of the vast majority of the American political class and most of the European elite in equal measure here – who would shrink back from murdering Lady Justice herself. In fact that is the first thing fascists do: subvert and corrupt Justice, to deliver the message that the criminals took power.
It's usually said if you don't have anything to hide you don't have to worry about anything or as they say.
"Other countries must hold Israel accountable for violating international law in its war of Gaza, and its escalating violence in the illegally occupied West Bank, United Nations High Commissioner [in Geneva] for Human Rights Volker Turk said Monday.
"States must not – cannot accept blatant disregard of the (U.N.) Security Council and orders of the International Court of Justice, neither in this nor any other situation," he said. (Consortiumnews. com, by Olivia Rosane, September 9, 2024)
We, the United States of Atrocities, have had some of our "representatives" actually threaten members of the ICJ.
Bad Luck on that…!
SatanYahu is guilty of genocide together with many of his minions. Period. They will be arrested and stand trial.
Never mind the genocidal racists! College peace protesters are the real threat to …. oh, never mind. };-)>