The Zionist Federation of Australia slammed the South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and called on Australia to publicly condemn it.
ZFA President Jeremy Leibler said that as a respected middle power Australia has strongly pushed for the international rule of law and has an important role to play with key partners including those in our region who will be looking to Australia for leadership.
“The allegation that Israel is committing genocide is baseless and a blatant attempt to besmirch Israel’s reputation. While this, in and of itself, should be enough to see the Australian Government condemn South Africa, there is a more important issue at stake,” Mr Leibler said.
“There is no genocide or attempted genocide occurring in Gaza. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or ignorant.
“The act of genocide is one of the most serious crimes against humanity. Using this allegation when no genocide is occurring, solely in order to achieve a diplomatic victory against Israel, has the effect of weakening the Genocide Convention.”
“Beyond calling out the irresponsible nature of the South African allegations, we believe that the Australian Government should officially intervene in the International Court of Justice process, to call on it to dismiss this case. In doing so, Australia would act with likeminded countries,” Mr Leibler added.
