Simon Wiesenthal Center Urges More Countries to Follow Germany’s Lead Opposing Bogus ‘Genocide’ Charges Against Israel at the International Court of Justice at the Hague

January 14, 2024

US and UK are among other nations opposing pro-Hamas move led by South Africa

The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) expresses its profound gratitude and appreciation to Germany and other European governments for their support of Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, where it is currently facing unfounded accusations of genocide in its war against genocide-seeking terrorist Hamas.  

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Director of its Global Social Action program, stated, "The SWC is grateful that Germany has risen to defend the legitimacy and honor of the Jewish State currently under assault at the ICJ for acting against mass murdering genocide-seeking Hamas. The corrupt South African government is shilling for Hamas. It seeks to invert justice, invoking the very legal terms and modalities created from the ashes of six million Jewish victims of the Shoah and WWII."

The German government, through spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit, has clearly articulated that Israel is acting in self-defense following the inhuman attacks by Hamas on October 7. The German government has stated that it ”decisively and expressly rejects the accusation of genocide brought against Israel. The accusation has no basis in fact.” Germany's strong rejection of the accusations at the world’s top court and its caution against the political instrumentalization of such charges are a welcomed stance that underscores the need for facts, not lurid fiction, in international judicial procedures dealing with life and death issues.

Other countries have stated publicly the following:

• United States:  “The charge of genocide is meritless. It's particularly galling, given that those who are attacking Israel - Hamas, Hizbollah, the Houthis, as well as their supporter, Iran - continue to openly call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews.”
 
• United Kingdom:  “Completely unjustified and wrong. The UK government stands by Israel’s clear right to defend itself.”

• Canada:  “Our wholehearted support of the ICJ and its processes does not mean that we support the premise of the case brought forward by South Africa.”
 
• Austria:  “We oppose any attempts to politicize the ICJ. Israel is a democracy that has the right to defend itself against Hamas’ barbaric terror attack.”
 
• Czech Republic:  “Allegations of genocide should never be made lightly. We oppose any attempts to politicize the ICJ.”

“The Simon Wiesenthal Center is deeply concerned about this misuse of international legal platforms to demonize the Jewish state and to erase Israel's right to defend itself from terrorist onslaughts. SWC urges other European nations to follow Germany's lead in acknowledging the real and present dangers posed by terrorist groups like Hamas,“ said Daniel Schuster, Senior Representative Europe of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

In the spirit of true justice and historical integrity, we must all stand against the manipulation of international legal systems to serve biased and unjust causes.

For further information contact the Center’s Communications department at pressinquiries@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).