My Word: South Africa's hypocrisy was loud at ICJ Gaza genocide hearing

The fate of the hostages being held captive in Gaza is unknown. Hypocrisy, on the other hand, is alive and kicking.

Last week, South Africa presented its baseless case against Israel in the UN’s International Court of Justice in the Hague, accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” against the Palestinians in Gaza.

A delegation of Hamas – internationally recognized as a terrorist organization – reportedly traveled to South Africa last month to help push their spurious claims. South Africa, it seems, is not too fussy about whom it hosts – former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, convicted of genuine war crimes, has in the past attended the African Union summit in Johannesburg.

South Africa is trying to boost its own international standing and deflect attention from its failed state condition at home. When its delegation presented its charges on Thursday, January 11, the irony was inherent.

Ignoring Hamas's genocidal intent

The South African presentation deliberately ignored the fact that the Hamas Charter calls for the destruction of Israel, a written declaration of genocidal intent.

In perhaps the most bitter irony, the ICJ, now being exploited to attack Israel, was established in the wake of the Holocaust and the UN definition of genocide reflects the Nazi attempt to eradicate the Jewish people. Hamas is dedicated to destroying the Jewish state, and as we saw on October 7, will stop at nothing. It is the IDF that has to stop it with international support.

On Friday, January 12, Israel had its day in court – a place where it shouldn’t have been in the first place. Foreign Ministry legal adviser Tal Becker eloquently made the case that Israel was fighting a war of self-defense.

“The appalling suffering of civilians – both Israeli and Palestinian – is first and foremost the result of this despicable strategy; the horrible cost of Hamas not only failing to protect its civilians but actively sacrificing them for its own propaganda and military benefit. And if Hamas abandons this strategy, releases the hostages, and lays down its arms, the hostilities and suffering would end,” Becker declared.

It is not coincidental that pro-Palestinian demonstrations around the globe, some of them violent, started after the Hamas invasion and massacre in which some 1,200 people were barbarically murdered in southern Israel, but before Israel had begun its ground campaign in Gaza to try to eliminate the terrorists, their weapons, and their infrastructure.

The Palestinians have managed, in their remarkable way, to turn October 7 into their tragedy. Any hint of Hamas guilt is swiftly stifled. Their enablers are fully complicit in this. That’s why a seemingly minor incident in Turkey this week is so telling. Israeli footballer Sagiv Jehezkel, playing for Antalyaspor, was fired from the Turkish club and briefly detained by Turkish authorities on charges of incitement. 

His crime? After scoring a goal, he held up his bandaged hand to the cameras. On his wrist was written: “100 days. 7.10” along with a small Star of David. The mere mention of the date when the Hamas mega-atrocity took place and the 100 days of captivity of those abducted was enough to get him into trouble.

So much for the sporting spirit. Evidently, there are those who still identify more with the Palestinian perpetrators of the 1972 Olympic Massacre than with its Israeli victims.

SOUTH AFRICA is also far from being a good sport. To compound the travesty of the international trial against Israel, last Friday, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced it was replacing Jewish teenager David Teeger as captain of their Under-19 side after he expressed support for Israel.

The decision came ahead of the International Cricket Council (ICC) U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024, which South Africa is hosting, scheduled to start today, January 19.

The press statement published by Cricket South Africa read: “As is the case with all such events, CSA has been receiving regular security and risk updates regarding the World Cup. We have been advised that protests related to the war in Gaza can be anticipated at the venues for the tournament.

“We have also been advised that they are likely to focus on the position of the SA Under-19 (SA U19) captain, David Teeger, and that there is a risk that they could result in conflict or even violence, including between rival groups of protesters...

“In all the circumstances, CSA has decided that David should be relieved of the captaincy for the tournament. This is in the best interests of all the players, the SA U19 team, and David himself.”

The phrase “It’s not cricket” naturally springs to mind. But not only is such behavior unfair and immoral, it is also dangerous. It’s not hard to imagine the different treatment Teeger would have received had he not been Jewish – or had he spoken in support of the Palestinians rather than Israel. What we are witnessing, both in the ICJ show trial and outside of the courtroom, is bold antisemitism and a caving-in to terrorist threats.

A conspicuous absence outside the ICJ courthouse in the Hague makes a compelling case. Ahead of the trial, Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate prepared a billboard campaign throughout the Netherlands to raise awareness about the 136 hostages.

The billboards showed pictures of different captives with their names and the caption: “She/He can’t testify today.”

The photos included Kfir Bibas, whose first birthday was marked this week, and the beautiful face of 19-year-year-old Na’ama Levy. Na’ama was seen in a Hamas video on October 7 when her abductors dragged her away by her hair, a huge bloodstain chillingly evident on her pants. These are the ultimate silenced witnesses.

The Public Diplomacy Directorate said it had contacted more than 10 different companies around the Hague, Rotterdam, and Schiphol Airport about the paid campaign. One company approved the text and design but backed out at the last minute. So much for freedom of expression. Hamas and its supporters are unarguably good at terrorism and spreading fear.

THOSE WHO think that the cause of democracy and freedom could be served by placing the Palestinian Authority in charge of Gaza should think again. Think about this: PA head Mahmoud Abbas is celebrating the start of the 19th year of his four-year term. He has refrained from criticizing the Hamas assault and continues the “Pay-for-slay” program, compensating terrorists and their families. 

(This week, Israel buried Edna Bluestein, the 79-year-old victim of a combined car-ramming and stabbing attack in Ra’anana perpetrated by two Palestinians from a village near Hebron. The country also buried a mother and adult son killed in their home by Hezbollah anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon.)

Meanwhile, Iran continues to finance the terror in all its forms – including the ongoing Houthi attacks from Yemen. 

One of the most outrageous cases of hypocrisy was the presence of CodePink – the self-styled “Women for Peace” movement – at a pro-Palestinian rally in Washington last Saturday. Forget pink, they should be red-faced with shame. No mention of the Hamas atrocities perpetrated in particular against Jewish women and children in Israel: the gang rapes and genital mutilation that accompanied the mass murder.

In yet another Orwellian distortion, thousands of pro-Palestinians participated in the event marking 100 days of the Hamas attack – but focused entirely on the Israeli response. The genocidal call “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” was ubiquitous. There were also acts of violence, including an attempt to tear down a fence outside the White House.

Contrast this with the self-control and order of the pro-Israel rallies, like the well-attended solidarity event held in London on Sunday.

The world ignores the Palestinian violence at its peril. There is nothing that the terrorists want more than to make people scared of them – too scared to respond and too scared to openly back Israel.

Fortunately, the leaders of Germany, the UK, the US, and the Czech Republic, among others, are not being fooled or silenced. They have voiced support for Israel, dismissed Hamas’s allegations, and condemned the atrocity it carried out on October 7. German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement last week: “We stand firmly against a political instrumentalization” of the UN 1948 Genocide Convention.”

South Africa, acting on behalf of Hamas, has turned the ICJ into a circus. Beware the terrorists dressed up as clowns.Whatever the ICJ’s final verdict might be, when the world succumbs to terrorist threats, everyone loses.