The political and legal fight against Israel in the UN and other institutions.
The registration line for this event is closed. The event has taken place on March 29 and 30 in The Hague and Nijkerk, but will be repeated. Stay tuned!
Background
This year the Jewish State of Israel celebrates its 75th birthday. Israel is one of the most successful nations on earth, the only well-functioning democracy in the Middle East, and a major contributor to global innovation, regional prosperity and security, while many parts of the region are in chaos and war.
And yet Israel’s legitimacy and sovereignty are under attack as no other nation. International law is engaged daily as an instrument to demonize and undermine the Jewish State of Israel.
This conference addressed the treatment of the State of Israel and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict within the UN and related institutions. Some of the problems that were discussed:
- there are more condemnatory resolutions adopted every year in the UN against Israel than against any other state,
- Israel is a permanent agenda item of the UN Human Rights Council,
- the UN Human Rights Council established the most expansive and expensive Commission of Inquiry ever – to investigate the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,
- the role of the International Criminal Court in the context of UN bias against Israel.
- How is the recent request by the UN General Assembly for an Advisory Opinion by the International Court of Justice to be evaluated?
The goal of this conference was to provide insight into the main legal and political aspects of the role of the UN in relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict, the threats this poses to the sovereignty of the State of Israel, and what can be done to challenge these threats.
Speakers included:
- Hillel Neuer (UN Watch)
- Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bock (University Giessen, thinc.)
- Prof. Gregory Rose (University Wollongong, thinc.)
- Prof. Robbie Sabel (Hebrew University)
- Anne Herzberg (NGO Monitor)
- Dr. Matthijs de Blois (thinc.)
- Prof. Steven Zipperstein (UCLA)
- Natasha Hausdorff (Barrister & UK Lawyers for Israel)
- Dr. Dov Jacobs (University of Leiden)
- Jonathan Turner (UK Lawyers for Israel)
- Johannes de Jong (Sallux)
- Josh Reinstein (Israel Allies Foundation)
- Dina Rovner (UN Watch)
- Joshua Kern (Barrister)
- David Parsons (International Christian Embassy Jerusalem)
- A young Palestinian Christian
- Dr. Loqman Radpey (ECIGL, Edinburgh University)
- Naomi Linder Kahn (Regavim)
- Sondra Baras (CFOIC)
- David Litman (CAMERA)
- Avi Bell (University of San Diego)
- Yifa Segal (Hetz for Israel)
- Dr. Cynthia Day Wallace (thinc.)
- Andrew Tucker (thinc.)
- Rev. Cornelis Kant (Christians for Israel International)
- Frank J. van Oordt (Christians for Israel)
- Sara van Oordt (Christians for Israel)
Materials per session
Plenary sessions
Session 1: Keynote speech by Hillel Neuer
Israel and the UN: how the UN works, and how and why Israel is marginalized
> Three Decades of Fighting for Truth at the United Nations
Session 2: Prof. Gregory Rose
The United Nations, international law and “lawfare”: the gray zone between law, ideologies and politics
> Israel is on Trial in the UN – is there a case for the defense
Session 3: Dr. Matthijs de Blois
The Jewish State of Israel under international law
Session 4: Dr. Loqman Radpey
The foundations of the modern Middle East – a Kurdistan perspective
> The Lausanne Centennial: Kurds, Kurdistan and Self-Determination
Session 5: Prof. Steven Zipperstein
Arab-Jewish conflict, framing of the conflict, and statehood proposals
> Legal Framing and Lawfare in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict
Session 6: Natasha Hausdorff
What are the borders of the State of Israel?
> Does Israel have a legitimate claim of sovereignty over the West Bank?
Session 7: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bock
Palestinian statehood: fallacies of the EU’s approach to international law
> EU Two State Policy Review – Executive Summary
> Does anyone really understand the two-state solution? – opinion
Session 8: Naomi Kahn
Israeli and Arab activities in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria since Oslo
> The quietest front: the War of Attribution in Judea and Samaria
Session 9: Prof. Robbie Sabel
Are Israeli settlements illegal?
> Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
Session 10: Prof. Greg Rose (moderator) – Panel: Hillel Neuer, Sondra Oster Baras, Robbie Sabel
Current political developments in Israel and their international implications
> Perceived threats to Israel’s democracy
Session 11: Prof. Greg Rose (moderator) – Panel: Joshua Kern, Anne Herzberg, David Litman, Andrew Tucker, Jonathan Turner
“Zionism is racism”: Framing Israel as a racist and apartheid state
> The instrumentalization of the crime against humanity of apartheid in the Arab-Israeli conflict
Session 12: Andrew Tucker (moderator) – Panel: Sondra Oster Baras, Palestinian speaker from Bethlehem
Identity, autonomy, and territory: a conversation between a Jewish settler and a Palestinian Christian
Session 13: Prof. Steven Zipperstein (moderator) – Panel: Prof. Wolfgang Bock, Johannes de Jong, Yifa Segal, Dr. Cynthia Day Wallace, David Parsons
Looking to the future: Sovereignty, statehood and self-determination in the changing Middle East
> Nations ascending to Jerusalem
> Abraham Accords – Third Anniversary
Breakout sessions
Session 1: Jonathan Turner (presentation) – Panel: Yifa Segal, Dr. Matthijs de Blois, Prof. Robbie Sabel
Why the recent request by the UN General Assembly for an International Court of Justice Opinion on Israel’s occupation is problematic
> General Assembly Resolution Text
> Reply by the ICJ – Press Release
Session 2: Prof. Avi Bell (presentation) – Panel: Joshua Kern, Josh Reinstein, Dr. Dov Jacobs
Why instrumentalization of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is hindering peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
> The ICC’s controversial ruling on “Palestine” – pushing the boundaries of law
Session 3: Dina Rovner (presentation) – Panel: David Parsons, Natasha Hausdorff, Anne Herzberg
Why the UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry into the Palestinian-Israeli conflict must be disbanded
> “Head of UN Probe on Israel Accused of Prejudice, Watchdog Calls on Her to Resign
> Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 27 May 2021
> UNHRC – Commission of Inquiry Briefing Report
Photos
Photos @bymauraeshel
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