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The Hague & Nijkerk
March 29, 2023
€ 0 - The registration line is closed

International Conference ‘Israel on Trial’ – March ’23

Leading international speakers
Networking opportunity
Workshops and plenary sessions
Multidisciplinary approach
International Conference ‘Israel on Trial’ – March ’23

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.


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

> Slides

Session 3: Dr. Matthijs de Blois

The Jewish State of Israel under international law

> Balfour declaration

> San Remo Resolution 

> Mandate for Palestine

> Slides

> Summary

Session 4: Dr. Loqman Radpey

The foundations of the modern Middle East – a Kurdistan perspective

The Lausanne Centennial: Kurds, Kurdistan and Self-Determination

> Slides

> Summary

Session 5: Prof. Steven Zipperstein

Arab-Jewish conflict, framing of the conflict, and statehood proposals

> Legal Framing and Lawfare in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict

> Slides

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?

> Slides

Session 7: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bock

Palestinian statehood: fallacies of the EU’s approach to international law

> EU Two State Policy Review 

> 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

> Slides

Session 9: Prof. Robbie Sabel

Are Israeli settlements illegal?

> Israeli Settlements in the West Bank 

> Presentation

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

> Presentation Andrew Tucker

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

> Engaging ethnic minorities

> 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

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)

Since 2011, the activities of Sallux have been financially supported by the European Parliament. The liability for any communication or publication by Sallux, in any form and any medium, rests with Sallux. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

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