‘Why have lawyers and legal academics been so slow to condemn the Genocide in Gaza?’

Background – See my blog – ‘Western Civilization itself is on trial this week at the ICJ in the Hague – State of Palestine v. Israel’ on the ICJ page at www.diplomaticlawguide.com

See also https://lnkd.in/dyp7DTBK [Scroll forward to 1 hour & 53 minutes to hear the speech by Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC, who spoke as part of the Palestinian delegation at the ICC in their case against Israel, where she went into immense detail on the failure of Israel to ensure the basic human rights of Palestinians in Gaza].

Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC submitted that the general consensus amongst Genocide scholars is that Israel is carrying out a Genocide.

In her final submission Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC spoke for all of humanity when she said:

‘In addition to seeking to destroy the protective application of international law to the Palestinian people, Israel appears set on destroying the very international framework created to ensure compliance with international law and accountability for its breach, with profound consequences that reverberate far beyond Palestine and Palestinians. If these venerable institutions are to survive, and if — in the words of the United Nations Relief Chief — “the basic principles of . . . law still count, the international community must act while it can to uphold them”

See also – https://lnkd.in/drS5zhG2.

Paul Reichler KC: Paul S. Reichler | 11KBW further submitted –

‘All of us ⎯ as diplomats, international lawyers, humanitarians, but most importantly, as individuals ⎯ have the moral obligation to raise our voices in outcry of this catastrophe and in efforts to stop it … Mr President, killing and maiming hundreds of thousands, and starving and attempting to displace millions of Palestinians out of Palestine, amounts to no less than destroying them as a group.’

So why the lack of condemnation by lawyers and legal academics?

This interview is illuminating – ‘Palestinian Scholar DESTROYS Genocide Deniers – w/. Nimer Sultany: Palestinian Scholar DESTROYS Genocide Deniers – w/. Nimer Sultany. Palestinian Scholar DESTROYS Genocide Deniers – w/. Nimer Sultany’ – Google Owen Jones + YouYube + Vidoes to find.

Link – https://lnkd.in/eBPD445V

See also – ‘Why this leading Israeli Holocaust scholar says it’s a genocide in Gaza | The InnerView’ – https://lnkd.in/enteK5BV

What is at stake is not only the survival of the Palestinian people, but also the survival of the Rule of Law and of the International Liberal Rules based World Order.

So, why do you think that so many lawyers and legal academics have not yet raised their voices in an effort to end the Genocide?

What is at stake is not only the survival of the Palestinian people, but also the survival of the Rule of Law and of the International Liberal Rules based World Order.

Some lawyers have risen to the challenge, see – ‘Former supreme court judges say UK arming Israel breaches international law -Exclusive: More than 600 prominent lawyers sign letter that calls for end to exports as a ‘measure to prevent’ genocide.’: Former supreme court judges say UK arming Israel breaches international law | Israel-Gaza war | The Guardian

‘Three former supreme court justices, including the court’s former president Lady Hale, are among more than 600 lawyers, academics and retired senior judges warning that the UK government is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel.

In a letter to the prime minister, the signatories, who also include former court of appeal judges and more than 60 KCs, say that the present situation in Gaza is “catastrophic” and that given the international court of justice (ICJ) finding that there is a plausible risk of genocide being committed, the UK is legally obliged to act to prevent it.

See also – EXCLUSIVE: Zarah Sultana’s First Interview Since Resigning From The Labour Party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDC8lNkFfTQ

Complicity in ‘Genocide’ is now a high profile issue that will be tested at the Ballot Box in the next General Election in the UK.

Why have so many MP’s been slow to unequivocally condemn the genocide in Gaza?

One of the video programmes I am planning to record and broadcast on YouTube in 2026 is entitled – ‘The unspoken connection between the destruction of Cultural Heritage and: (i) Ethnic Cleansing; and (ii) Genocide.’ See www.artandcivilization.tv

One of the source legal text books I will be referring to is the Third Edition of ‘Genocide in International Law – The Crime of Crimes’ (2025) by the pre-eminent legal scholar William A. Schabas.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Genocide-International-Law-Crime-Crimes/dp/1009460781#:~:text=Buy%20Genocide%20in%20International%20Law%3A%20The%20Crime%20of,low%20prices%20and%20free%20delivery%20on%20eligible%20orders.

I have a copy in my office.

Here is an extract –

‘Prevention of genocide must be the priority. As Israel’s military campaign in Gaza unfolded in late 2023 and early 2024, many question the extent of their obligations in terms of prevention, especially after the 26 January 2024 order of the International Court of Justice recognised that the rights asserted by South Africa under the genocide Convention were at least ‘plausible’. In its 2007 judgement in Bosnia the Serbia, the court said the obligation to prevent arises when there is a ‘serious risk’ of genocide. Obviously ‘plausible’ and ‘serious risk’ are not synonyms but nor are they at opposite ends of the spectrum. South Africa submissions to the court in the provisional measures proceedings made out a strong case for genocide, one that pointed to such a serious risk. If anything, the word ‘plausible’, which is the standard applicable at the provisional measures stage, understated the evidence. According to the court, the duty to prevent has an extraterritorial dimension. It is of variable dimensions, depending upon the relationship of the state party with those accused of perpetrating the crime. The powerful western states who argued so persuasively in November 2023, in the Gambia the mien Meagher case, for a broadened understanding of genocide was surely amongst those capable of influencing Israel. They were among Israel’s main suppliers of arms and munitions and was certainly in a position to reduce the military, economic and diplomatic support that they provide…’

I mention this because it is axiomatic that lawyers and legal academics by speaking up could arguably have prevented the Genocide in Gaza. Likewise by speaking up now they can create pressure to end the Genocide. So, why are they not speaking up?

See also – AMB. Charles Freeman : ‘Does Israel Recognize its Own Genocide?’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vW_kmwiL5s

Carl's Mediation Blog

by Carl Islam, LLM (Exon)(International Business Legal Studies), Diploma in Art Law (Institute of Art & Law) (London), Barrister & CMC Registered Mediator – Contentious Probate and Cultural Heritage Disputes – 1 EC Barristers, Temple, London.

‘Why have lawyers and legal academics been so slow to condemn the Genocide in Gaza?’