While Israel continues committing genocide in Palestine, its bombing of Iran has added it to four other countries Israel has bombed: Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq.
The entire international system of laws is collapsing right in front of our eyes.
After the death of about 70 million people in World War II, the world came up with an international system to manage conflicts. Many institutions came into being for this purpose: the United Nations, the Geneva conventions, the Genocide Treaty, the Charter of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, so on and so forth.
There is only one country in the world right now which is in violation of almost all the above-mentioned treaties, institutions, systems, and processes: Israel. Israel has violated 28 resolutions of the United Nations. See a complete list of Israeli violations of international laws below.
And there is one country which is empowering Israel. Our country, the United States of America.
Although only 16% of Americans support military action, President Donald Trump on Tuesday demanded "unconditional surrender" from Iran after threatening to order the assassination of the country's leader. Trump, however, has spent months advocating diplomacy with Iran as well.
The only existing nuclear weapons in the Middle East belong to Israel - which provoked and began this war with Iran. Israel's long-cherished right to exist must not include taking away the right of others to exist with equal rights.
Actions to Take:
All major Jewish organizations are asking American Jews to pressure their elected representatives to drag our nation into Israel’s limitless genocidal agenda
- Call your Congressperson and Senators to support Sen. Tim Kaine (D - Va.), who is introducing a war powers resolution and the concurrent bipartisan bill in the House
- Join the anti-war movement or start one in your city and neighborhood. We must do our best to stop the genocide in Palestine and Israel’s expanding wars, which are being funded with our tax dollars
- Ensure that your Masjids continue to pray, educate, and advocate for equal rights for all in the Holy Land while opposing wars
- Muslims should urgently ask their national and local organizations to meet, collaborate, and organize with the peace movement
Thinking Points:
- The U.S. has changed regimes in Iran in the past. That resulted in the 1979 Iranian revolution which defeated American interests just like the more recent case of Afghanistan, another American loss. So doing the same thing again will not produce different results
- Israel’s bombing of Iran and the Palestinian genocide cannot be sustained without U.S. support and American taxpayers’ funding
- War with Iran is not aligned with the “America First” policy Trump and his supporters have long touted. That is the reason a majority of Republicans opposed bombing Iran
- It is time to revive and strengthen the peace movement in the United States.
- There is great potential for a strategic cross-sectional collaboration on an antiwar agenda between the green movement, libertarians, and the immigration rights movement which can then work with Black and labor leadership to reorganize the peace movement
- Muslim organizations and groups like Jewish Voice for Peace must provide the support needed for these groups and movements to come together
- The peace movement’s agenda should include the survival of our planet, which is at risk because of atomic bombs. Both Israel and Iran should dismantle their nuclear programs to guarantee mutual survival. All countries should once again commit to a world free of atomic bombs
- President Trump has stated that other countries also have nuclear bombs which they should not. Which countries are these? Do they include Israel and India, or only Pakistan and North Korea?
- International laws, Geneva conventions, and UN resolutions must all be abided by
Israeli Violations of International laws:
Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes, Crime of Aggression
-Genocide Convention, Article 2(a) - (d)
- Articles 2(a) - killing members of the group - Israel’s incessant and indiscriminate bombing campaign leading to significant civilian casualties contravenes Article 2(a)
- Article 2(b) - causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group - The Israeli military assault has inflicted significant physical and psychological harm on Palestinians, prohibited by Article 2(b)
- Article 2(c) - deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part - ongoing limitations on humanitarian aid restrict access to essential resources like food, water and medical care, which creates life-threatening conditions in violation of Article 2(c)
- Article 2(d) - imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group - Israel’s military campaign has severely impacted Palestinian reproductive health, running afoul of Article 2(d)
-Rome Statute Articles 6-8 bis
Israeli Occupation
- UN Charter, Article 2(4) and 51
- Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations, Principle 1
Illegal Israeli Settlements on Occupied Land
- Geneva Conventions IV, Article 49(6)
- The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel, as an occupying power, cannot claim self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter against a territory it occupies.
Taking Land by Force and Claiming Sovereignty
- UN Charter, Article 2(4)
- Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations, Principle 1
Ethnic Cleansing and Forcible Transfer
- Geneva Convention IV, Articles 45, 46, 49, 147
- UN resolutions 194 (III) and 237
Israeli Apartheid
- International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid
Human Rights Violations
- UN Charter, Article 1
- Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations, Principle 5
Collective Punishment, Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure and Personnel
- Geneva Conventions IV, Article 33
- Geneva Conventions (Protocol I), Article 75(2d)
Transformation of Local Laws
- Hague Regulations IV, Article 43
US Security Council Resolutions
- Israel has violated 28 resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, which are legally binding on member nations
- UN Charter, Article 25, 54, 111, 233, 234, 236, 248, 250, 252, 256, 262, 267, 270, 280, 285, 298, 313, 316, 468, 476, etc
Separation Barrier Illegal
- International Court of Justice 2004 Advisory Opinion
Attacks on Nuclear Facilities
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations and international nuclear safety protocols
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICECSR).
