Natasha Hausdorff, barrister, international lawyer and Legal Director of UK Lawyers for Israel, a non-profit that counters antisemitism and anti-Israel initiatives using legal mechanisms, spoke to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News during her visit to Israel to participate in a special conference on countering antisemitism. Hausdorff commented on the weaponization of international law, saying that “unfortunately, this phenomenon has been developing for many decades. Israel has been targeted as the "Jew among nations," subjected to distortions, misrepresentations, and manipulations of international law. This is unfortunately an agenda of "lawfare," the abuse of legal institutions and terminology to attack Israel rather than uphold genuine international law.” Hausdorff continued to say that, “I believe we are still at the beginning of this process. Many are now aware of what’s happening at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but this has been building up for years. Much of it originates in legal academia and universities, where there has been a concerted effort to promote anti-Israel agendas, effectively rewriting the rule book of international law. This influences legal practice and ultimately what we see happening in international legal institutions.” “Unfortunately,” she says, “I expect things will get worse before they improve. However, I hope Western liberal democracies will soon realize that what starts with Israel doesn’t end with Israel. The weaponization of international law with respect to Israel is a threat to Western civilization as a whole. Related articles: Dozens gather outside London hotel to protest Qatari owners Sewage worker fired after calling Hamas 'disgusting terrorists' Supporters of the Iranian regime gather in central London British Chief Rabbi pulls out of antisemitism conference “The West does not understand this yet,” says Hausdorff, “even though there has been a significant shift. The current US administration has imposed significant sanctions on the ICC in The Hague. However, it’s troubling that member states of the ICC, like the UK, but which Israel and the US are not, are allowing the court to overstep its jurisdiction and violate its own rules, such as the rule of complementarity. This court was meant to complement existing domestic jurisdictions, not replace them. Moreover, something that Israel has pointed out, the recent arrest warrants issued by the ICC against Israeli leaders were based on a slew of false information.” Hausdorff continued to say that, “UK Lawyers for Israel conducted a review of the public summary issued by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan when he applied for arrest warrants against Mohammed Deif, Yoav Gallant and Benjamin Netanyahu. Every single phrase in that summary was entirely false. The main allegation that has been fabricated here is that of starvation. A separate famine review of the reports of the IPC committee found that predictions of starvation and famine in Gaza were entirely incorrect and implausible and based on partial information submitted by other UN bodies.” “What we did in relation to the public summary that was published by the prosecutor Karim Kahn was to demonstrate that every phrase of every sentence was false information through a very carefully footnoted analysis and review. Instead of acknowledging this and possibly reviewing the information that was put before the court, the response of the prosecutor was unfortunately to tell the pre-trial chamber to ignore any submissions on accuracy that did not come from the prosecutor’s office,” she explained. Hausdorff believes that it is difficult to know if this situation is driven by hatred, ignorance, or the fact that Israel is a sovereign state, because misinformation has been spread for so many years that many people genuinely believe what they are being told. I travel the world speaking to politicians, policy advisors and officials who frequently tell me they base their assessment of the war in Gaza on television reports. "But we have to be clear: major news outlets like the BBC, CNN, and MSNBC report from Gaza as Hamas’ mouthpieces. Nothing is broadcast from Gaza without Hamas’s approval, because Hamas controls Gaza. This means these broadcasters are putting out material without a warning that indicates that there is no free reporting coming out of Gaza, misinforming not only the public but also policy-makers, which then feeds into legal actions and international weaponization against Israel". Hausdorff admits that even after ten years in this field, she is often still shocked by the absurdity of some accusations, “Sometimes I am surprised. Recently, there was an outrageous claim that Israel was engaging in cannibalism against Palestinians. There was also an appalling UN report suggesting Israel was using sexual violence in Gaza. All of this is, unfortunately, projection of what has been perpetrated against Israelis. For example, in the 2000 Ramallah lynching of two Israeli reservists, attackers were reported to have eaten the livers of their victims. Now, the same kind of blood libel is being turned against Israel.” “We must not forget,” she says, “that Israel is a country of law and order, to the extent that if there is misconduct in the armed forces, these instances are investigated and are prosecuted if there are credible allegations. That is something that the international community seems to brush over. What we are witnessing in the international community are allegations of misconduct as a matter of national policy of the Israeli government are fabricated. They are untrue and they fall into that traditional blood libel against the Jewish People.” She continues to say that despite all, “There have been many successes. Beyond stopping BDS resolutions at local authorities or helping Jewish students on campuses, there have been countless successes on that front. One example is a recent reversal by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which initially demanded access to Nukhba terrorists as if they were prisoners of war. Legally, they are not entitled to such visits. After sustained legal arguments, the Red Cross finally acknowledged this position, a major shift in international law recognition.” Hausdorff is happy that she is making a change in people’s opinions. Many times I speak at public events and “I see it in people’s faces, that they have understood what I said. Many tell me afterward, “I’ve never heard this before. This changes everything for me. They leave questioning the narratives they’ve been taught and want to learn more. That is hugely significant.” Hausdorff adds that what keeps her going is, “first of all, a commitment to the rule of law. As a barrister I take my professional obligations very seriously, commitment to the rule of law and making sure that the law is properly applied and not abused. Second, the overwhelming support I receive from people worldwide who have taken enormous strength and encouragement from hearing the truth put out as widely and far as I’m able to. But also those who have written to say, “You’ve changed my mind.” And finally, the recognition that this is not just Israel’s fight. This weaponization of international law is a fight against western civilization.” For many decades we have had rule of law countries, like Israel, the UK and US, who view law as a restriction, a curtailment on government power, in comparison to the dictatorships of this world, who view law as a wielding power, and who have sought legal protections even for their terrorist proxies throughout the international framework. This is a war that is much broader than simply Israel’s, but, as ever, Israel is on the front lines fighting it on behalf of western civilizations. The more people that recognize that, the more will there is amongst the west to stand up and be counted, to push back against the abusive legal institutions in this fashion. This way, everyone will be better equipped to fight this war properly,” she concluded.
