South African Jews Say Their Government ‘Forever Tainted’ After World Court Orders Israel to Halt Rafah Operation

South Africa’s Jewish community on Friday lambasted their government as “forever tainted” for getting the top United Nations court to order Israel to halt its military operations against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court earlier on Friday ruled that Israel “shall … immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

The emergency ruling was part of South Africa’s ongoing case at the ICJ accusing Israel of committing “state-led genocide” in its defensive war against Hamas in Gaza. South Africa’s lawyers asked the ICJ last week to impose emergency measures, arguing Israel’s operations in Rafah must be stopped to ensure the survival of the Palestinians.

In response to Friday’s ruling, the South African Jewish community castigated both the ICJ decision and the conduct of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) in a statement shared with The Algemeiner.

“South Africa could have done so much more to prevent loss of life from the outset, by using its relationship with Hamas and its history of engagement and dialogue, as a way to resolve conflict rather than these ongoing legal challenges,” said Wendy Kahn, national director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD). “South Africa could have done so on the 8th of October, with the potential of thousands of lives being saved.”

Hamas terrorists started the ongoing war with their invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, when they murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped over 250 others as hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas’ ability to threaten the Israeli people from neighboring Gaza, which the terrorist group rules.

The SAJBD decried the loss of life in the war and argued peace needs to be made through political negotiations rather than legal institutions.

“This is especially when the ICJ has no jurisdiction over the brutal terror organization Hamas,” Kahn added, arguing the South African government is “using a legal remedy for something that requires political solutions.” She also cited a quote by Andre Thomashausen, an expert on international law who said that South Africa “has not saved one life” with all its legal cases against Israel.

The SAJBD also directed its ire at the South African government for targeting Israel while ignoring the crimes of Hamas.

“In its many damning statements, interviews, and speeches the ANC Government has made against Israel, they have not once commented on the bodies of hostages that they have found in Gaza including three in Rafah in the past week,” Kahn said. “Neither have they acknowledged or condemned Hamas footage also found in Rafah this week, showing sexual threats by Hamas against young Israeli women captives. This shows the cavalier attitude that the ANC government has regarding sexual assault of Jewish women and the murder of Jews.”

She added, “South Africa has forever tainted itself in its a willingness to overlook the horrendous crimes of Hamas impugning its reputation as honest peace broker.”

Mounting evidence has documented Hamas’ systematic use of torture and sexual violence, including mass rape, against the Israeli people during the Oct. 7 onslaught. Women who have been released from Hamas captivity have also said they experienced sexual assault and other forms of torture in Gaza.

Nonetheless, South Africa has been pursuing its case at the ICJ targeting Israel with accusations of genocide.

In January, the ICJ ruled there was “plausibility” to South Africa’s claims that Palestinians had a right to be protected from genocide. However, the top UN court did not make a determination on the merits of South Africa’s allegations — which Israel and its allies have described as baseless and may take years to get through the judicial process. Israeli officials have strongly condemned the ICJ proceedings, noting that the Jewish state is targeting terrorists who use civilians as human shields in its military campaign.

Pro-Israel advocates welcomed the ICJ ruling because it did not impose a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza and called for the release of the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. Rather than declare that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza and order the Jewish state to stop its military campaign in the Palestinian enclave, the court issued a more general directive that Israel must make sure it prevents acts of genocide.

Since then, South Africa has asked the world court at The Hague to order further steps against Israel, most recently its request regarding the Rafah operation.

South Africa celebrated the ICJ’s ruling on Friday.

“South Africa welcomes the ruling made by the court today … This order is ground-breaking as it is the first time that explicit mention is made for Israel to halt its military action in any area of Gaza,” Zane Dangor, director-general of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said in a video clip shared by the department. “This is de facto calling for a ceasefire. It is ordering the major party in this conflict to end its belligerent action against the people of Palestine.”

Several governments have sought to pressure Israel to forgo a significant military operation in Rafah, citing the potential for civilian casualties; Jerusalem has countered that a ground offensive is necessary to eliminate Hamas’ remaining battalions in the southern Gaza city and destroy its terrorist infrastructure.

Experts have told The Algemeiner that Israel must operate in Rafah, which Israeli officials have described as Hamas’ last bastion in Gaza, if the Jewish state wishes to achieve its war objective of eliminating the threat posed by the Palestinian terrorist group.

South Africa’s ANC government has been one of the harshest critics of Israel since Oct. 7.

South Africa temporarily withdrew its diplomats from Israel and shuttered its embassy in Tel Aviv shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom, saying that the Pretoria government was “extremely concerned at the continued killing of children and innocent civilians” in Gaza.

In December, South Africa hosted two Hamas officials who attended a government-sponsored conference in solidarity with the Palestinians. One of the officials had been sanctioned by the US government for his role with the terrorist organization.

Earlier this month, members of South Africa’s Jewish community protested Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor’s recent call for students and university leaders to intensify the anti-Israel demonstrations that have engulfed college campuses across the US.

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