By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
THE HAGUE (AA) – Jews opposing Israel's military offensive in Palestine "appreciate South Africa for its brave stance," a Rabbi said on Thursday amid the Gaza case at the International Court of Justice.
A rally was organized Thursday in the Netherlands' Hague, where the ICJ is located.
Rabbi Dovid Feldman, member of the "Neturei Karta International," an orthodox religious Jewish organization worldwide, denounced "months of genocide, mass murder of masses of innocent men, women, and children" in Gaza.
"This is unacceptable. This is unacceptable for the world," the Rabbi stressed, and added that the Jewish people were "deeply embarrassed when all of this is being done supposedly in our name."
Their religion was misused to justify the crimes, Feldman added, and expressed his appreciation of "South Africa for its brave stance, of standing up and holding Israel accountable for all that is going on."
Cease-fire alone is not enough, and the blockade of Gaza must be totally lifted, and way beyond that, the occupation of Palestine must come to an end, according to the Rabbi.
"People are suffering in Palestine already for decades. Unfortunately, we are witnessing an endless cycle of bloodshed when everyone suffers. It's the Palestinian people suffering; it's the Jewish people involved in all of this. This is not Judaism; this is not the Jewish religion," Rabbi Dovid Feldman slammed, stressing that "according to Judaism, all of this is forbidden."
He recalled that a sovereign homeland for Jews was "totally forbidden according to the basics of Judaism."
Feldman, in this context, also denounced the "oppression of an entire people" as "criminal according to Jewish law."
"Palestine deserves freedom, and the Jewish people deserve the peace that did exist in Palestine before this whole occupation started, 100 years ago, before this invented Zionism," the Rabbi added.
Public hearings in the genocide case against Israel began on Thursday at ICJ in The Hague.
On the first day of the trial, South Africa will be presenting hard evidence in the case it filed on Dec. 29, accusing Israel of genocide and violation of the UN Genocide Convention with its actions in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.
The South African side is requesting an injunction by the top UN court to halt Israel's military assault on Gaza, which has dragged on for more than three months, with the death toll rising to over 23,300.
The 84-page filing by South Africa accuses Israel of acts and omissions "genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent … to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group."
*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara