In tandem with South Africa’s suit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) charging Israel with violations of the Genocide Convention, is the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) suit filed on Nov. 13, 2023, which alleges that U.S. President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have failed to “exercise their influence over Israel to prevent genocide,” and that such failure constitutes their “complicity in genocide.” It also seeks an “emergency court order to halt U.S. military and diplomatic support for Israel’s assault.” On Jan. 26, 2024, two weeks after the Jan. 11-12 South Africa ICJ hearing, the IJC will hear the case against Biden et al.
The CCR suit in the U.S. District Court for Northern District of California was filed on behalf of Defense for Children International-Palestine; human rights group Al-Haq; Palestinians who live in Gaza, and U.S. Palestinians whose families live in Gaza, naming as defendants Biden, Blinken and Austin in their official capacities. The U.S. government is a signatory to the Genocide Convention, and therefore as officials acting on behalf of the U.S.A., the officials have a personal obligation to prevent genocide.
Despite U.S. State Department officials declaring that there’s no genocide happening in Israel (see Jan. 5 briefing), the world sees otherwise. For example, two days ago on Jan. 3, an amicus curiae brief was filed in the CCR case by “seventy-seven legal and grassroots non-governmental organizations based across the world—from Buffalo to Bahrain, from Ireland to Indonesia,” a CCR press release reports. In addition, four other amici briefs were filed: One by medical professionals, one by Palestinian journalists, one by four leading grassroots organizations representing Muslims and Arab Americans, and lastly by the organization, Jewish Voice for Peace.
