In separate ICJ opinion, Aharon Barak says ‘genocide more than just a word for me’

Retired Supreme Court chief justice Aharon Barak, serving as the Israeli representative at the International Court of Justice, issues a separate opinion after the court’s ruling in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.

Along with Uganda’s Julia Sebutinde, Barak was one of only two judges to oppose the court’s chief claim that Israeli actions in the war against Hamas may violate the Genocide Convention and in turn order Israel to ensure they do not.

Barak voted in favor of two measures included in the decision: Requiring Israel to do everything “within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip,” and ordering “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

In his separate opinion, Barak criticizes South Africa for focusing on Israel instead of Hamas for carrying out the October 7 terror onslaught that sparked the war in Gaza, saying it “wrongly sought to impute the crime of Cain to Abel.”

He also notes his own experience as a Holocaust survivor.

“Genocide is more than just a word for me; it represents calculated destruction and human behavior at its very worst,” Barak writes. “It is the gravest possible accusation and is deeply intertwined with my personal life experience.”

Additionally, Barak touts Israel’s commitment to adhering to international law during military operations and says the court should use international humanitarian law when assessing the war in Gaza, not the genocide convention.