On the surface the action by South Africa in forwarding the 84 page ‘Application’ document to the International Court of Justice, is simply to legally try the Jewish state of Israel on the basis of substantive evidence alleging crimes against humanity. Moreover, these crimes against humanity presented in the document, are on a scale commensurate with the internationally agreed Genocide Convention. However, in a very real social sense the issue on trial stretches far wider than the two litigants, South Africa and Israel. The whole post Second World War international system of elite-led nation states has been uniquely exposed publicly as either complicit or largely indifferent to the wholesale genocidal slaughter of other human beings. That is something the United Nations system solemnly swore would never happen again.

Already, in the forum of the United Nations Assembly, many countries elites have self-identified themselves as guilty of either complicity or indifference when they colluded with Israeli elites and refused to call for a cease fire. The ‘application‘ by South Africa to the ICJ means that these self-same elites will now be yet again socially on trial for how they conduct themselves in relationship to this courts proceedings. Will they submit or fail to submit relevant evidence to the case that their states undoubtedly hold? Will their parliaments discuss and publicise the courts evidence and findings or simply ignore them? How will parliamentary representatives in these countries respond to the case and to any future verdict for this too will reveal much. Those unbiased citizens globally who follow the case will be able to make their own judgement as to the continuing conduct of the elites of the US, UK and Europe. In a real sense, UN member states elites are individually and collectively still on trial.

Also on trial at a socio-political level will be the responses of those Jewish citizens of Israel and other countries, to one of the greatest genocidal purgings of a people since the Jews of Europe were genocidally purged in the 1930’s and 40’s. Since the defeat of Nazi Germany, most Jews have rightly urged the world to recognise their suffering at the hands of the Third Reich Nazis prior to and during the Second World War and to resolutely condemn Nazism and its form of racism and fascism. Most nations have actually done so and Holocaust studies are now part of many educational curriculums. Will the Jewish people now rightly urge the world to recognise the suffering of the Palestinians at the hands of the Zionist Jews of Israel and resolutely condemn Jewish racism and Zionism and urge Nakba based curriculum studies? The actions of the state of Israel have de-facto placed non-Israeli and non-Zionist Jews on trial socially speaking.

On trial in the socio-political sense of the term will also,be the political and media elites of all the countries who for decades have (or mostly have not) stongly condemned the Israeli elites for their unprecedented crimes against humanity. Many of them in the media for weeks after 7/12/23 just broadcast the Israeli narrative on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank until the images and carnage became so great they were reluctantly forced to tone down the anti Palestinian propaganda, but they still failed to point out the reports of Israeli crimes against humanity that were passing across their news desks. Will they now highlight or fudge the evidence presented to the ICJ? The same media have failed to report state orchestrated crimes against humanity against their own citizens and/or the citizens of other countries. In this sense the glare of heightened awareness and increased public exposure of elite orchestrated crimes by Israel and its supporters, should not be allowed to dazzle the eyes of humanity and turn our gaze away from all forms of crimes against, men, women and children who peacefully do not agree to or conform to the dictates of the elites in power within their own countries.

It is undoubtedly the case that the situation revealed by the outbreak of such cold, calculated genocidal violence by Israel against the rights of Palestinian civilians to live and the lack of support for decades over their right to exist as a people by US, UK and European state elites and again in 2023 and 2024, has resulted in a humanitarian crisis of the highest order. The results of this legal trial at the Hague and the social verdict actively expressed by ordinary people will determine to a greater or lesser extent, how all the future crises, economic, financial, ecological and political will be conducted. If the Israeli elite are allowed to get away with this level of violence against unarmed civilians in Palestine, and the elites of US, UK and Europe are allowed to get away with aiding and abetting Israel, then all elites will undoubtedly be further emboldened. Any future opposition from their own citizens who do not tamely submit to their elites intentions will then risk being met with unprecedented levels of violence.

Indeed, it should not be overlooked that the International Court of Justice itself is on trial. Its Judges, being elite human beings from various countries, are themselves not impervious to the direct and indirect influences which can be brought to bear upon them by other wealthy and powerful elites within their own countries and those  resident in other countries. Judges are nominated by elites, not elected by the masses and those with wealth and power can reward and punish elites as well as ordinary working people. This can occur by crude or subtle means to exert influence on their judgement in ways favourable to individual or collective elite ‘clubs’ or ‘cliques’ within hierarchical mass societies. Hints of Jobs, funds, honours, demotions, or even accidents, are routinely dangled or delivered to key personel more subtly than at at a UK Tory Conference, during many stages of professional elite careers, including the careers of judges.

In fact the more important the issue and the more wealthy and powerful the defendants, the more lobbying and deal making (open or covert) will be employed and there can be no more powerful defendants than those who are in control powerful nation states. We can be sure, therefore that no expense will be spared and as much hidden influence as possible will be brought to bear upon the individual ICJ judges in reaching their verdict at the International Court of Justice, in the Hague. In the case of the state of South Africa versus the state of Israel the stakes are among the highest possible for the elites of Israel and its elite club of nation state supporters. The judges of the ICJ are therefore individually and collectively on trial to see how well – in the face of the overwhelming evidence produced by South Africa – they will resist any dangled temptations or any threatened future difficulties they may have to encounter.

To return to a point made earlier. In a sense all of us human beings are (socially speaking) now on trial for how we respond to this 21st century public revelation of unsurpassed brutality. One section of elite humanity (Israel) has harnessed its own weapons of mass destruction and those of its supporters to systematically annihilate another section of humanity (in Gaza and West Bank). The mixture of support for genocide by elites and indifference among large sections of national populations who prefer pursuing pleasure and profit, rather than protestesting over the mass killing of civilian men, women and children, much like ourselves, cannot be anything other than deeply troubling. It appears that without global, mass movements of humanitarian-based concern, any section of humanity – including our own – can be eliminated by rogue elites in charge of states, while elsewhere – the band plays on – whether the rest of humanity choose to dance to that particular tune or not.

Likewise, the scientific revelation of the unsurpassed brutality of the elite system of profit- based fossil-fuel production upon the land and water based plants, insects and animals making up the planets billion year old eco-system balance is not sparking an overwhelming response against it either. The mixture of support for fossil fuel burning and indifference to ending it by large sections of national populations who prefer fuel-burning pleasure and profit to preventing further extinctions, is similarly deeply troubling. Yet the intersection of these two great threats to the future of humanity; accumulating climate change and calculated genocide; are both self-inflicted problems created by a species of life on earth which considers itself both intelligent and wise. Whilst in the 21st century we humans in a sense are all individually and collectively on trial, the question of our individual and collective wisdom is far from satisfactorily proven.

Roy Ratcliffe (January 2024.)