President of ICJ Nawaf Salam Really Really Hates Israel

The International Court of Justice, with Nawaf Salam as its President, on July 19 issued a fierce condemnation of Israel for continuing to “occupy” the West Bank which, the ICJ concluded, was “a violation of international law.” Nawaf Salam, who was the Lebanese ambassador to the UN for more than a decade, is widely understood to be anti-Israel, but until the latest report from Hillel Neuer at UN Watch, the depth of his hostility was not clearly understood. More on what the indefatigable Neuer discovered about Salam can be found here: “Report: Head of World Court Condemned Israel 210 Times as Lebanon’s UN Rep, Sided With Regimes in Iran, Syria, Belarus, Cuba,” UN Watch, July 18, 2024:

GENEVA, July 18, 2024 — The president of the International Court of Justice, which is tomorrow releasing an opinion in another politically-motivated case targeting Israel, voted 210 times to condemn the Jewish state when he served as Lebanon’s UN ambassador, and delivered inflammatory speeches accusing “terrorist Jewish organizations” of committing “organized massacres,” according to a new report by the non-governmental organization UN Watch. CLICK FOR VIDEO

On Friday at 15:00 in The Hague, the ICJ will release an advisory opinion that is expected to conclude that Israel occupies the West Bank in violation of international law. The opinion was requested by a Palestinian-sponsored resolution of the UN General Assembly.

But according to the new report by UN Watch, the head of the court has a long record of anti-Israel votes and statements.

Under the clear rules of the ICJ Charter, he is legally disqualified from sitting in judgment on the two cases related to Israel, said Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based organization.

Nawaf Salam was elected president of the ICJ in February 2024. He first joined the court as a judge in February 2018, following his 11-year tenure as Lebanon’s ambassador to the UN.

Today’s report by UN Watch, an independent monitoring organization based in Geneva,  analyzed Salam’s record as Lebanese envoy from 2007 to 2017, and found compelling evidence — based on hundreds of UN votes, speeches and other statements — showing that he is not a fair and impartial arbiter of justice on issues related to Israel or human rights.

Key findings on Nawaf Salam’s bias against Israel:

• During his time as Lebanon’s representative to the UN, Salam voted to condemn Israel 210 times.
• These resolutions contained one-sided denunciations of Israel, and gave a free pass to Hamas. For example, in December 2008, Salam voted for a resolution that accused Israel of “acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction” against Palestinians, yet made no mention of Hamas or Islamic Jihad.
• Another resolution that Nawaf supported, in 2017, accused Israel of “systematic violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people,” and “causing death and injury to Palestinian civilians, including children, women and non-violent, peaceful demonstrators.”
• In his speeches to the UN, Salam also made many inflammatory statements that demonstrate extreme bias against Israel. In January 2008, Salam accused “terrorist Jewish organizations” of committing “massacres.” He also said that Gaza was an “open air prison.” CLICK FOR VIDEO
• In a November 2008 UN speech, Salam said the “supreme Zionist leadership” pursued a plan of “ethnic cleansing” through “terrorism and organized massacres.”
• In November 2009, Salam told the UN General Assembly that “for too long [Israel’s] war criminals have benefited from impunity”; and Israel was guilty of “flagrant disrespect for international law.” CLICK FOR VIDEO
• In 2011, he accused Israel of “illegitimate actions.”
• On June 13, 2014, Salam accused Israel of “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes.” CLICK FOR VIDEO
• On June 18, 2014, Salam opposed the candidacy of Israel to the vice-presidency of the General Assembly’s Fourth Committee, on the grounds that it is “the most condemned country” at the General Assembly and that it continues to “violate the rules of the international community.” Salam said that Israel was not eligible for election “to any office” at the UN.
• On numerous occasions, including November 2016, Salam has accused Israel of “apartheid.” CLICK FOR VIDEO
• Salam has also repeatedly attacked Israel on social media. In 2015, on Twitter he called Israel a “Triumph of blatant racist & colonialist choices.”
• In 2016, in reference to the 2006 war launched by Hezbollah, Salam accused Israel of using “the most vicious & disgusting weapons of all times.” He never once condemned Hezbollah for launching the war, or for attacking Israeli civilians with thousands of rockets. On the contrary, Salam inverted the cause of the war, writing falsely that it was Israel that “launched a 33 day war against my country…”…

Salam’s deep-dyed animus – no, obsessive hatred — of Israel, as set out in such overwhelming detail by Hillel Neuer, ought to disqualify him from sitting in judgment on anything having to do with the Jewish state. That he does not recuse himself, and that apparently his fellow judges on the ICJ cannot make him do so, is maddening. Whatever judgements the ICJ now makes on Israel ought to be dismissed with scorn by all those who have retained their moral sense, a group that becomes smaller, alas, with every passing day.