WASHINGTON (TNND) — A petition signed by notable Jewish entertainers and former Israeli officers is calling on the United Nations to hold Israel accountable for its “unconscionable” actions during the Gaza War, suggesting that the Jewish state be sanctioned and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be handed over to the International Criminal Court.
The letter was signed by famous Jewish figures including actor Wallace Shawn, Pulitzer prize winner Benjamin Moser, former speaker of the Israeli Knesset Avraham Burg, former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy, British author Michael Rosen, Canadian author Naomi Klein, and Emmy winners Ilana Glazer and Hannah Einbinder.
Addressed to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the letter states it took international pressure to secure the “fragile” ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“This same pressure must be continued to deliver a new era of peace and justice for all—Palestinians and Israelis alike,” the letter, which included over 450 signatures, stated.
The signatories called for the ceasefire to bring “an end of occupation and apartheid” in Israel, arguing that in its current form the agreement “makes no reference to the West Bank, the underlying conditions of occupation, apartheid, and the denial of Palestinian rights remain unaddressed.”
“As Jews and as human beings, we declare: Not in our name. Not in the name of our heritage, our faith, or our moral tradition. The monumental scale of the killing and destruction, the forced displacement, the deliberate withholding of life-sustaining necessities, and the ongoing criminal actions in the West Bank must end and never be repeated,” the letter stated.
The letter called on the United Nations to “abide by the decisions of the International Court of Justice” as well as to apply the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
“We affirm our belief in the universality of justice and the fair and equal application of international law,” the letter stated. “We have not forgotten that so many of the laws, charters, and conventions established to safeguard and protect all human life were created in response to the Holocaust. Those safeguards have been relentlessly violated by Israel. Accountability for the Israeli leadership’s grievous violations of international law is necessary. It is time to do everything possible to definitively end the Israeli government’s collective punishment of the Palestinians and to pursue peace for the sake of both peoples.”
Signatories called on the United Nations to not be complicit in “violations of international law against Palestinians by Israel,” suggesting that Israel should be subjected to sanctions. The petition also insisted that people in Gaza are able to gain access to humanitarian aid, and to refute “false accusations of antisemitism” made to discredit criticism of Israel.
“Our solidarity with Palestinians is not a betrayal of Judaism, then, but a fulfillment of it,” the signatories wrote.
The petition’s circulation comes as European Unions leaders agreed to pause sanctions on Israel since the ceasefire agreement was reached on October 10. Meanwhile, U.S. negotiators have determined that Israel did not commit genocide during the war.