[ "This is the true patriotism—no revenge wars and calls for
extermination, no unnecessary bloodshed, and no sacrifice of kidnapped
citizens and soldiers in false wars," said KM Ofer Cassif.]
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TO DEFEND ISRAEL AS ‘MORAL SOCIETY,’ KNESSET MEMBER BACKS SOUTH
AFRICA’S ICJ GENOCIDE CASE  
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Jon Queally
January 8, 2024
Common Dreams
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_ "This is the true patriotism—no revenge wars and calls for
extermination, no unnecessary bloodshed, and no sacrifice of kidnapped
citizens and soldiers in false wars," said KM Ofer Cassif. _

Ofer Cassif, a Jewish member of the predominantly Arab Joint List
electoral alliance., Atef Safadi/EPA

 

Member of the Knesset Ofer Cassif is being targeted for removal from
the legislative body Monday a day after the Israeli lawmaker said he
would back South Africa's genocide case at the International Court of
Justice.

In his Sunday statement, Cassif declared, "My constitutional duty is
to Israeli society and all its residents, not to a government whose
members and its coalition are calling for ethnic cleansing and even
actual genocide."

Cassif, the sole Jewish representative in the predominantly Arab
Hadash-Ta’al Party, said it was right-wing lawmakers and top
officials in the Netanyahu government backing the relentless assault
on Gaza "who hurt the country and the people, they are the ones who
led South Africa to turn to The Hague, not me and my friends."

"And when the government acts against society, the state and its
citizens, especially when it sacrifices them and commits crimes in
their name on the altar of maintaining its existence," he continued,
"it is my right and even my duty to warn about this and do everything
I can within the law to stop it."

"I will not give up the fight for our existence as a moral society,"
the statement concluded. "This is the true patriotism—no revenge
wars and calls for extermination, no unnecessary bloodshed, and no
sacrifice of kidnapped citizens and soldiers in false wars."

In response on Monday, MK Oded Forer, of the Yisrael Beytenu party,
was among those calling for Cassif's ouster from the Knesset or even
his expulsion from the country.

"MK Cassif, who in the past was declared unfit to run for the Knesset
due to a petition that I submitted to the Central Elections Committee,
chose, during wartime, to join one of the most destructive initiatives
for the State of Israel's security, thus supporting Hamas' war against
Israel," Forer said [[link removed]].
In order to begin the removal process, Forer said he has begun to
collect the necessary 70 signatures from members.

"He must quickly find himself outside the borders of the Knesset,"
Forer added, "and it would be best if he were also outside the borders
of the State of Israel."

Those opposed to the ongoing slaughter of civilians in Gaza, however,
championed Cassif's decision and public comments.

"Bravo!" exclaimed
[[link removed]] Huwaid
Arraf, a Palestinian-American human rights attorney and co-founder of
the International Solidarity Movement. "In light of the rabid,
genocidal fervor dominating Israeli society, this is a very brave move
by Israeli MK Ofer Cassif. But it is 100% the right move. I hope to
see some of his colleagues step up to join him."

On Friday, Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations, said
is now time—three months since the "horrific attacks of October 7"
by Hamas—for the fighting to end.

"Gaza has simply become uninhabitable," Griffiths said. "Its people
are witnessing daily threats to their very existence–while the world
watches on."

In its lawsuit at the ICJ, South Africa has asked for a preliminary
inquiry followed by an injunction to stop Israel's attack on the
people of the Gaza Strip, which human rights scholars have said
amounts to genocide.

The ICJ suit says measures by the international court are "necessary
in this case to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm
to the rights of the Palestinian people."

In a speech last week on the floor of the Knesset, Cassif pleaded for
an end to the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza by Israel.

"The absolute majority of Gaza's residents are innocent," he said, as
the death toll in the besieged territory surpassed 22,000 people over
three months of aerial bombardment, shelling, and ground incursions by
Israeli forces.

"Lies will not help and demonization will not help," he said. "The
vast majority of Gaza's residents, as everywhere in the world, are
innocent people who all want to live a normal life."

_Jon Queally is managing editor of Common Dreams._

* Israel-Gaza War
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* Israeli Knesset
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* Jewish peace movement
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