Yonatan Shapira is an ex-captain and pilot in the Israeli Air Force. In 2003, he helped coordinate the circulation of a letter that was signed by 27 Israeli Air Force pilots expressing their refusal to engage in Israeli military actions targeting Palestinians. Additionally, Shapira has endorsed the domestic Israeli movement supporting Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions [...]
Search Results for: holocaust
Confronting Blind Spots: A Call for Constructive Dialogue on Israel's Response to Hamas
Constructive dialogue over complex issues seems increasingly difficult to find in these extremely polarizing times. For the Jewish community of which I am a part, the highly valued idea of any such “makhloket l’sheim shamayim” — the Talmudic notion of an argument for the sake of heaven — seems all the more elusive when attempting [...]
Yonatan Shapira is an ex-captain and pilot in the Israeli Air Force. In 2003, he helped coordinate the circulation of a letter that was signed by 27 Israeli Air Force pilots expressing their refusal to engage in Israeli military actions targeting Palestinians. Additionally, Shapira has endorsed the domestic Israeli movement supporting Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions [...]
US authorities arrest Rwanda national accused of scheme to conceal involvement in 1994 genocide
The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced the arrest of Eric Tabaro Nshimiye on Thursday for an alleged scheme to cover up his involvement in the 1994 Rwanda genocide to obtain asylum and citizenship in the US. US authorities assert that Nshimiye participated in a “three-decade scheme to conceal his alleged involvement [...]
The Cost of Revenge: A Cantor's Critique of Israel's Response to Hamas
In the wake of the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, many of Israel’s supporters, myself included, have succumbed to the understandable impulse for violent retribution. Israel is a land that I love, both culturally as a Jew — and third-generation Holocaust survivor — and spiritually as an ordained cantor. It follows that [...]
Donald Trump's Immunity Argument From the Standpoint of International Law
The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes a crime under international law acted as Head of State or responsible Government official does not relieve him from responsibility under international law Principles of International Law Recognized in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal (1950) (Principle [...]
Explainer Part II: The Israel-Hamas War and the International Court of Justice
The ongoing conflict engulfing Israel and Palestine continues to raise significant issues of international law and policy. My earlier contribution focused on the jurisdiction and substantive law of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Here I address the ongoing litigation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court). Because the crime of genocide can be [...]
Belgium court sentences prominent far-right activist Dries Van Langenhove to prison
Dries Van Langenhove, leader of the Belgian far-right movement Schild & Vrienden, was sentenced on Tuesday to one year in prison and fined €24,000 ($26, 249 ). The Ghent Correctional Court issued its verdict in the case against Van Langenhove and six other defendants who were all charged with violations of racism and negationism laws, including Holocaust [...]
Rethinking 'An Eye for an Eye': A Journey Towards Death Penalty Abolition
At its core, the death penalty feeds one of the basest desires known to humankind: the craving for revenge. The 3,200+ members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” — a group I co-founded — along with millions of other death penalty abolitionists across the world have demonstrated time and again in recent years how [...]
Nicaragua seeks to intervene in South Africa genocide case against Israel pending before ICJ
Nicaragua formally requested permission to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Nicaragua argued that the country has “an interest of a legal nature which may be affected by the decision in the case.” It is unclear whether or not [...]