‘A reward to Hamas’: Israeli legal expert on the ICJ’s latest ruling

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Arsen Ostrovsky has spent his life moving. Born in Odesa, Ukraine, his family fled the Soviet Union when he was seven for Sydney, Australia, where he spent his formative years growing up and going to school. In 2012, he moved to Israel and built his life in the bustling metropolis of Tel Aviv.

Since making aliyah, a Hebrew term referring to Jews immigrating to Israel, Ostrovsky established himself as a prominent advocate for the Jewish State, becoming a regular commentator on international law, human rights and national security.

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A year into the pandemic, Ostrovsky became the chief executive of the International Legal Forum (ILF), a pro-Israel network of four thousand lawyers across the globe that’s aimed at combating antisemitism. He rose to public prominence since the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, when Ostrovsky used his social media accounts to document what life in the Jewish State is like following the terrorist attack.

Ostrovsky visited Toronto in as part of a North American tour that will bring him to Ottawa and Washington, D.C., in the coming days to speak about the weaponization of legal bodies. He plans to meet with Jewish communities, lawmakers, and members of civil society advocating for the release of Israeli hostages and warning against the weaponization of international law against Israel, a phenomenon known as “lawfare.” Ostrovsky’s visit coincided with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on July 19 that Israeli communities in politically disputed territories are violating international law.

National Post spoke to Ostrovsky about his work as an international human rights lawyer, ILF’s mission and the politicization of international legal bodies. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

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What is your reaction to the recent ICJ ruling? How significant is it?

Today’s opinion is so absurd, it quite frankly beggars belief.

The court’s opinion, which will only serve as a reward to Hamas over the October 7 massacre, is yet another utterly baseless and politically motivated decision of the court, masquerading as a legal opinion, that will only further erode the ICJ’s credibility and place it squarely as a tool of Palestinian lawfare.

Furthermore, albeit non-binding, this opinion, delivered by the Hezbollah-controlled Lebanese presiding judge, with a pre-existing deep-seated history of anti-Israel bias, is rooted in historical revision and denial of the Jewish people, their inalienable connection to their holy sites, including Jerusalem.

It will also only push peace further away, by removing any incentive for the Palestinian Authority to negotiate, and pour more fuel on worldwide antisemitism.

Every democracy, including Canada, that cares about the international legal framework, rule of law and advancing peace in the Middle East, should unequivocally reject this utterly baseless opinion of the International Court of Justice.

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What is the International Legal Forum? When was it created, and what role has it taken since October 7?

The International Legal Forum is an Israeli-based NGO and global coalition of lawyers, including in Canada, which has been at the forefront of the legal fight for Israel and the Jewish people since October 7.

We believe it is imperative that we use the full force of the law to hold not only the perpetrators, Hamas, accountable, but all those who aid, abet, support and fund them.

Together with our partners in the United States, for example, we have filed a number of groundbreaking lawsuits on behalf of October 7 victims, against groups accused of supporting Hamas, such as UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a leading cryptocurrency company and, most recently, a purported charitable organization that employed one of the so-called ‘journalists’ who held captive Israeli hostages, who were rescued in the most recent operation.

We also filed one of the first war crimes claims against Hamas, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Iran after October 7, and have appeared before parliaments around the world, including in the United States and Europe, making the case for Israel. In addition, we have also been very active speaking out against the baseless and politically charged proceedings against Israel over accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the outrageous attempt by the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.

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And we have been tremendously proud to work with partners in Canada to raise awareness about these issues, to support all attempts to advocate for the release of the hostages, and to assist in the community’s on-going and relentless fight against the explosive surge in antisemitism.

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How has your life changed since October 7, personally and also professionally? Did you anticipate becoming one of the leading Jewish voices in the world?

My life, as well as the lives of every Israeli, changed profoundly since October 7.

On a professional level, although we were already very much involved in combating antisemitism and supporting Israel in the international legal arena before October 7, the explosion of such vicious Jew-hatred around the world and the weaponization of international law against Israel after October 7, has been unabated and unprecedented, and, quite frankly, truly shocking.

I stood in the Valley of Death – Kibbutz Be’eri – under the pounding of rockets just days after Oct. 7. That unmistakable stench of death, the gun residue and blood still flowing, haunts me to this day.

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I saw things I will never unsee.

Never in a million years did I imagine that in the wake of the single greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, that I would have to defend the Jewish state’s right to self-defence, or call out this kind of grotesque and unconscionable perversion of the law against us. It was simply unfathomable, but that is the reality we are facing today.

On a personal level, in addition to being a human rights lawyer, I am also a husband and father of young daughters during wartime. There were occasions early on in the war, I would be fielding calls from major news channels while still with my kids in the bomb shelter. During my daughter’s recent birthday, I asked her what she wished for when she blew out the candles. Instead of saying a new toy or holiday like most children her age, she simply said, “I want the hostages and soldiers to come back.”

Albeit I am incredibly proud of her, this is also not normal. So, in addition to fighting for Israel on the international stage and to bring back our hostages, I am also speaking out because I deeply care about the kind of future we want for our children. We cannot afford to be silent or sit on the sidelines. All those who support Israel and believe in the virtues of truth, justice and the rule of law, must speak out.

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What would you like Canadians to understand about the situation in Israel?

First and foremost, we need to keep advocating for the release of the hostages. Whilst the world has sought to move on from October 7, we cannot, until every last hostage returns home.

Although it was the Jewish state that was mercilessly attacked on Oct. 7, we also need to underscore that this is not only a war between Israel and Hamas, but between good and evil, between those who believe in freedom and those who are barbarians, those who live by the norms of humanity and those who have no humanity.

It should, therefore, be only natural that an ally and democratic partner of Israel, like Canada, which cares deeply about the rule of law and pursuing peace, be unwavering in their support for Israel following the horrors of October 7 and speaking out against the systematic undermining of the international rule-based order with baseless and highly politicized legal proceedings against Israel.

Regrettably, however, such support has not always been forthcoming from this (Trudeau) government. Now is the time for principled leadership and support, not equivocation or fair-weather friends. Israel is the frontier of the West in the fight against tyranny and terror. We must also remember that at least eight Canadian nationals were murdered or taken captive by Hamas.

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And just lastly, I would also underscore that we are not oblivious to the plight of the Canadian Jewish community, which is facing an unprecedented surge in violence and antisemitism. Just as Canadian Jewry was unflinching in standing with Israel after October 7, so do we stand with the Jewish community today.

Why should we care about rulings from the ICJ or ICC? How can these institutions, and their rulings, impact the lives of Israelis and Jews?

When international courts, like the ICJ and ICC, shred their commitment to independence and the rule of law, instead becoming politicized bodies and agents of Palestinian lawfare, that undermines the entire international legal order and severely curtails every democracy’s fight against terrorism, by exposing them to spurious and unfounded charges, based purely on political considerations.

Furthermore, such decisions, which will only pour more fuel on worldwide antisemitism, can also have a very real impact on Israelis subject to these orders and unfounded accusations by labelling them “war criminals” for living in their ancestral homeland, restricting their ability to travel or conduct banking, or denying Canadians the right to support charitable causes in Israel or invest in business opportunities.

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