Podcasts

On January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its ruling on South Africa’s charges against the State of Israel regarding ”genocidal acts” in Gaza after the events of October 7. Even though the Court did not order an immediate ceasefire, its ruling did provide support for other international calls for trade sanctions and arms boycotts against Israel. At a time in which truth and facts are undermined and disregarded, how can Israel maintain a positive image in the international arena? What are the effects of the ICJ decision on the ground? What exactly are the provisional measures against Israel that were ordered, and how do they influence the continuation of the war? What is expected in the following months, and what can Israel do to contain the damage? In today’s podcast, INSS researcher Adi Kantor sits down with Amb. Arthur Lenk, formerly Israeli ambassador to South Africa (2013–2017), ambassador to Azerbaijan (2005-2009), and director of the Department of International Law at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2010-2013), and Col. (res.) Adv. Pnina Sharvit Baruch, senior researcher and head of the Law and National Security Program at INSS. Together they discuss the current legal campaign against Israel in the international community.

Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to the Quartet, spoke with Dr. Michal Hatuel-Radoshitzky about the Israel-UN relationship. May 2019 marks seventy years since Israel acquired state membership status in the UN. In the decades that have elapsed, the UN has grown from 59 to 193 member states. Does this mean the UN is more powerful now than it was when Israel first joined? What is the UN’s role vis-à-vis the Israeli-Palestinian deadlock, and what can be said about the bias toward Israel in certain UN bodies? Other topics of discussion included the UN as an international organization in the current world order; the UN’s work in Israel and the region; and recent developments, including the escalation between Israel and Hamas and President Trump’s proposed peace plan.

On the heels of the UN General Assembly, where U.S. President Trump asserted in his speech that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has “no jurisdiction, no legitimacy and no authority”, Dr. Michal Hatuel-Radoshitzky and Col. (Res.) Adv. Pnina Sharvit Baruch discuss changing perceptions with respect to international organizations and global governance – and how this affects Israel. What is a preliminary examination in the ICC and how does the examination against Israel affect it? Why is the U.S. concerned with the ICC – and does Israel share these concerns? And how is an advisory opinion issued by a different body: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) related to the BDS campaign against Israel? Michal and Pnina discuss these and other related questions – and their relevance to Israel’s current standing in the global arena