Israel chooses judge for Holocaust survivors in genocide case, which comes as a surprise to some

As Israel prepares this week to face charges at the International Court of Justice that it committed genocide in the Gaza war, it has appointed one of the country’s most prominent lawyers as an ad hoc judge who will sit on the bench on behalf of Israel.

The choice of Aharon Barak, a retired Israeli Supreme Court president who fled Nazi-occupied Lithuania as a boy, was immediately praised by many Israelis after it was announced Sunday — and greeted with surprise and even criticism by others.

While Mr. Barak, 87, is an internationally respected legal authority, he has also been at the center of a deeply polarizing domestic legal furore over the past year. He has been outspoken in his opposition to the right-wing government’s plan for an overhaul of the judiciary, which aims to limit the court’s powers. Mr. Barak, who had long been a symbol of judicial overreach for those seeking to rein in the court, encouraged nationwide protests against the plan.

Simcha Rothman, a right-wing Israeli lawmaker and a driving force behind judicial reform efforts, responded curtly to the appointment in a social media post, saying, “My thunderous silence.”

The International Court of Justice in The Hague, the highest legal body of the United Nations, hears disputes between states. To hear the Gaza case brought by South Africa, the regular panel of 15 judges will be expanded to 17, with one additional judge appointed by each side.

Both South Africa and Israel signed the 1948 Genocide Convention, and South Africa accuses Israel of violating that agreement. South Africa last month accused Israel of trying to “destroy Palestinians in Gaza” as it bombards the enclave in retaliation for the October 7 attacks on Israel led by Hamas.

The Israeli government has dismissed South Africa’s accusations as a “blood libel” without any factual or legal basis, and has described the case as a “despicable and contemptuous exploitation” of the court.

The first hearings will take place on Thursday and Friday. As an emergency measure, South Africa calls for an immediate halt to the Israeli offensive. But final court rulings can take years.

Mr. Barak’s appointment to handle a genocide case has particular resonance because he is a Holocaust survivor. Born in Lithuania in 1936, he was smuggled in a sack as a boy from the ghetto of his Nazi-occupied hometown of Kovno, now called Kaunas. He emigrated with his parents to Palestine in 1947, the year before the founding of Israel.

After serving as Israel’s attorney general and negotiator in the Camp David peace talks with Egypt in 1978, Mr. Barak was appointed to the Israeli Supreme Court, where he would remain president until his retirement in 2006.

Many of his legal decisions, especially those related to terrorism and security, were widely regarded by analysts as groundbreaking and crucial to the international prestige bestowed on Israel’s Supreme Court. An example of this was a ruling he presided over as chief justice in 1999 that banned most forms of torture by security forces to obtain information from suspected terrorists.

Amichai Cohen, a law professor and head of a program on national security and law at the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent research group, said Mr. Barak’s appointment was notable for two reasons.

“First of all, the appointment shows that Israel takes the process seriously and is doing what it can to succeed and not fail,” he said.

“The second point is of course the man,” Professor Cohen added.

The vilification of Mr Barak by right-wing supporters of the government’s judicial overhaul plan only strengthens his status and credibility as a judge who will rule objectively, based on the law, Professor Cohen said.

“It shows that he is an independent figure and not an emissary of the Israeli government,” he said.