National Conference of Black Lawyers
2472 Broadway #204
New York, NY 10025
NatlConfBlackLawyers@gmail.com
NCBL STATEMENT
THE ISRAEL - PALESTINE CONFLICT
OCTOBER 19, 2023
The National Conference of Black Lawyers condemns the response of the United States government and its allies to the current violence in Israel and Palestine for its failure to acknowledge that the “war” announced against a small armed resistance in the midst of a trapped and blockaded population is a crime against humanity and a violation of both the Hague Convention and the Fourth Geneva Convention. This failure is emblematic of the bankruptcy and hypocrisy of their claim to any moral high ground.
While the current killing, hostage-taking, and other violence against uninvolved civilians cannot be condoned, a more than 60-year history of murderous violence, dispossession, and humiliation must also be condemned, including the imprisonment of 2.3 million people in an area of 141 sq. miles with virtually all the necessities of life ultimately under the control of the occupying power – Israel.
Less than three months ago in the White House, President Biden assured the Israeli President of America’s “unbreakable friendship” with the country whose finance minister has denied that the Palestinian people exist, the country that routinely engages in the kind of collective punishment practiced by the Nazis against Jews, and the country that has violated numerous United Nations resolutions with impunity.
NCBL also notes that, at the beginning of this year, the current Israeli government moved to suppress diplomatic and political activity in opposition to its occupation by imposing severe economic sanctions on the Palestinian Authority when it reached out to the UN General Assembly for a resolution requesting an opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legality of Israel’s policies in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Predictably, there has been an outcry by Israel and its sympathizers, including President Joseph Biden, members of the US Congress as well as state and local elected officials. The pro-Israel bias in the Western and mainstream media’s reporting fails to recognize the crimes committed by Israel under the guise of the right to self-defense.
The United States bears a great deal of responsibility for this ongoing crisis by continuing to prop up the Israeli military and right-wing government with tax dollars extracted from U.S. citizens while standing idly by as Israel continues its brutalizing occupation and blockade of Palestinian lands and its people.
By sending weapons and providing assistance, including diplomatic cover, to the Israeli government in these circumstances, the US government has become complicit in these violations and crimes.
The National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) joins with those governments and civil society and religious organizations calling for a de-escalation of the current military conflict.
The National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) calls on the United States government to cease its unfettered support for the state of Israel both financially and diplomatically until that nation recognizes the rights of the Palestinian people under international law, including their right to self-determination."