A bipartisan group of members of Congress with support of AIPAC submitted a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday expressing concern over the International Court of Justice's newly elected president Nawaf Salam for his record of anti-Israel bias, according to a release from Rep. Ronny Jackson's office.
The representatives are urging the State Department to impose sanctions on Salam and restrict his visa and travel to the United States should he not recuse himself from the cases pertaining to Israel.
"As two politically motivated anti-Israel cases are on the docket, Judge Salam's clear and well-documented record of bias against the Jewish state and persistent violations of the ICJ charter make it abundantly clear that he will not be a fair and neutral arbiter in these cases," the letter said. "Moreover, we are concerned that one or more politically-motivated rulings against Israel will set a precedent that poses an international challenge to all states' legitimate defense against terrorism."
Salam allegedly violated ICJ's charter and ethics
The letter further outlines instances where Salam allegedly violated the ICJ's charter and ethics rules.
The representatives accuse Salam of acting as an anti-Israel advocate while serving as Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations by voting against Israel and making public posts criticizing Israel. According to the letter, the ICJ mandates that no judge may "participate in the decision of any case in which he has previously taken part" as "advocate:' or in any other capacity.
Salam came in second on the ballot for Lebanese prime minister, also violating the ICJ charter which says no member of the ICJ can exercise any political or administrative function, according to the letter.
"This is especially relevant given Judge Salam's candidacy took place in Lebanon, which is a party to the current conflict," the letter said.
The letter was signed by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Rep. Josh Gotteimer (D-NJ), Rep. Keith Self (R-TX), Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) and Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY).