More than 1,200 attorneys worldwide have signed a letter sent to the International Red Cross (ICRC) demanding that it act immediately to safeguard the lives and safety of Israelis taken hostage by the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. The letter, organized by the Israeli human rights group Shurat HaDin, demands that the Geneva-based ICRC take immediate action, and accuses the international agency of taking only superficial steps to free the Israeli captives.
The lawyers’ letter states, “Since the outbreak of the events of October 7, the ICRC has not fulfilled its duties to demand to see the hostages, to ensure their humanitarian care, and to arrange for their immediate release.”
It continues to compare the ICRC’s publicly admitted errors and indifference during the Holocaust and its conduct in the current crisis regarding the Israeli hostages in Gaza. The lawyers conclude that “mistakes that the ICRC admits having made during the Holocaust alarmingly resemble the mistakes that you are making today. In your desperate attempt to appear ‘impartial,’ you do the minimum necessary. You issue hollow statements, serving a policy of going through the motions. You are passive. You are ‘neutral.’ You choose not to risk your ties with the Nazi-like terror organization, and other anti-Israel and antisemitic entities for the sake of innocent Jews.”
The letter charges the ICRC with biased treatment of Israel and the application of double standards towards the Jewish State. While the international organization has raised false allegations against Israel, it repeatedly refrained from criticism against the Hamas terrorist organization. “The sad irony,” continues the letter, “is that Israel goes to extraordinary, unprecedented lengths to preserve the lives of Gazan civilians while Hamas forces them to be human shields and cannon fodder.”
The lawyers’ missive concludes with the demand that the ICRC “immediately take decisive actions to secure the release of the hostages. The letter lists ten action items the ICRC is required to take to guarantee the safety and well-being of the Israelis, including the undertaking of a thorough census of the hostages, visiting the hostages, assuring that any injured captive receives appropriate medical care, ensuring that there are adequate provisions for the Israelis and more.
“These are moments in which the relevance of the Red Cross will be determined,” says Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder and president of Shurat HaDin. “The Red Cross has already stabbed the Jewish people in the back once before, and so far, it looks like it is doing the same now. If it chooses to join the choir of antisemitic organizations that champion a despicable terrorist organization, like Hamas, which committed atrocities against Jews not seen since the Holocaust and decides to desert the Jewish State in its most vulnerable dark days, let them be expelled from Israel forever. The Red Cross is exposing for all to see what its true agenda is.”