What the world is getting wrong on Israel: An interview with Natasha Hausdorff
Article content
More notably, the expert in international law has popularized one such law, Uti possidetis juris. It states that newly formed sovereign countries should retain the borders that their preceding area had before their independence. Therefore, at the time Israel declared itself a state, Mandatory Palestine – which included what today is known as Israel, Judea and Samaria (a.k.a. the West Bank) and Gaza – would by law be legal territorial boundaries of Israel. It is a lynchpin argument, she believes, against the charges of 'illegal occupation' and 'illegal settlements.'
Article content
Article content
Article content
She regularly briefs politicians and international organizations and has spoken at parliaments across Europe.
Article content
Article content
After her law degree at Oxford University, she clerked for the president of the Supreme Court of Israel in Jerusalem in 2016. In 2018, Hausdorff was a Fellow at Columbia Law School in the National Security Law Program.
Article content
Dave Gordon interviewed Hausdorff prior to a talk she delivered at Toronto's Nova Exhibition on June 12, hosted by StandWithUs Canada.
Article content
I can fully appreciate that Israel's official stance is constrained by diplomatic operations and political pressures. It's a rule that applies automatically, whatever Israel says about the situation.
Article content
There are other examples of Israel not standing on ceremony, as far as international law is concerned. One of those relates to Egypt's obligation to open the border to Palestinian civilians, fleeing civil disorder in Gaza. That's in accordance with Egypt's obligation under the Organization of African Unity Convention on (governing the specific aspect of) Refugees, which it signed in 1980.
Article content
Article content
This is a convention that has a much broader definition of refugee than the international convention. Nobody has been calling on Egypt to open the border from October 2023. But Israel can't pressure (that), because Egypt threatened to tear up the peace agreement with Israel.
Article content
If the BBC were reporting from North Korea, there would be some indication somewhere that we are not free to report without censorship — controlled in what we're able to say by the regime. I have not seen a single piece of reporting from Gaza that has acknowledged that: nothing comes out of the Gaza Strip that is not controlled by Hamas.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
3 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Appeals judges order ICC prosecutor to recuse himself from Venezuela investigation
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Friday ordered chief prosecutor Karim Khan to recuse himself from an investigation into Venezuela, citing a conflict of interest. Khan's sister-in-law, international criminal lawyer Venkateswari Alagendra, has been part of a team representing the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the five-judge appeals panel at the ICC says her involvement creates an issue of 'bias' for the prosecutor. The British barrister, who is currently on leave from the court, stepped down temporarily pending an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. Alagendra and Khan worked together previously on cases, including as defense counsel for Kenyan President William Ruto and for Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Alagendra is the sister of Khan's wife, human rights lawyer Shyamala Alagendra. The Washington-based Arcadia Foundation, which focuses on human rights issues in Venezuela, filed a complaint with the court in 2024, asking for Khan to be removed from the case over a conflict of interest. The court dismissed the initial complaint in February. In written filings, Khan told the court he could not 'recall' any discussion with his sister-in-law about the facts of the case and did not attend any meetings where she was present. The ICC has an ongoing investigation into violence that followed Venezuela's 2017 election but has so far not sought any arrest warrants. Khan announced in late 2021 that he was opening the investigation after a lengthy preliminary probe and an official referral — a request to investigate — in 2018 from Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay and Peru. However, the full-scale investigation was put on hold when Venezuelan authorities said they wanted to take over the case. The ICC is a court of last resort that only takes on cases when national authorities are unwilling or unable to investigate, a system known as complementarity. Khan pressed ahead with efforts to continue the court's first investigation in Latin America. ICC judges agreed with Khan and authorized him to resume investigations in Venezuela in 2023.
Global News
33 minutes ago
- Global News
Family of Virginia Giuffre pleads with Trump not to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell
The family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's most high-profile sex trafficking survivors, is asking U.S. President Donald Trump not to pardon the late financier's aide, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in Epstein's underage abuse ring. The request comes in the wake of U.S. deputy attorney General Todd Blanche's meeting with Maxwell at a Florida prison, and days after Trump suggested that he ended his friendship with Epstein because he poached employees from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, including Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year. Blanche facilitated the meeting with Maxwell, a British socialite and the daughter of late media mogul Robert Maxwell, in an ongoing effort by the Justice Department to cast itself as transparent following fierce backlash from some of Trump's supporters over an earlier refusal to release additional records in the Epstein investigation. Story continues below advertisement The encounter stoked speculation that Trump may pardon Maxwell. On Friday, she was moved from a prison in Florida to a lower-security prison camp in Texas. 'We can confirm, Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan, in Bryan, Texas,' the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. The prison is described as a minimum-security federal prison camp housing 635 female inmates. Maxwell had previously been held at FCI Tallahassee, a low-security federal correctional institution with a detention centre housing 1,191 male and female inmates. Giuffre's family said Trump's invocation of her earlier this week was unexpected and questioned whether he was aware of the full extent of Maxwell and Epstein's abuse of their late relative. 'It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been 'stolen' from Mar-a-Lago. It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal actions, especially given his statement two years later that his good friend Jeffrey 'likes women on the younger side … no doubt about it.' We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this,' the family said. View image in full screen Pictured are Ghislaine Maxwell and Donald Trump at the 50th anniversary of the Ford Modeling Agency and Pantene hair care products on Oct. 30, 1997. Richard Corkery / Getty Images On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president mentioned Giuffre in response to a question from a reporter who mentioned her. Story continues below advertisement 'He did not bring her up. The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club for being a creep to his female employees,' she said in a statement, NBC News reported. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Giuffre's family said it was 'convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell who targeted and preyed upon our then 16-year-old sister, Virginia, from Mar-a-Lago, where she was working in 2000, several years before Epstein and President Trump had their falling out.' The Giuffre family responded Friday to Maxwell's transfer to a new prison facility and criticized the Trump administration's 'preferential treatment' of the convicted sex offender, as reported by CNN's Kaitlan Collins. A new statement from the family of Virginia Giuffre and several of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's accusers: 'It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received. Ghislaine Maxwell is a… — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 1, 2025 Story continues below advertisement 'Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas,' they said. The family said Maxwell's transfer is 'the justice system failing victims right before our eyes,' and that the American people should be outraged by it. They also urged the Trump administration not to 'credit a word Maxwell says,' and accused the government of orchestrating 'a cover-up.' 'The victims deserve better,' the statement concluded. Maxwell's lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said Friday there have been 'no asks and no promises' regarding a pardon but told reporters that his client 'would welcome any relief.' Meanwhile, Giuffre's family had previously said clemency for Maxwell should never be an option. 'The government and the President should never consider giving Ghislaine Maxwell any leniency,' the family said. 'Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life for the extraordinary violence and abuse she put not just our sister Virginia through, but many other survivors, who may number in the thousands,' they said. Story continues below advertisement Asked last week if he would pardon Maxwell, Trump told reporters he had not considered it but that he was 'allowed to do it.' A Trump administration official told the outlet after the family's initial statement was released that 'no leniency is being given or discussed.' 'The president himself has said that clemency for Maxwell is not something he is even thinking about at this time,' they said. — With files from The Associated Press
Vancouver Sun
33 minutes ago
- Vancouver Sun
‘A dark day for the LGBTQ+ movement': Montreal Pride Parade organizers bar Jewish groups from march
Two Jewish groups say they have been excluded from participating in Montreal's upcoming Pride Parade next Sunday. Ga'ava, a Jewish LGBTQ+ group in Quebec, and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), a large community political organization, said they were informed on Wednesday by event organizer, Fierté Montréal, that they would be barred from attending. A public statement from Fierté Montréal published later that day does not name either group but explained that the festival's board of directors had 'made the decision to deny participation in the Pride Parade to organizations spreading hateful discourse.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'We refuse to allow the spaces of the Fierté Montréal to be instrumentalized in the context of a conflict that involves major violations of fundamental human rights,' the group elaborated in a lengthy Instagram post that also expressed 'solidarity with the Palestinian people' and called for 'an immediate and lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.' Ga'ava president Carlos Godoy called the announcement 'a very hateful decision,' which tells 'Jews that they can't walk together in the Montreal Pride Parade.' 'It sends a signal that when LGBTQ pride is concerned, Jews can't sit with them,' Godoy told National Post. Fierté Montréal did not respond to a request for comment, and instead pointed to its initial statement, saying the organization was 'in the midst of the festivities and working hard to deliver an exceptional festival.' Although Fierté Montréal's statement underscores it 'remains a space for all 2SLGBTQIA+ people,' the Pride organizers did not explain whether they had taken similar actions in the past with other ethnic, religious or national groups. 'This measure is taken in the context of a complex geopolitical situation and stems from our commitment to preserving the emotional and physical safety to our communities,' the original press release says. Julien Corona, the director of strategic communications and public relations for CIJA Quebec, called the decision 'a dark day for the LGBTQ+ movement here in Quebec but also in all of Canada.' Fierté Montréal has faced internal strife in recent years that has been amplified after Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023. During the 2024 Pride Parade in Montreal, the parade was shut down for nearly an hour by a contingent of supporters carrying Palestinian and Lebanese flags, resulting in a tense standoff with police. On Wednesday, just before the decision to bar Jewish groups from participating in the parade was announced, Samya Lemrini, a local activist and immigration lawyer , published a message in French on Instagram acknowledging the decision was imminent but did not reflect any sympathy on the part of Fierté Montréal towards Palestinians. 'Please don't be fooled friends — it's a reaction to an internal crisis because they were going to lose all their employees and because artists and groups are withdrawing one by one,' the lawyer wrote. 'They don't care about us, they never did. They just have no other choice.' Lemrini is part of a breakaway LGBTQ group – Wild Pride – that has planned an alternate festival during the same time and place in Montreal. Social media posts from the group include calls to 'Liberate Judaism from Zionism,' and members also participated in an event on Thursday entitled 'Intifada on the Dancefloor.' According to Godoy, just one performer, Safia Nolin , had announced she would not participate in Pride festivities due to the presence of Zionist groups. Nolin took to Instagram on Thursday and wrote that she was recently 'made aware of the presence of Ga'ava, an LGBTQ+ Zionist group' and an Israeli flag had been flown at last year's parade. 'How does that make you feel? This is unacceptable.' Godoy called on Fierté Montréal's major sponsors, including TD Bank and the Quebec government, to condemn the announcement and ensure the organizers maintain an inclusive and safe space. TD Bank, which is listed as the official presenter of the parade, did not respond in time for publication. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here .
