New York, NY — Betsy Berns Korn, Chair, and William C. Daroff, CEO, of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, issued the following statement:
“We strongly condemn the latest publication by the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which falsely accuses Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian children and pursuing genocide.
“Every child who suffers in war deserves compassion, protection, and truth. Palestinian and Israeli children alike deserve moral seriousness. But the COI offers the opposite. It distorts the battlefield, erases Hamas’s responsibility, and turns disputed allegations into a blood libel against the Jewish state.
“Hamas launched this war. Hamas terrorists murdered and kidnapped Israeli children. Hamas knowingly embeds fighters, weapons, and command centers in homes, schools, hospitals, and other civilian areas. Hamas recruits minors, diverts international aid, and uses Palestinian children as human shields. No credible examination of harm to children can ignore those facts.
“The COI’s publication does not advance human rights. It rests on a one-sided mandate, selective evidence, anonymous and contested claims, and a refusal to confront the terrorist organization that created the war and continues to exploit civilian suffering. The genocide charge against Israel is obscene, unsupported, and legally indefensible, particularly by the so-called International Criminal Court.
“We call on the United States and other nations to reject this defamatory inquiry and oppose the continued abuse of the United Nations to unfairly single out and attack Israel.”
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The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is the recognized central coordinating body representing 50 national Jewish organizations on issues of national and international concern. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the positions of all member organizations.
