On the International Day for Tolerance, the Human Rights and Democracy Media Center “SHAMS” emphasizes that the occupation continues to engage in racist rhetoric and acts of genocide against the Palestinian people, in an organized and institutionalized manner from the highest political levels in the occupation government. The statements of the dismissed Defence Minister Yoav Gallant are a clear example of this when he declared at the beginning of the aggression against the Palestinian people in October 2023, “We are fighting human beasts, and they will have no water, no electricity, and no fuel.” Additionally, the statements of the so-called Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, who called for dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip, reveal the culture of racism, hatred, exclusion, and non-recognition of the other by the occupation government and its ministers. This exposes the reality of this society, which is built on a culture of terrorism, denial of the other, and acts of genocide and destruction.
On the International Day for Tolerance, “SHAMS” Center condemns the crimes of the occupation, which practices all forms of racism, discrimination, apartheid, terrorism, killing, and destruction against the Palestinian people, in clear defiance of all the foundations, principles, and values upon which the international system for the protection of basic human rights and the preservation of dignity is built. This is accompanied by international failure to confront these daily violations committed by the occupation against Palestinians and the international value system. Moreover, some European countries and the United States of America align with the occupation, providing it with military support and political cover in international institutions.
“SHAMS” Center points out that acts of genocide, killing, destruction, apartheid practices, and hate speech expose and undermine the Israeli and Western narrative that strategically justifies the relationship between the United States, European countries, and the occupation, claiming that the occupation represents Western democratic and liberal values shared with what is known as the free world. All these narratives have fallen, revealing the true face of the racist and terrorist occupation that kills children, women, and the elderly, and destroys hospitals and places of worship. So, what shared democratic values is this hypocritical world talking about?
“SHAMS” Center reminds the world on the International Day for Tolerance, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in its meeting on December 12, 1996, by issuing Resolution No. 51/95, and called on member states to celebrate the International Day for Tolerance on November 16 of each year. The principles of international tolerance were adopted based on this declaration. The UN General Assembly aimed to establish values of tolerance among humans of different languages, races, and cultures to achieve a better future for all humanity, a future characterized by stability, security, and peace, and where the values of love, affection, dialogue, tolerance, and mutual respect between all peoples, nations, and societies are entrenched. These noble values and principles continue to be violated and usurped openly by the occupation, which is waging a war of genocide against the Palestinian people amidst suspicious international silence.
“SHAMS” Center affirms that the incitement to violence, racism, and hatred practiced by the occupation against the Palestinian people constitutes a gross violation of international human rights law, particularly the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 1965, which prohibits “propaganda” and “dissemination of ideas” based on racial superiority and racial discrimination, by public authorities or public institutions. This also violates the Rome Statute of 1998, which forms the basis of the International Criminal Court, specifically Article 25, which emphasizes “criminal responsibility” and states that anyone who “directly and publicly incites others to commit genocide” is subject to prosecution.
“SHAMS” Center calls upon the UN Secretary-General, the permanent member states of the UN Security Council, the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, UNESCO, the Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, and both governmental and non-governmental organizations to urgently act and pressure the Israeli occupation government to stop its crimes against the Palestinian people. They must also curb the statements of its leaders that incite violence, killing, terrorism, racism, and hatred, and compel it to respect the principles of international law, the UN Charter, and its noble principles.