Rights and Accountability 18 November 2024
Geert Wilders has denounced Israel’s critics as “multicultural scum.”
ANPPoliticians in the Netherlands have a fresh opportunity to carry out public relations work for Israel this week.
Having recently portrayed football hooligans as victims of an anti-Semitic pogrom, it will be intriguing to see if the Dutch establishment can work similar magic with weapons makers.
An exhibition hosted by the Netherlands Industries for Defence and Security is scheduled to take place in Rotterdam on Thursday.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has trumpeted its participation by producing a photo-packed brochure.
According to the brochure, IAI’s Barak MX offers a “revolution” in “air and missile defense.” And the cutely named Mini Harpy is “based on 40 years of experience in developing combat proven systems.”
The brochure does not explicitly feature IAI’s previous boast that it is playing a “pivotal role” in the ongoing war against Gaza.
But it does implicitly cite IAI’s contribution to the genocide and to previous war crimes. When Israeli weapons firms use the euphemism “combat-proven,” they really mean “tested on Palestinians.”
The Dutch press is expecting that there will be protests against the Rotterdam weapons fair.
I am anxious to find out if Geert Wilders, the leading far-right politician, will share his thoughts about any such protests.Less than two weeks ago, Wilders described people objecting to Israel’s football hooligans as “multicultural scum.” What insults could he hurl at those taking action against weapons makers profiting from a genocide?
The Dutch will not have a monopoly on pro-Israel PR work all week.The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is jointly organizing an event about artificial intelligence with Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva.
The conference in question offers proof that there are UN staff willing to overlook how Israel treats the organization with contempt – going so far as declaring António Guterres, the secretary-general, a persona non grata.
Tools of genocide
Israel is among the 56 countries in UNECE. Despite its focus on commerce within Europe, UNECE is not supposed to work in a vacuum.
The invitation for Friday’s conference refers to “recognized international standards.”
While the standards in question are not specified, it is known that the UN has developed ethical guidelines for the use of AI. They stipulate that “no human being or human community should be harmed or subordinated, whether physically, economically, socially, culturally or mentally during any phase of the life cycle of AI systems.”
Israel is in clear breach of those guidelines through its use of The Gospel and Lavender, AI-assisted targeting selection systems, in Gaza. The Gospel and Lavender have clearly been tools of genocide.
For most of its existence, the United Nations has formally denounced genocide as contrary to its spirit and as a crime under international law.
Lance Thompson, the UN staff member chairing this Friday’s conference, either requires a crash course on the basics of international law or he has chosen to ignore them. Why is he teaming up with a state actively carrying out a genocide?
