Gottheimer, Kean lead bipartisan letter thanking Germany for supporting Israel’s right to self-defense
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Tom Kean (NJ-7) led a letter signed by a bipartisan group of more than twenty Members of Congress thanking German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for announcing his country’s intention to intervene on Israel’s behalf and for supporting Israel’s right to self-defense in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case brought by South Africa.
It is crucial that the international community address the misleading, meritless, and untruthful nature of South Africa’s accusations, seemingly designed to hinder Israel from acting in self-defense in response to the heinous terrorist attacks on October 7.
South Africa’s claim barely acknowledges the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists’ who murdered, decapitated, burned alive, and raped more than 1,200 innocent men, women, and children.
The signatory list of twenty-five bipartisan Members of Congress includes Reps. Gottheimer (NJ-5), Kean (NJ-7), Bacon (NE-2), Costa (CA-21), Davis (NC-1), D’Esposito (NY-4), Frankel (FL-22), Kim (CA-40), Golden (ME-2), Lawler (NY-17), Manning (NC-6), Molinaro (NY-19), Moskowitz (FL-23), Nickel (NC-13), Schiff (CA-30), Schneider (IL-10), Sherman (CA-32), Steel (CA-45), Stevens (MI-11), Tenney (NY-22), Torres (NY-15), Titus (NV-1), Wagner (MO-2),Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), and Wilson (SC-2).
In January, Gottheimer signed a bipartisan letter with 210 Members of Congress denouncing South Africa’s claims against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
“It is crucial that the international community address the misleading, meritless, and untruthful nature of South Africa’s accusations, seemingly designed to hinder Israel from acting in self-defense in response to the heinous terrorist attacks on October 7,” wrote twenty-five bipartisan Members of Congress in a letter to German Chancellor Scholz. “These meritless claims set a dangerous precedent, politicize the court, and could impact the on-going fight against authoritarianism and terrorism that the democracies of the world are currently confronting. It is our hope that the court drops this unfounded case against Israel.”
“[Germany]’s decision to stand by Israel’s side will not be forgotten. The United States, Germany, and Israel share the same foundational values of freedom, human rights, and democracy that so many global forces today seek to dismantle. In a time when the pillars of the free world are facing threats across the globe, Germany has continued to embrace the painful lessons of history’s past to stand up for what is right,” the members said.
