Latest news with #KennethRoth
ABC News
7 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Former Human Rights Watch chief Kenneth Roth says only Donald Trump can stop Benjamin Netanyahu and war in Gaza
The former executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, says the one man who can hold Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to account and put an end to the war in Gaza is US President Donald Trump. His comments echoed those of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who last week called for Mr Trump to show real leadership on the ongoing war in Gaza. During an interview tonight on 7.30, Mr Roth — who is Jewish and the son of a Holocaust survivor — said world leaders must do more than voice outrage at the ongoing situation in Gaza. "There's increasing movement towards sanctioning Israeli officials who are responsible," Mr Roth told 7.30. "There's increasing legitimacy of the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court, but frankly, the one person with leverage over Netanyahu is Trump. "He alone could condition arms sales and military aid to end the mass atrocity being committed in Gaza. "I don't think it's impossible to push Trump to do that. He is breaking with Netanyahu in various ways. He's spoken about that he's not yet at that stage, but it's possible to get him there. "That's what it's going to take to end these war crimes." Mr Roth's comments came after 90,000 protesters walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday, calling for an end to Israel's war in Gaza. Mr Roth said public opinion might be enough to force the hand of a populist leader like Donald Trump. "Trump is not indifferent to public opinion," Mr Roth said. Reasons for the shift include images of starving and emaciated children in Gaza being broadcast around the world, while the Israeli government issued multiple denials on the issue. The allegations of using starvation as a weapon of war have formed part of charges brought against Mr Netanyahu and former minister of defence Yoav Gallant by the International Criminal Court. Mr Roth, who is also a qualified lawyer, said he believed that nothing would see those charges rescinded. "Those are blatant war crimes," Mr Roth told 7.30. "They violate the Geneva Convention requirement that an occupying power allow access to humanitarian aid to a people in need. "That defines Gaza. "The fact that Netanyahu committed this crime … that he stops is not a defence to the months upon months in which he was committing the crime. Mr Roth believed the establishment of a Palestinian state would face obstacles, such as Hamas, past failures of the Palestinian Authority and Mr Netanyahu's unwillingness to see it happen. But he said the United States could play a major role in removing those obstacles. "Hamas has said that it would contemplate disarming and leaving Gaza if there were a clear path to a Palestinian state," Mr Roth said. "If we accept that as a negotiating position, then the main obstacle is Netanyahu, who basically has said, 'over my dead body, there's not going to be a Palestinian state.' "The only way to get past that comes back to President Trump. "It comes back to his enormous leverage. The $3.8 billion in annual aid he gives to Israel and massive flow of arms; if he were to say this only continues if you allow the Palestinian state, that allows us to stop the slaughter in Gaza, things like this can happen." Mr Roth told 7.30 he considered antisemitism "a real issue" for him and a real "hazard" for Jewish people, but criticised Australia's Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, for selecting a controversial definition of antisemitism to base her work on. In her recently released report, Ms Segal urged the Australian government to "require consistent application and adoption" of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, calling it the "gold standard" in an interview with 7.30. Critics, including the definition's lead author, say it is being used to suppress legitimate criticism of Israel's policies. Mr Roth agreed. "This is a completely counterproductive approach to fighting antisemitism," he told 7.30. "The IHRA definition undermines the fight against antisemitism because it has come to be used over and over as an excuse to suppress legitimate criticism of Israel." The risk in the reliance on the IHRA definition, Mr Roth said, was to undermine the fight against antisemitism. "It cheapens the concept of antisemitism when it's very much needed. It basically prioritises defence of the Israeli government over the defence of Jews around the world," he said. "I have no problem with having a special envoy focused on fighting antisemitism, but if that envoy is really pushing a definition of antisemitism that amounts to defending and stopping criticism of Israel, that is counterproductive. "That is unhelpful for what Jews need to combat a genuine problem." Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV Do you know more about this story? Get in touch with 7.30 here.
ABC News
7 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
The fight for international justice
Kenneth Roth is one the world's leading human rights campaigners. Under his leadership Human Rights Watch was working on projects in nearly 100 countries. This includes substantial reports on Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and the crimes of Palestinian terrorists in Israel. He's in Australia to talk about his book "Righting Wrongs."
RNZ News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
US attorney Kenneth Roth on 30 with Guyon Espiner
law conflict 29 minutes ago The man described as the Godfather of Human Rights, American attorney Kenneth Roth, has told RNZ that Israel's actions against the Palestinians are likely to meet the definitions of apartheid, genocide and war crimes. Guyon Espiner spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
Saba Yemen
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
America...and its blood-stained fascist record
Sana'a - (Saba): America has not realized that its heinous crimes, which it has been committing and continues to commit against the Yemeni people, including the massacres at Ras Isa Port in Hodeida Governorate and the Farwa neighborhood and market in the capital, Sana'a, last night, will bring to mind the criminal, fascist record of the United States, which was established on the ruins of the Native Americans, and its crimes in Vietnam, South Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. The crimes at Ras Isa Port and the Farwa neighborhood and market, in their heinousness, are not the first committed by Washington. Rather, they are an extension of the crimes of successive American administrations, from supporting the racist regime of South Africa to supplying the Zionist enemy with weapons to commit a war of genocide in Palestine for nearly eight decades, through the occupation of Lebanon in the 1980s, to the bloody Israeli massacres in Gaza with American support and partnership. Ras Isa Port has never been a military site, as America claims, but rather a civilian facility in every sense of the word, used for purely civilian purposes. It is limited to receiving and unloading oil and gas derivatives, storing them before transporting and distributing them to the capital, Sana'a, and the Yemeni governorates to meet citizens' needs for vital commodities related to daily life. The US administration's failure to achieve any of its goals of forcing Yemen and its armed forces to cease their support for the Palestinian people in Gaza has led it to persist in its crimes and become more reckless than ever in targeting civilians and destroying infrastructure, particularly the destruction of what remains of the economic capabilities. This includes targeting Ras Isa Port and the airport and port of Hodeida with successive airstrikes, described as the most violent since mid-March. The US has always boasted of sponsoring and protecting human rights and has trumpeted international humanitarian law. However, it is the only major country that has shown hesitation and did not ratify major human rights treaties until the late 1980s, when it became the 98th country to ratify the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In a previous statement, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth attributed the US position on international human rights law to "fear and arrogance." This fear is based on the belief that international standards might restrict the absolute freedom of the global superpower. This arrogance is manifested in a deep-seated belief that America, with its long and proud history of protecting domestic rights, suffices to say nothing of any lessons or standards from other countries. In light of this, Washington has shown no concern for international human rights standards and laws, and has continued to perpetrate attacks on anyone who opposes its policies or disobeys its orders. Its massacres in Yemen are but an example of America's criminal record, which contradicts international and humanitarian laws and regulations, including respect for state sovereignty and the criminalization of attacks on residential neighborhoods and civilian facilities. The Ras Issa Port and Farwa neighborhood and market massacres were met with widespread condemnation from constitutional institutions, local and international civil society organizations, political parties, and organizations. These two crimes were considered a new milestone in a series of American crimes in the region, part of an escalating campaign to destabilize the region, fuel wars, and support the genocide project against the peoples of the region. At the same time, they exposed the ugly criminal face of America and its practice of terrorism against Yemenis in support of and service to the Zionist entity. It is worth noting that America—with its horrific crimes in Yemen—has failed miserably to achieve its stated goals. The million-strong popular demonstration in the capital, Sana'a, and various governorates on Friday, coinciding with the announcement by the Armed Forces Spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, of military operations, including the downing of two American MQ-9 drones in the skies over Sana'a Governorate, is a direct response to American crimes and a clear message. The implication is that the Yemeni people will not budge an inch from their support for Palestine and their backing of the mujahideen in Gaza, no matter how great the sacrifices. Today, America is no longer the same America that was given the opportunity to flex its muscles. The US administration, promoted by Trump during his second presidential run, no longer has any real acceptance of reality. Trump's promises to end wars are nothing but illusions, through which the White House has delved into endless labyrinths, igniting crises here and there. The most prominent of these is the aggression against Yemen, the perpetration of brutal crimes, and the support of the Zionist enemy to resume the genocide and displacement of the population of Gaza. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (Reports)
