The US should not only oppose South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), it should also encourage its allied nations to speak up about it in international meetings, a large group of its legislators have urged.

"South Africa's accusation of genocide against Israel exposes how far Israel's enemies will go in their attempts to demonise the Jewish state," wrote the group in an open letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

"While barely acknowledging the Hamas terrorists who gleefully massacred, mutilated, raped and kidnapped innocent civilians on 7 October, South Africa makes grossly unfounded and defamatory charges against Israel on the world stage, abusing the judicial process in order to delegitimise the democratic State of Israel."

The administration of US President Joe Biden has been unequivocal in its rejection of South Africa's allegations, saying there is no genocide in Gaza, while stressing that it wants Israel to take more care in protecting civilians and that more humanitarian aid must be allowed into the territory.

The US has not firmly committed itself to joining the ICJ matter in support of Israel, but is expected to do so when that becomes possible, after a ruling on preliminary measures now expected on Friday.

The group of legislators represents a near-majority of the seats in the US House of Representatives and is drawn from across the political spectrum in a highly polarised environment. That reflects the high level of support for Israel that has pervaded American politics for decades, and which has not wavered since the start of the latest Hamas-Israel war – despite polling that suggests younger voters are concerned about the massive civilian death toll in Gaza.

Strong condemnation

The short letter from the Congress group is peppered with strong language about South Africa's efforts.

The group expresses its "disgust" at what it calls "a grossly unfounded case", which "perpetrates false and dangerous allegations against the Jewish state".

The letter reads:

Charging the Jewish state with genocide for defending itself against Hamas terror is particularly cynical, given that the term 'genocide' was coined following the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.

"We vigorously denounce South Africa's deeply hostile stance towards Israel and thoroughly reject its charge of genocide."

Europe in the middle

Since the first hearings at the ICJ, Germany – a dominant force within the EU – and the UK have expressed support for Israel, though in less lurid terms than those used by the US legislators.

Conditional support for South Africa's arguments has come from Belgium and Ireland, and other EU countries are expected to take up clear positions as the case progresses.

The US and EU are Israel's most important funders and trading partners. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to make his country more self-sufficient in terms of its military needs, but that is a longer-term project, and a loss of foreign support would have a dramatic impact on Israel's military capabilities.