–‘ ǣ ‹† •”ƒ‡Ž‹ ‘……—’ƒ–‹‘ ‹ŽŽ‡‰ƒŽ
LONDON - A Jewish father called Israel has revealed his family feels like a ‘target’ after their five-monthold daughter’s birth certificate was returned from the Home Office ripped with the birthplace of Israel scribbled out.
Israel, a father-of-three who lives in Edgware, North London, said his wife Dorin, 29, was left in disbelief when she opened the envelope only to find baby Ronnie’s identification papers had been tampered with.
‘‘She found it was ripped half way through and my place of birth - which was Israel - had been scribbled out with a pen,’’ the 32-year-old engineer, who did not want to reveal his surname, told MailOnline.
‘‘We felt as if we had been taken back to 1930s Germany where the Nazis would put notes on Jewish people’s documentation.
‘‘It is completely warped and it hurts my heart that my daughter is not even six-months-old and she has already been discriminated on in the worst way.’’
‘‘The Home Office is in charge of our safety as a minority in the UK and they deal with our most private documents but instead of sending us back the certificate in the right way someone within their system has scribbled out Israel because they have hostile feelings,’’ he added.
The shocked family were advised to contact the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism who approached the Home Office on behalf of the family to raise the issue.
THE HAGUE - South Africa yesterday urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue a non-binding legal opinion that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, arguing it would help efforts to reach a settlement.
Representatives of South Africa opened the second day of hearings at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, in The Hague.
The hearing follows a request by the UN General Assembly in 2022 for an advisory, or non-binding, opinion on the occupation. More than 50 states will present arguments until February 26.
Declare
On Monday, Palestinian representatives asked the UN’s Highest Court to declare Israel’s occupation of their territory illegal, also saying the court’s advisory opinion could contribute to a two-State solution and a lasting peace.
Israel is not attending the hearings but sent a written statement, saying an advisory opinion would be harmful to achieving a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.
“A clear legal characterisation of the nature of Israel’s regime over the Palestinian people can only assist in remedying the ongoing delay and achieving a just settlement,” Vusimuzi Madonsela, South Africa’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, told the judges.
The latest surge of violence in Gaza, promoted by the October 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas, has complicated already deeply-rooted grievances in the Middle East and damaged efforts towards finding a path to peace.