Newsletters
International legal experts and former government officials on Saturday accused Western media, U.S. universities, and corporate entities of complicity in Israel's military campaign in Gaza, delivering testimony at the final session of a four-day tribunal examining international responsibility for the 16-month conflict.
The Gaza Tribunal, convened at Istanbul University and presided over by Richard Falk, former UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, heard from witnesses who detailed what they described as systematic enabling of Israeli military actions through editorial decisions, academic partnerships, weapons production, and political suppression.
Katie Halper, a U.S. journalist and filmmaker, testified that Western news organizations have shaped public understanding of the conflict through selective reporting. She recounted her experience preparing commentary for The Hill's show Rising in 2020, stating producers refused to air a segment arguing Israel was an apartheid state.
"Western corporate media's complicity is so pervasive, and in some cases, quantifiable," Halper said, adding that coverage "often uses passive or misdemeanor attribution ... and dehumanized Palestinians."
She criticized what she characterized as misleading reporting on allegations of sexual violence, saying: "The US media and Western media and US political leaders are still talking about the rape that didn't happen, yet inside [Israel] it's happening — sexual violence."
Maura Finkelstein, identifying herself as a formerly tenured U.S. professor dismissed for her position on Palestine, argued that American universities have supported Israeli military operations through financial ties and research partnerships while suppressing campus dissent.
Students have responded with boycotts and divestment campaigns targeting U.S. weapons manufacturers whose equipment "Israel's military uses to destroy homes," Finkelstein said.
She revealed details of military-academic collaboration, stating: "There are 15 UARC (University Affiliated Research Center) schools in the US, and one of them, University of Southern California, was also recently revealed to provide human cadavers to the US and Israeli military for trauma surgery training in Gaza."
Finkelstein warned that faculty advocating for Palestinian rights face intensifying retaliation. "These ongoing repressive measures ... have created a chilling effect across higher education," she said, citing surveillance, suspensions, and police actions against student encampments. "I am one of those faculty members. The number of faculty and staff who are targets continues to grow."
Lily Greenberg, who resigned from a political appointment in the Biden administration in May 2024, testified remotely that she left government service because she could no longer work in an administration "complicit in the genocide of Palestinians."
Following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Greenberg said there was "an almost immediate cloud" in which colleagues "felt like they could not express any discipline," while leadership emphasized Israel's right to self-defense while "omit[ting] any acknowledgement of international law."
She testified that administration officials received detailed reports on civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. "These reports circulated internally ... and yet none of these warnings changed policy," Greenberg said.
"What made me complicit," she added, "was the US' support and enabling of Israel's system of apartheid and inequality and occupation that created the conditions for Oct. 7."
Greenberg called for "a suspension of all US military and all transportation to Israel" and reforms to limit influence from pro-Israel lobbying organizations.
Shahd Hammouri, a law lecturer at Kent Law School, testified online that weapons industry involvement serves as what she termed a structural driver of violence. "Israel is a militarized state economy," Hammouri said. "During the genocide of Gaza, Israel produced over 102,000 tons of explosives ... Israel tested new weapons in Gaza."
She argued that international corporate investors profit from militarization and ventures involving Israeli-linked firms globally, describing the situation as "the effect of the current globalized market economy."
The tribunal represents a year-long effort by international jurists, scholars, and civil society figures to document what participants describe as crimes against Palestinians. The jury of conscience includes Kenize Mourad, Christine Chinkin, Chandra Muzaffar, Ghada Karmi, Sami Al-Arian, and Biljana Vankovska.
The panel is expected to issue a final opinion Sunday summarizing findings on genocide, apartheid, and violations of international law in Gaza. The tribunal aims to produce what organizers call a comprehensive "people's record" of the conflict.
1 min read
2 min read
1 min read
