Naming the Perpetrators of Gaza’s Genocide and the Historical Parallels with Nuremberg
The Imperative of Naming and Accountability
The Hind Rajab Foundation‘s groundbreaking work in identifying and pursuing the perpetrators of atrocities in Gaza represents a crucial development in international justice and human rights advocacy. Their article “On Her 7th Birthday, We Know Who Killed Hind Rajab and We’re Taking Them to Court” transcends mere documentation—it embodies a profound moral and legal imperative to establish accountability for the genocide against the Palestinian people.
In a relentless and increasingly frenzied bloodlust, protected by American military might and the US veto at the United Nations, the IDF has enjoyed absolute impunity to murder as many people as they want in whatever way they enjoy the most: Be it burning starving teenagers to death; blowing up hospitals – patients and all; unplugging incubators and watching babies suffocate; or in Hind’s case firing 355 automatic rifle rounds into her defenceless 6 year old body from the safety of a tank.
In this context, The Hind Rajab Foundation’s meticulous efforts to name individual perpetrators serve as a powerful challenge to the structures that enable such atrocities to continue unchecked. This approach echoes the fundamental principle established at Nuremberg: that individuals, regardless of rank or nationality, must be held responsible for violations of international humanitarian law.
The Foundation’s work occurs against the backdrop of the systemic and absolute destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza. With over 680,000 directly killed by traumatic injuries and indirect deaths, the scale of violence has been catastrophic. The systematic nature of this violence—targeting hospitals, schools, residential buildings, and critical infrastructure; the siege and mass starvation—all confirms that this is a coordinated plan that goes way beyond military objectives and into the realm of ethnic cleansing and genocidal destruction. In this context, the Hind Rajab Foundation’s focused effort to identify individual perpetrators represents both a practical legal strategy and a moral declaration that those who commit such crimes will not enjoy anonymity forever.
The Tragedy of Hind Rajab
Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl whose brutal killing by Israeli forces in January 2024 became a symbolic representation of the countless innocent children killed in Gaza. Her case gained particular notoriety when Israeli forces subsequently targeted the ambulance crew dispatched to rescue her, eliminating potential witnesses and adding another layer to the tragedy.
The Foundation’s success in identifying her killers demonstrates how meticulous documentation and digital evidence can overcome the obstacles typically presented by military impunity. Their investigators reportedly gathered evidence from multiple sources, including soldiers’ own social media posts where they sometimes boast about their actions.
Beyond a Single Case
The Foundation has extended its methodology beyond Hind’s case to pursue numerous perpetrators through various legal mechanisms:
· International Criminal Court: Submission of evidence regarding 1,000 Israeli soldiers to the ICC, requesting arrest warrants.
· Universal Jurisdiction Cases: Filing criminal complaints in national courts across Europe and South America under universal jurisdiction principles.
· Targeted Investigations: Focusing on specific individuals like Sergeant David Hadar (Golani Brigade), Major Yair Ohana (Givati Brigade), and Dror Zvi Bauer (Engineering Corps), whose social media activity provided evidence of their participation in destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Selected Legal Actions by the Hind Rajab Foundation
| Country/Jurisdiction | Target | Alleged Crimes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Criminal Court | 1,000 soldiers | War crimes, genocide | Evidence submitted |
| Belgium | Two unnamed soldiers | War crimes, genocide | Interrogated by federal police |
| Spain | Tameer Mulla | War crimes, genocide | Complaint filed |
| United Kingdom | Israeli naval commanders | Attack on humanitarian vessel | Complaint filed with War Crimes Unit |
| Cyprus | Tameer Mulla | War crimes, crimes against humanity | Complaint filed |
| Greece | Major Yair Ohana | War crimes | Criminal complaint submitted |
Historical Parallels: From Nuremberg to Gaza
The Nuremberg Trials established revolutionary principles in international law that remain relevant today:
· Individual Accountability: The groundbreaking notion that individuals, including military personnel and government officials, could be held personally responsible for atrocities, regardless of claims of “following orders”.
· Crimes Against Humanity: The recognition that certain acts transgress all humanity and require international prosecution.
· Organised Justice: The creation of a formal legal framework for addressing war crimes through the International Military Tribunal, which brought together Allied powers to prosecute Nazi leaders.
The Nuremberg Trials were not perfect—they faced accusations of “victor’s justice” and excluded similar Allied crimes—but they established an enduring framework for accountability that has evolved through subsequent tribunals for Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and ultimately the International Criminal Court.
Modern Adaptations
The Hind Rajab Foundation’s work represents a 21st century adaptation of the Nuremberg principles:
· Digital Evidence: Whereas Nuremberg prosecutors relied on extensive documentation seized from Nazi offices, today’s investigators harvest evidence from social media platforms where soldiers sometimes inadvertently document their own crimes.
· Non-State Actors: The Foundation operates as a non-governmental entity, unlike the state-powered Nuremberg prosecution, demonstrating how civil society can now drive accountability processes.
· Globalised Justice: Rather than a single tribunal, the Foundation pursues justice through multiple jurisdictions simultaneously, leveraging the principle of universal jurisdiction that grew out of the Nuremberg precedent.
The Power of Naming: Psychological and Legal Implications
Breaking the Shield of Anonymity
Mass atrocities often rely on the anonymity of perpetrators—the assumption that individuals will blend into the machinery of violence without personal accountability. The Hind Rajab Foundation’s work directly challenges this:
· Personal Responsibility: By identifying specific individuals, the Foundation reinforces the principle that each perpetrator is morally and legally accountable for their actions, regardless of broader political or military contexts.
· Deterrent Effect: The knowledge that one’s identity might be revealed and that legal consequences could follow even years later creates a potential deterrent against atrocities.
· Historical Record: The meticulous documentation and naming ensures that these crimes will be remembered not as abstract tragedies but as specific actions taken by identifiable people, preserving an accurate historical record.
Legal Foundations
The Foundation’s actions are grounded in well-established international legal frameworks:
· Genocide Convention: The 1948 Convention defines genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
· Rome Statute: The founding document of the International Criminal Court defines war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
· Universal Jurisdiction: Many national laws allow for prosecution of international crimes regardless of where they were committed or the nationality of perpetrator or victim.
| Legal Framework | Relevant Provisions | Application to Gaza |
|---|---|---|
| Genocide Convention | Article II: Defining genocide | Systematic destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza |
| Geneva Conventions | Protection of civilians in armed conflict | Targeting of civilian infrastructure, hospitals, schools |
| Rome Statute | War crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide | ICC investigations into Palestine situation |
| Universal Jurisdiction | National laws allowing prosecution of international crimes | Cases filed in Belgium, Spain, Germany, etc. |
The Path to Accountability: Mechanisms and Challenges
Universal Jurisdiction and Domestic Courts
The Hind Rajab Foundation has strategically leveraged universal jurisdiction principles to pursue cases across multiple countries:
· European Cases: Complaints have been filed in Belgium, Spain, Germany, Austria, Cyprus, and Greece, among others. These efforts have already yielded some results, such as the interrogation of two Israeli soldiers by Belgian federal police.
· Latin American Engagement: Cases have also been pursued in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru, where some governments have been particularly receptive to international justice initiatives.
· The UK Approach: Though a request for the arrest of Israeli President Isaac Herzog was rejected by UK authorities, the very attempt demonstrates the growing boldness of these accountability efforts.
International Institutional Pathways
Beyond national courts, the Foundation has pursued multiple international mechanisms:
· International Criminal Court: The Foundation has submitted extensive evidence to the ICC, including names of 1,000 alleged perpetrators, pushing for arrest warrants to be issued.
· International Court of Justice: While the Foundation does not directly bring cases to the ICJ, its documentation supports South Africa’s case against Israel for violating the Genocide Convention.
· UN Human Rights Mechanisms: The Foundation’s work provides crucial evidence for various UN special procedures and investigative bodies.
The Political Challenges
Despite these efforts, significant political obstacles remain:
· Western Complicity: Many Western governments, particularly the United States, UK and Germany, have continued to provide diplomatic protection and arms transfers to Israel despite them being currently on trial at the International Courts of Justice for the crime of Genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
· Selective Justice: The international community has demonstrated inconsistent application of international law, rapidly imposing sanctions on Russia for Ukraine while resisting similar measures for Israel.
· Israeli Countermeasures: Israel has imposed sanctions on the Hind Rajab Foundation and launched propaganda campaigns to discredit it. The Israeli military has also instructed soldiers to avoid social media posting that might incriminate them. Every western country also has organised and well funded Israeli-aligned groups who scour social media for people criticising Israel. Once these groups have a target they launch smear campaigns against them with accusations of antisemitism and harass their employers to sack them. This is how groups like “Gnasher Jew” in the UK defend Israel’s genocide against Palestine and hide their crimes against humanity. Increasingly, the members of these groups are being identified by anti-genocide campaigners and information is passed to the ICJ and groups like The Hind Rajab Foundation for processing and ultimately these people will also stand trial.
The Moral Reckoning: Beyond Legal Justice
Historical and Symbolic Significance
The effort to name perpetrators carries profound symbolic importance that transcends legal technicalities:
· Restoring Dignity: The process of naming and seeking accountability acknowledges the inherent dignity of victims by affirming that their lives mattered enough to pursue justice relentlessly.
· Breaking Cycles of Violence: Historical impunity often fuels continued conflict; accountability processes can help break these cycles by establishing that atrocities will have consequences.
· Reclaiming Narrative: In the face of powerful propaganda machines, the meticulous documentation of crimes helps reclaim the historical narrative from those who would obscure or deny atrocities.
The Limitations of Legalism
While essential, legal accountability has certain inherent limitations:
· Selective Prosecution: Given the scale of violence, only a small fraction of perpetrators can ever be prosecuted, raising questions about representative justice.
· Structural Violence: Individual prosecutions may inadvertently obscure the structural nature of the violence, which involves governments, institutions, and international complicity.
· Political Constraints: The ultimate effectiveness of legal mechanisms depends on political will among states to enforce judgements and implement sanctions.
Despite these limitations, the symbolic value of pursuing justice remains profound. As the Foundation’s work demonstrates, even when immediate legal outcomes are uncertain, the process of naming and shaming can have significant impact on military culture, international awareness, and historical memory.
The Enduring Legacy of Nuremberg and the Future of Accountability
The Hind Rajab Foundation’s article and broader work represent a crucial contemporary application of the Nuremberg principles in an era where power asymmetries and geopolitical protections have often shielded perpetrators from accountability. Their meticulous effort to name those responsible for atrocities honours both the memory of individual victims like Hind Rajab and the collective promise of “Never Again” that emerged from the Holocaust but has too often been applied selectively.
The parallels with Nuremberg are both inspiring and sobering—inspiring because they demonstrate how civil society can now advance justice even when governments fail to act; sobering because the need for such mechanisms reveals the persistent failure of the international system to prevent atrocities in the first place. The Foundation’s work underscores that the legacy of Nuremberg is not preserved in museums or history books but in the continuous, courageous effort to apply its principles to contemporary atrocities, regardless of the power or identity of the perpetrators.
As the Foundation continues its legal battles, it faces significant obstacles—from political resistance to legal technicalities. Yet, their work has already achieved important successes: shifting the culture of impunity, empowering other accountability efforts, and reminding perpetrators that their identities may yet be revealed and their crimes documented for history. However, this work requires sustained international support—not just from institutions but from ordinary people who believe that international law should be applied equally to all nations and all victims.
In the end, the Hind Rajab Foundation’s article represents more than a legal strategy—it is a moral declaration that those who destroy innocent lives, no matter how powerful their protectors, will eventually be named and held accountable before the world. This is the enduring promise of Nuremberg, and it remains as essential today as it was in 1945.
UPDATE: It has come to light (September 25 2025) that Israeli agents in Europe are threatening to murder the chairman of the Hind Rajab Foundation and his family. It has been confirmed by security services that these are credible threats linked to the Israeli regime. More here: www.thecanary.co/skwawkbox/2025/09/25/hind-rajab-foundation-israel/
Edward Torsney 
Leave a comment