Nawaf Salam, the current president of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, has faced criticism over his objectivity in making decisions regarding Israel due to a series of tweets he posted on his personal account in 2015. At the time, Salam was Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations. In these tweets, Salam expressed his opposition to Israel’s policies in the occupied territories and argued against labeling criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic.
In one tweet, Salam shared a photo with the caption “Unhappy birthday” to mark the anniversary of the occupation of Judea and Samaria. He also posted a photo of an emergency discussion at the UN on Israel, stating that Israel must end the occupation and violence.
Salam made it clear that his criticisms were not directed at Jewish people living in those territories but rather at Israel’s policies. He rejected any notion that criticizing Israel equated to anti-Semitism and opposed attempts to intimidate or discredit critics through such labeling.
The tweets from 2015 have shed light on Salam’s stance on Israel and the ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories, as well as his views on distinguishing between policy critiques and attacks based on religion.
