Good Luck in Your Genocide Trial

A Burmese soldier walks down a jungle path in Kachin state, Myanmar,

Haaretz Editorial

A diplomatic scandal that erupted Wednesday demonstrated once more the depth of Israel’s dubious relations with Myanmar (formerly Burma), which faces trial in the International Court of Justice in The Hague over allegations for the genocide of the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority.

For years Israel secretly authorized weapon sales to Myanmar, even after the accusations of mass slaughter, rapes and the burning of Rohingya villages become known and after a European Union arms embargo and U.S. sanctions on the country. Only the tenacious battle waged by a small group of Israeli human rights activists, headed by lawyer Eitay Mack, brought an official halt to this trade.

Despite the ostensible end of arms sales, relations between Israel and Myanmar in a number of civilian areas have become increasingly closer. For example, in May 2018 the Foreign Ministry signed an educational cooperation agreement with Myanmar. Ironically, it includes curriculum materials on the lessons of the Holocaust and on fighting racism. Recently, following Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s announcement that she would represent her state in The Hague, Israel’s ambassador to Myanmar, Ronen Gilor, sent hearty wishes to those charged with the massacre. “Good luck,” he tweeted on two occasions this week. He only deleted the messages after Haaretz addressed a query to the Foreign Ministry about it (Noa Landau, Wednesday).

In the wake of the public criticism that followed the report of the tweets, the Foreign Ministry on Thursday issued an official condemnation, for the first time, of the atrocities perpetrated against the Rohingya. The statement also noted that “About a week ago, Israel voted in favor of a United Nations resolution denouncing the atrocities.” Even if it came too late, it’s good to have a clear denunciation of this.

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