Overview
- Judge Roy K. Altman’s Israel on Trial frames a sustained legal and historical rebuttal to major accusations against Israel using doctrines of statehood, the International Court of Justice standard for genocide, archaeological records, and genetic studies.
- Altman argues Jews are indigenous to the land and that Israel meets international legal criteria for statehood, and he documents six rejected proposals for a Palestinian state to explain why a two‑state outcome did not materialize.
- On genocide, the book relies on ICJ precedent that requires specific intent to destroy a group and concludes current accusations fall short of that legal standard.
- Reviewers praise the book’s dense evidence and usefulness in public debates but identify clear factual errors and overstatements, including a false claim about Jewish entry laws for parts of the West Bank and a mistaken date for the Hebron massacre.
- The book is primarily reviewed in right‑leaning outlets that say it will shape campus and public argumentation, and its mix of rigorous legal claims and partisan claims could sharpen political and legal debates over Israel’s conduct and status.