Judgment Day

This is my last week at the Tribunal, so it’s fitting that today the court announced the judgment on my first case. During my first two months in The Hague, I worked on a prosecution team in the trial of the general who oversaw the siege of Sarajevo in 1994-1995. This morning, the court found him guilty of murder, terror and inhumane acts and sentenced him to 33 years in prison. I attended the court session and sat about twenty feet away from the defendant. The session was a little anticlimactic, and it’s strange to look someone in the eye with the knowledge that you helped send them to jail; but, knowing all that he’s done, I can’t think of anyone more deserving.

I don’t have much time to write, as I’m trying to finish my final paper for the semester. It’s been a good week this week, though. My trial team had a Sinterklaas/Hannukah party, and we’ll have a going away party in my honor during work on Friday. I also went on one more bike ride, this time to see the International Criminal Court. I went to a great international conference this week, where I heard speeches from one of the UN nuclear inspectors of Iraq, the head of the UN inquiry into Darfur, one of the judges of the International Court of Justice, and lots of other speakers. The Hague is a pretty good place to find these conferences. I found it interesting that multiple speakers commented on the grossly unfair and one-sided nature of the UN human rights inquiries into Israel. It’s refreshing to hear that from people who aren’t Jewish or American; it’s nice to know that others notice.

This week has many fun things ahead, including plans to hit the town with a Dutch water-polo team this weekend. (Long story...) My friend Isaiah arrives tomorrow, and then the two of us are off to Ireland and France. Woohoo! As such, this may be my last post, unless I somehow have a chance to recap our travels on the way back. I’ll be in LA on the 25th; it’s been a great few months, and I can’t wait to see everyone soon!

(P.S. I don't know why my font is being weird...)

Peace, Peace, and There is No Peace

Yesterday, I went with several other externs on a tour of the Peace Palace (Vredespaleis), home of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and Permanent Court of Arbitration. To answer a question often asked of me, the ICJ is the court that condemned Israel’s security barrier, not my court. That aside, the Peace Palace was an amazing place to walk around. Every room was filled with marble floors from Italy or tapestries from Japan or a hundred other priceless gifts. My personal favorite was the elephant tusks from the King of Siam, which probably wouldn’t fly as a gift these days. The main courtroom was called the “Hall of Justice,” though it disappointingly was not the home of the Justice League. I especially liked a room where every nation’s ambassador had his own chair with the seal of his country sown on the back. The building was beautiful; since we were prohibited from photographing the interior, the attached picture is the best I can do.

Last weekend, my court held its annual party for the staff in Grote Kerk, the oldest and largest church in The Hague. We had fun, though I’m not sure it was the best location. First, the interior was so massive that it felt empty even with 1,000 people dancing inside. Second, it was a little strange to be partying in a church, even if this particular church is apparently no longer “sanctified.” There were professional dancers strutting their stuff on platforms, and the bar stools were placed over sections of the floor that had people buried underneath. Ironically, I think the non-Christians found more disconcerting than anyone. At any rate, at some point I left the party and ended up hanging out with a bunch of random Germans in another bar. It was a strange night.

The next day, I went wine tasting in Breda, which is in the Dutch province of Noord Brabant, close to the border with Belgium. Breda was a charming little Dutch town, and it was fun to be somewhere different. I went with a group of friends, one of whom knew the owner of the wine store; he let us sample wines from all over the world and gave an explanation of the background and taste of each one. (Though I noticed none of the wines were from Holland; I guess Holland is too cold for good wine.) Afterwards we had some fantastic Indian food (I had a meal that included five vegetarian entrees), and headed back home.

Last night was the first time I’ve stayed home for the evening in a long time, due to my family visitors and due to the fact that everyone is starting to realize that the end of our time is near. On Monday night I went to an Italian restaurant for my first goodbye party for a friend. It was fun, but I can’t believe we’re all leaving Holland in less than two weeks... Madness! Anyway, happy Hannukah! (And happy Sinterklaas tomorrow!)

Antwerp & Amsterdam, Alstublieft

On an administrative note, please be aware that I no longer have my American phone number as of Tuesday. I can still be reached at 0031-617697163 or by email for the remainder of my time abroad.

On to other matters: this week my parents were here, so it’s been fun having family two weeks in a row. On their first night here, we went out for rijsttafels, an Indonesian dish that The Hague is famous for. (You get all sorts of fun food when you colonize other countries; it’s a great deal.) The meal is basically rice with a ton of different small dishes to mix in. It’s good stuff.

The next day, we went to Antwerp, Belgium, which is amazingly close by. The greatest sight in Antwerp is the Cathedral of Our Lady, the largest gothic church in the Low Countries. A German student gave us a free tour, highlighting the massive Rubens paintings that hang throughout the cathedral. We also saw the Steen, a castle from 1200 that sits along the river.

After we’d seen enough crucifixes in the center of town, we walked to the Jewish quarter, where they have the largest orthodox population in Europe. It’s a little incongruous to see ultra-Orthodox Jews speaking in Flemish; I’m not used to seeing them in Europe. We bought salami and had a fantastic kosher meat dinner (yay stuffed veal), so I was happy. The restaurant had no menu - you just went up to a counter and pointed out all the things you wanted. It was amazing.

After my parents spent a couple days in The Hague, we traveled up to Amsterdam on Friday. Some highlights of the day include: Dutch pancakes, the Rijksmuseum (state museum, best known for Rembrandt’s Night Watch), and the Filmmuseum (not much there, mainly just an exhibition by a Hungarian video-artist).

On Shabbat, we went to the massive Portuguese Synagogue, and we were invited to lunch by a family in the congregation. The father of the family had a fascinating background: he was raised going to a Catholic school in Suriname (though he was Jewish), learned Kung-Fu and cooking from his Chinese father, spent ten years studying to be a ninja in Japan, and moved to Israel and met his wife before coming to Holland. His wife showed us around the old Jewish neighborhood, including where the Nazis deported all the Jews and where signs of the pre-war Jewish life can still be found on some buildings. There are still many Jews in Holland, but certainly nothing like there used to be.

I went back to The Hague Saturday night, and the rest of the weekend was fun as well. It was so much fun that I’m too wiped out to write about it now, so I’ll post again soon about the rest of it.