Defense for Children International v. Biden

In November, Palestinian human rights organizations, together with Palestinians in Gaza and the U.S., filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court in Northern California against President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Austin alleging failure by U.S. officials to prevent and complicity in genocide against them, their families, and the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza due to ongoing support for the Israeli government.

After a historic hearing in January at which plaintiffs and an expert in Holocaust and genocide studies testified, the district court found that there is a plausible case of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and urged the Biden administration to reconsider its “unflagging support” for the Israeli government – before dismissing the case under the political question doctrine. In July, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal.

This panel will discuss the factual underpinnings and legal claims of the plaintiffs’ case against the Biden administration, and the larger legal and advocacy efforts to hold the United States accountable to its legal and moral obligations in Gaza.