Israel’s war in Gaza has exposed a deepening global divide

Analysis by Stephanie Busari, Nadeen Ebrahim and Abbas Al Lawati (CNN) — When members of the legal team representing South Africa in its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) arrived home this week, they were mobbed like rockstars by a crowd gathered at an airport in Johannesburg, waving South African and Palestinian flags. Many expressed collective pride& at how the case was presented.& One of the activists greeting the lawyers& lauded them for “having the courage to& take Israel to the ICJ& when no one else had that courage.” In a case brought before the court in The Hague in December, the team argued that Israel had violated its obligations under the& 1948 Genocide Convention& in its war with Hamas in Gaza – a& charge Israel has strongly denied. Hailed as heroes in the pursuit of justice, the multi-racial& team& of lawyers& symbolized South Africa’s “Rainbow Nation”& ethos& that celebrates its diversity, and& has allowed the country to flex its diplomatic muscle& as a moral arbiter on global issues, three decades post-apartheid. “The significance of the fact that the country bringing the case is South Africa – an icon of the ravages of colonialism, settlement and...