A bipartisan group of 25 House lawmakers on Wednesday praised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for Germany’s “intention to intervene” in support of Israel against genocide accusations at the International Court of Justice.

“We applaud your decision to stand beside Israel against these baseless claims made in the international arena by South Africa,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Scholz. “It is crucial that the international community address the misleading, meritless, and untruthful nature of South Africa’s accusations, seemingly designed to hinder Israel from acting in self- defense in response to the heinous terrorist attacks on October 7.”

The lawmakers condemned the South African case for “barely acknowled[ing] the atrocities committed by Hamas.” 

They said the case “jeopardize[s] Israel’s ability to respond to threats from those seeking its destruction” and “set a dangerous precedent, politicize the court, and could impact the on- going fight against authoritarianism and terrorism that the democracies of the world are currently confronting.”

They praised Germany for “continu[ing] to embrace the painful lessons of history’s past to stand up for what is right” and said that its support for Israel “will not be forgotten.”

The letter was led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Tom Kean (R-NJ), joined by Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Don Bacon (R-NE), Kathy Manning (D-NC), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), Lois Frankel (D-NY), Jim Costa (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Wiley Nickel (D-NC), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Marc Molinaro (R-NY), Don Davis (D-NC), Jared Golden (D-ME), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Michelle Steel (R-CA) and Young Kim (R-CA).