The International Community Has Debased Itself

It’s official. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Commenting on the ICC’s decision, Netanyahu condemned it as an act of ‘antisemitism,’ likening it to ‘a modern-day Dreyfus Affair,’ referring to the wrongful conviction of a Jewish officer in France that exposed widespread antisemitism in the 19th century.

Now, here’s the thing—I am in no mood to defend Benjamin Netanyahu right now.

Not only did he preside over the most devastating security breach in Israel’s history, but he has flatly and consistently refused to take any responsibility for the catastrophes that happened under his watch.

His coalition of extremists and provocateurs has sullied Israel’s image abroad at a time when international scrutiny and condemnation are already at a high.

He has recklessly strained Israel’s relationship with America.

And finally, and most horrifyingly, he has abandoned the hostages to their fate for the pettiest of political considerations.

For the people of Israel to have such a terrible leader during this grave moment of crisis is nothing less than a tragedy—one which we are forced to watch unfold, day after day, as it lurches towards an uncertain end.

Having said all of that, it must still be pointed out that the ICC has no right to charge Netanyahu with anything. As written in the Wall Street Journal, “the ICC only has jurisdiction over its member states, but Israel isn’t a member and Gaza isn’t a state.” Moreover, the ICC’s mandate is complementary, which is to say that they are only supposed to intervene with countries that have no internal mechanisms for investigating and prosecuting their own crimes.

This is why the only other leaders that have been charged by the ICC are from countries like Russia, Sudan and Libya. This is not because only benighted nations break international law. Rather, it’s because the ICC is only supposed to act when national courts are unable or unwilling to prosecute.

Israel, however, has a strong independent judiciary, one which has locked up prime ministers, and which is currently investigating allegations of criminal activity at the Sde Teiman detention facility, as well as a number of other incidents from the current war.

Indeed, one of the main arguments against Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reform plan was that it would leave Israel vulnerable to prosecution in international courts. So much for that. Now Netanyahu can say that an independent judiciary didn’t end up protecting Israel after all. He’ll be correct.

This is not the first time that bodies charged with preserving the international order have been weaponized against Israel. Let us not forget that on October 7th, the day that this horrible war began, UN staffers from UNRWA—the UN agency tasked with serving Palestinians throughout the Middle East—were among those who streamed across the border from Gaza to participate in the frenzy of killing, kidnapping, raping, and looting.

Later, when Israel’s troops pushed into Gaza, they discovered that UNRWA buildings were regularly being used to store weapons and conceal tunnels.

The UN’s many entanglements with Hamas in Gaza ought to redden the face of the international community and prompt them to consider what moral authority they have to cast aspersions on Israel’s military response.

The UN’s many entanglements with Hamas in Gaza ought to redden the face of the international community and prompt them to consider what moral authority they have to cast aspersions on Israel’s military response.

But while UN staffers literally participated in the invasion of southern Israel, their actions in the north have been worse than useless.

Few people were even aware that UNIFIL—the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon—still existed. That is, until world leaders were suddenly deeply concerned that UNIFIL troops would be harmed by Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah.

What they should have been concerned about was the fact that these alleged peacekeepers had done nothing to keep the peace. Despite their presence in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah was able to take control of the region and use it as a launching pad for an illegal and immoral war on Israel—a war that has decimated Israel’s northern communities and continues to claim the lives of civilians and soldiers.

For those concerned that UNIFIL troops might be injured, the answer is obvious. Evacuate them immediately and send them back to their home countries instead of demanding protections so that their pointless commission can continue indefinitely.

In short, Israel has been attacked by UNRWA, failed by UNIFIL, and now charged with war crimes by the ICC.

There is only one conclusion to draw, and as much as I resent Netanyahu, as much as I pray for the day when he is replaced by someone with integrity and courage, as much as I see him as a true threat to Israel’s survival as a Jewish democracy, I must concede that here, in this instance, he is correct.

This is antisemitism.

This is a modern-day Dreyfus Affair.

Matthew Schultz is a Jewish Journal columnist and rabbinical student at Hebrew College. He is the author of the essay collection “What Came Before” (Tupelo, 2020) and lives in Boston and Jerusalem.