Fox News reports that Israel’s leadership is concerned that the International Criminal Court (“ICC”), headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, may be considering the issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Friday (4/26/2024), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on “X” (formerly Twitter) that “[w]hile the ICC will not affect Israel’s actions, it would set a dangerous precedent that threatens the soldiers and officials of all democracies fighting savage terrorism and wanton aggression. Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense. The threat to seize the soldiers and officials of the Middle East’s only democracy and the world’s only Jewish state is outrageous. We will not bow to it.”
The Fox News report may be read HERE.
MSN has presented an highly informative and illustrated article from The Associated Press about the Israel-Hamas War and its impact upon the Gaza Strip. The article may be read HERE.
BACKGROUND
For its part, Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize its jurisdiction. The Palestinian territories, however, were admitted with member status in 2015.
The ICC has more than 900 staff members and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands. The ICC asserts that it is a court of “last resort” that “investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.”
As an aside, Denmark and the Netherlands are two separate countries, which is sometimes a matter of confusion. The “Expert World Travel” website has an excellent summary of the differentiation between the two countries HERE, with one very notable difference being that the Netherlands is a member of the European Union.
COMMENTARY
My brothers and sisters, it was striking to this writer that the Fox News report claimed that the New York Times – citing unidentified Israeli and foreign officials – stated that any warrants issued by the ICC against Israel or Prime Minister Netanyahu would “probably be seen in much of the world as a humbling moral rebuke.” The New York Times article may be read HERE.
The stated mission of the ICC is to pursue the prosecution of grave, international crimes, not to issue rebukes and act as the world’s moral barometer – as if it had jurisdiction over the entire world as a sort of global government. Or, could that be the very issue at hand?
My spirit jumped at the use of this language.
First, the use of the generalized term “the world” is a bit much.
Second, and more importantly, the presumption that other countries, many of which are not democracies and do not have a “perfect score” in the area of morality, are somehow justified to rebuke the right standing or morality of God’s chosen people (see Deuteronomy 7:6) who suffered the Holocaust in WWII and live in the only Jewish state in the entire world, is horribly misguided. Let’s not forget that Israel is the only democratic country in the Middle East and the United States’ most critical ally in the entire area.
Third, and most importantly, the idea that an international arrest warrant against the prime minister of Israel (during a time of war, nonetheless) would constitute a “humbling” moral rebuke harkens, as an example, to the civil rights issues within the United States, where not that long ago, persons, sadly, could be heard unfairly, discriminatorily and disgustingly referring to Black Americans as needing to be “separate but equal,” with talented and well-educated Black Americans denigrated as being “uppity.”
The Merriam Webster dictionary states that the adjective “uppity” has a “long history of being applied to members of racial minorities and especially to Black people. Its association with such uses, and the bigotry they represent, means that when it is used to describe a member of a racial minority[,] it is likely to be considered especially offensive.”
Reporting that the Jewish people require a “humbling moral rebuke” in light of the current issues across the globe and right here in the United States, could be viewed as equally demeaning.
Most, if not all, countries of the world need to repent and pursue life from a biblical worldview – with the desire to love, uplift and promote the well-being of others, praying heartfelt prayers for the healing of the land(s) and that all would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (see 2 Chronicles 7:14 and 1 Timothy 2:4-6)! Amen.
Here are the above-referenced scriptures:
Deuteronomy 7:6 (NKJV)
“For you [the Jews] are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)
“…if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
1 Timothy 2:4-6 (NKJV)
God Desires All To Be Saved
“[God our Savior] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all…”.
Praise Jesus forevermore!