Germany says it will arrest Netanyahu as Israeli envoy appeals to Berlin to defy ICC

Israel’s Ambassador to Berlin, Ron Prosor, was rebuffed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government on Wednesday after the envoy made a dramatic appeal on X, formerly Twitter, to the Federal government to reject the ICC’s legitimacy fully.

Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, was asked on Wednesday if the German government would execute an ICC arrest order against Prime Minister Netanyahu for alleged war crimes during Swords of Iron.

Hebestreit said, "Of course. Yes, we abide by the law."

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit was just asked in Berlin whether ICC arrest warrants would be implemented. His answer: "Of course. Yes, we abide by the law" @POLITICOEurope

— Peter Wilke (@peterjwilke) May 22, 2024

On Tuesday, before Hebestreit’s announcement, Prosor wrote on X in both German and English, “This is outrageous! The German 'Staatsräson' is now being put to the test—no ifs or buts. This contrasts with the weak statements we hear from some institutions and political actors. The public statement that Israel has the right to self-defense loses credibility if our hands are tied as soon as we defend ourselves.”

Staatsräson is the German word that refers to Germany's pledge to ensure Israel’s security is part of its national security and interests. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared during her 2008 Knesset speech that Israel is part of Germany’s raison d'etre—or state of being. 

The ambassador continued, “ The Chief Prosecutor [of the ICC] equates a democratic government with Hamas, thereby demonizing and delegitimizing Israel and the Jewish people. He has completely lost his moral compass. Germany has a responsibility to readjust this compass. This disgraceful political campaign could become a nail in the coffin for the West and its institutions. Do not let it come to that!"

This is outrageous! The German 'Staatsräson' is now being put to the test—no ifs or buts. This contrasts with the weak statements we hear from some institutions and political actors. The public statement that Israel has the right to self-defense loses credibility if our hands are… https://t.co/otONmN1ck5

— Ambassador Ron Prosor (@Ron_Prosor) May 21, 2024

ICC formed in response to Holocaust

The International Criminal Court was formed in response to Nazi Germany’s extermination of 6 million Jews. Germany is a generous donor to the ICC. The possibility that a German government would arrest and deport an Israeli Prime Minister and defense minister if they stepped foot on German soil in light of the country’s Hitler movement history has triggered shocking reports in the German media and on social media.

Germany seems to be working at cross purposes in its diplomatic messaging. On Tuesday, a spokesman for the German foreign ministry said about the ICC arrest warrant request that “The simultaneous application for arrest warrants against the Hamas leaders on the one hand and the two Israeli officials on the other has given the false impression of equivalence.”

Separately but related, Tal Heinrich, Israeli government spokeswoman, sharply criticized the German civil servant, Michael Blume, who is tasked with fighting antisemitism in the state of Baden-Württemberg but has blamed Israel’s government for Hamas’s October 7 mass murder, according to German experts on antisemitism.

Heinrich responded to reports about Blume denigrating the Israeli icon, Orde Wingate, Blume’s calls on the Israeli government to dismantle its security fence to stop Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Fatah terrorism, and his sympathy for the ICC case against the Jewish state.

Hamas slaughtered nearly 1,200 people on October 7 and kidnapped over 250.

Heinrich told the Post on Tuesday that “One of the very first statements of the PM in the beginning of the war - right after October 7 - underscored that this is a time for moral clarity. Comments that we have seen from Mr. Blume in the past about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and throughout this war demonstrate that he often lacks moral clarity. “

The Israeli government spokeswoman, Heinrich, added, “Whether or not he should stay in his role is not in my place to say. But generally speaking, when you’re on a mission to fight antisemitism you have to be able to clearly differentiate between good and evil. There’s no grey zone when it comes to the hatred of Jews.”

On Tuesday, the day the ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said he is seeking to arrest Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant, Blume took to X to again trash the Israeli national hero, Orde Wingate, as a “war criminal.” Orde Wingate was termed the “father of IDF” by former MK and Israeli  Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, who told the Post in 2022 that Blume “should resign" because of his attacks on Wingate. The IDF also rebuked Blume at the time for his slashing criticism of Wingate.

The timing of Blume’s attack on Wingate was noticed by Blume’s critics as he lashed out at Wingate and defended the ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan against Netnanyhu’s charge that Khan’s decision was antisemitic. Blume also endorsed an X post declaring that the decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu was “right.”

Blume previously “liked” an X post and reposted it, calling on Netanyahu to “tear down” the security fence in  Judea and Samaria that has saved the lives of thousands of Jews and Arabs, according to the IDF. Blume compared the anti-terror fence to the Berlin Wall. Brigadier General (Res.) Amir Avivi, who is the head of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, told the Post, "The time has come to fire Blume, who, instead of siding with Israel amid the most horrific attack since the Holocaust on innocent civilians, once again confuses who the good guys are and from where pure evil emanates. Israel builds walls to defend itself against Hamas and other terror organizations. Time has come to hold Palestinian leadership accountable and Blume as well."

Blume has delivered talks across Germany that mainly pin the blame on Israel for October 7 and not Hamas, according to his critics. He told students at the University of Tübingen  about Netanyahu that “His government coalition with right-wing extremists and ultra-Orthodox divided Israeli society by attempting to abolish the separation of powers and relocated the Israeli army to the settlers in the West Bank instead of protecting its own south.”

Natan Sharansky, a one-time Soviet dissident and former Israeli government minister, termed an X post by Blume  “anti-Semitic, “ in which Blume suggested he was being surveilled by an alleged Israeli intelligence company. Blume provided no evidence.

Sharansky said last year there was "no doubt that his[Blume] tweet…is anti-Semitic. As it demonizes our people and goes to classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. It is a legitimate question why should the German government pay him for fighting anti-Semitism."

 Matthias Gauger, a spokesman for the Green Party governor, Winfried Kretschmann, in Baden-Württemberg declined to comment. Kretschmann has faced criticism for supporting Blume’s alleged antisemitism and providing funds to an antisemitic BDS preacher in the West Bank, according to a Post report.

On Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post sent press queries to the German foreign ministry about Prosor’s X post and Chancellor Scholz’s decision to arrest  Netanyahu if the warrant is implemented.