ICC's arrest warrants: A global assault on Judaism and Israel’s leadership – opinion

We are in the midst of a large-scale multi-front attempt to negate the idea of Judaism. Last week’s International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against the leaders of the Jewish state resemble efforts of previous European assaults on Judaism. But what was alarmingly different this time was the immediate commitment made by Western governments to collaborate. 

This included Canada, the EU, the Netherlands, and indeed France, which for the second time in 80 years pledged to arrest Jews, should it be asked to do so.

The ICC made clear in its November 21 warrant that its aim goes far beyond Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant. The war crimes they are accused of committing, such as starvation and murder of the Palestinian population, are committed “jointly with others,” the ICC declared. 

The alleged crimes are committed by Israeli soldiers, as well as those who support them. Indeed, in recent months, the ICC and International Criminal Court (ICJ) have been preparing the legal groundwork for the mass arrest of Israeli Jews.

The mere threat of mass arrests could paralyze travel and cripple the Israeli economy. What Israeli would risk traveling to, or through, Europe?

An attack on the values of the American Revolution

But the ICC did not just target the Jewish state last week. As discussed in a previous column article, the West’s assault on Judaism is also a threat to US national security.

Israel is viewed by top military experts as the most moral army in the world. Therefore, the ICC “starting” with Israel sets a low bar for what could come after. Indeed, without much fanfare, the ICC last week appointed itself to the role of deciding “who will live and who will die.”

Conceptually, the ICC is defying the American motto of “One nation under God” and replacing it with “One world under the ICC.” The precedent and template have been set last week. It was fully endorsed by France, Canada, the EU and many others. Now it is up to the ICC to decide who is next. 

Former South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor, who is at the forefront of the ICC attack, has already made it clear: “America is next,” she affirmed.

In a sense, the ICC drafted de facto “shadow arrest warrants” boilerplates that can be used against former US presidents and government officials, which the ICC has already attempted to investigate for alleged war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

France’s collaboration pledge also threatens the US in a more immediate way: If President Obama or President Bush wish to visit France, this now likely requires a higher level of security assessment. One just needs to connect the dots: The ICC wishes to investigate the US for war crimes, arrest warrants are issued without notice, and France is on the record that it will comply with such arrest warrants – even if issued against former or current Heads of State. 

Travel paralysis warfare is not just “in theory”. Last week, Australia denied entry to former Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked, reportedly due to her opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state – a position held by the majority of Israeli Jews on the Left and Right alike.  

Speaking with The Jerusalem Post, Shaked called Australia’s decision “a hostile antisemitic act” that does not just target Israel but is also “an affront to the [Australia’s] Jewish community,” who invited her to support them at their hour of need.

‘Bigots and war criminals – out!’

Security experts around the world oppose the ludicrous idea to reward the October 7 atrocities with a state, as it sends a clear message to groups in Europe and around the world seeking independence about the optimal path to statehood. Yet, after a year of indoctrination, support for a Palestinian state is becoming widespread in certain Western circles. 

Senator Chuck Schumer even went as far as to suggest that Israelis who oppose the idea of a Palestinian state are “bigots.”

Should Israeli Jews therefore be worried that they too could be denied entry to Australia and other Western countries?  After all, what country should allow bigots and war criminals in? Following last week’s stance of France, Canada, Holland, the EU, and Australia, this question became closer and closer to being synonymous with: what country should allow [Israeli] Jews in?

Let us not forget that many countries – including England, France, and Spain – had enacted laws in the past that made them Jew-free for centuries, and as French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lectured us last week, laws must be obeyed. 

Indeed, the contemporary assault on Judaism is expanding rapidly – week after week, arena after arena. In this new column and in my book, I offer strategies and policy recommendations to counter it, but the most basic step is yet to happen: to acknowledge it exists and understand the depth and imminent danger it poses.

This is not intuitive, since unlike last century’s assault, today’s assault on Judaism is nuanced and is carried out by friends as well as foes. Therefore, it requires complex strategies and not just slogans and feel-good committees.

With that in mind, the United States should not only impose crippling sanctions against the ICC but also hold accountable those who pledge to collaborate and partake in the expanding assault on Judaism – a proxy for an assault on America and a growing threat to global stability.

The writer is the author of a new book, The Assault on Judaism: The Existential Threat Is Coming from the West. He is chairman of the Judaism 3.0 Think Tank and author of Judaism 3.0: Judaism’s Transformation to Zionism (Judaism-Zionism.com). His geopolitical articles are featured on EuropeAndJerusalem.com.