New York, NY – Harriet P. Schleifer, Chair, and William C. Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, released the following statement on today’s news that the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant:
The International Criminal Court will never be able to expunge the stain of the odious act that it committed today.
Israel’s war against the Hamas Terror Army, the butchers of 1,200 Israelis and the captors of 101 hostages, must and will continue until its war aims are met. Along with the Jewish state’s battle against Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the terror state of Iran, this fight is justified in the name of the defense of civilians, the redemption of the hostages, and the campaign against terrorism worldwide.
But with the issuing of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the ICC will not be able to recover from the gross act of bias, moral relativism, and Holocaust inversion to which it has put its name.
The Rome Statute, which established the ICC, was nobly inspired by the gruesome mass murder of the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide. In accusing Israel of war crimes, a state in so many ways an heir to and guardian of the memory of the Holocaust, the ICC joins the ranks of antisemites the world over, from Tehran to Gaza City. We utterly reject the ICC’s warrant; we do not recognize it; we will not abide by it; we will never acquiesce to it.
We will continue to proudly meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant on our visits to Israel and their visits to America.
Though the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, it must mete out consequences to those who participated in this sham. The Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, having passed the House in a bipartisan manner and currently before the Senate, would impose economic sanctions and visa restrictions on ICC personnel. The Senate must expedite passage of this urgent legislation, which the President must then sign.
We reiterate our opposition to the Palestinian Authority’s campaign of lawfare against the Jewish state, which undermines rather than advances the cause of peace, which comes through direct, bilateral negotiations between the relevant parties. We call on the White House and Congress to apply all relevant legislation sanctioning the PA for these actions and its continued ‘pay-for-slay’ program.
We further call on all foreign governments to immediately reject this farcical action by affirming that their countries will not enforce these specious warrants.
Now, and as ever, we stand resolutely with our friends and allies in Israel.
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The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is the consensus-based recognized central coordinating body representing 50 diverse national Jewish organizations on issues of national and international concern. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of every member organization.
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