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March 3rd, 2021 
Awake Goy Last month, the International Criminal Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber confirmed that it had jurisdiction over war crimes committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory. Two Senators are now circulating a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asking him to denounce the decision.
A copy of the letter, which was written by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), was obtained by the Jewish Insider (JI). “The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision constitutes a dangerous politicization of the Court and distorts the purposes for which the Court was established,” it reads. “As the world’s only permanent international criminal tribunal, the ICC is intended as a court of last resort for the prosecution of the most serious atrocities, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The Pre-Trial Chamber’s ruling creates an exception for the Court to investigate Israel, even while it is unable or unwilling to address some of the most urgent human rights cases in the world today, including those in Iran, Syria, and China.”
A source told JI that the letter has already been signed by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Susan Collins (R-ME). It will remain circulating until the end of this week.
The investigation has caused an uproar among Israel’s political leadership. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the country will “fight this perversion of justice with all our might” and denounced the allegations as “fake war crimes” and “pure antisemitism.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said the ruling “distorts international law and turns this institution into a political tool of anti-Israel propaganda.”
The Biden administration has said they oppose such an investigation and, although they indicated that they would lift the Trump administrations sanctions on ICC prosecutors, they have yet to act. A recent letter, signed by over 70 human rights organizations, urges Biden to live up to that promise. The letter refers to the sanctions as, “an abuse of the US government’s financial powers… and those who engage with the court, including human rights defenders and victims.”
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