John,
In light of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation of October 7th’s events and the war crimes that have taken place since, the ICC is now seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leaders as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
Most of the international community can see that what’s happening to Palestinians under Netanyahu’s far-right administration is genocide and ethnic cleansing — but here in the United States, President Biden and his administration continue to stand by Netanyahu and his horrific war crimes against innocent people.
President Biden condemned these arrest warrants while celebrating a similar warrant issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and is now collaborating with anti-Palestinian Democrats and Republicans in Congress to formally sanction the ICC.
As U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said, “We cannot apply international law only when it’s convenient.” Either we stand against war crimes, or we don’t.
If the Biden Administration goes forward with its threats to sanction the ICC, the President will only continue to lead us down a dangerous path that will have negative repercussions both here and abroad.
With a majority of Democratic voters agreeing that Israel is committing genocide, and supporting a permanent ceasefire and immediate release of all hostages, Biden is risking a Trump presidency for the sake of denying genocide and defending war criminals.
If the Biden Administration and Congress retaliate against the ICC, it will shred what’s left of the United States’ credibility in the world as a country that respects international law and the institutions that uphold it. The ICC must be given the ability to investigate and prosecute war crimes—no matter who is being accused of them.
Thank you for using your voice in this critical moment,
Justice Democrats