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Should the prime minister of a democratically-elected ally of the United States be allowed to visit Washington? Until now the answer was obvious. Not anymore.
On Thursday, the so-called “International Criminal Court” issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and (now former) Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Back in April, I broke the story in the New York Post that this so-called “court” was going to dare to do such a thing. Few people believed that it was possible.
Some people pointed out that the ICC had never previously dared to pursue the head of a democracy. Others rightly noted that the charges were based on exactly zero evidence and no on-the-ground research.
Others of us who have actually seen the recent conflict with our own eyes pointed out that the charges against Israel are false, libelous, outrageous and entirely without merit.
And then people started to notice that Karim Khan, the British Muslim “judge” seeking to bring the arrest warrants, seemed to have got a little bit too excited a little bit too early. Over recent weeks we started to get a good idea about why.
Khan himself turned out to be at the center of a sex-pest complaint by a former colleague at the ICC. The woman in question had lodged internal complaints about his lewd behavior.
It must run in the family, because as it happens Khan’s brother was recently sent to prison in the UK for sexually assaulting a child.
As multiple papers around the world have reported, Khan apparently made completely inappropriate sexual demands of a female colleague on multiple occasions. When she complained he threatened to ruin her career. I don’t know where the “MeToo” crowd were over that. But they seem to have been remarkably quiet.
In any case, though Khan denied the charges, he must have realized his world might come crashing down, and rushed out a war-crimes charge against the Israeli prime minister. Then he carefully leaked to the left-wing media that he feared Mossad were out to get him.
There’s a note. If you ever commit a sex-crime — as I hope you will not — remember to keep the Khan “Mossad” defense in your back pocket.
But Thursday he actually dared to do it, and issued the warrants.
As of Thursday the Israeli prime minister and his former colleague in the war cabinet can be arrested in any country which observes the jurisdiction of the ICC.
Thank goodness both the United States and Israel were always wise enough not to sign up to the jurisdiction of this preposterous international court.
In 2002 Henry Kissinger had an arrest warrant put out for him by a Spanish communist judge while the former Secretary of State was in Paris. Kissinger was whisked out of France in pretty cool time.
But it was a reminder of one of one great, anti-democratic move of our era. Which is the idea that sovereign nations should effectively offer up their sovereignty. That the soldiers and statesmen of a sovereign nation should be allowed to be judged by the whims or perversions of a foreign judge in a foreign country. Any time. Any place.
Thank goodness both Democrat and Republican administrations have realized for year that this is not something that America can ever accept. Thank goodness Israel did the same.
But the arrest warrants issued Thursday are no theoretical matter.
When the corrupt Khan first announced that he would look into issuing these warrants he added (as a sop) that he would look into issuing arrest warrants for several heads of Hamas as well.
But as of now all of those terrorist leaders are dead. They were brought to justice for their crimes not by the ICC but by the men and women of the Israel Defense Forces.
So now Khan is coming only for the Israelis.
It is like a foreign judge at the end of World War II saying that since the Nazi leaders were all dead he really ought to issue arrest warrants for Harry Truman and Winston Churchill — the other guys being otherwise engaged.
And, after all, didn’t FDR, Truman, Churchill and others end up having to kill people in their pursuit of victory in a war started by their enemies?
In September Netanyahu spoke at the United Nations. In July he made history in being the first world leader to have the honor of being invited for the fourth time to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
But as of Thursday another such invitation is impossible.
Idiotic, self-destructive and short-sighted nations around the democratic world have signed up to the jurisdiction of the ICC. For now — until it comes back to bite them — they seem to think that a couple of crooked judges from Britain or Africa should be allowed to decide how a sovereign nation is allowed to defend itself.
Which means that the prime minister of the world’s only Jewish state is no longer allowed to land in France, for instance. Or Britain. Or Germany, for that matter.
Indeed, from Thursday, if the prime minister of the Jewish State were to make a visit to Berlin the Germans would have to round up the Jew and imprison him, awaiting future German judgement.
At which point some people might say “well all of these countries are lost, aren’t they. At least Netanyahu can still come and visit his allies in Washington?”
Except that he can’t. As of now a plane carrying the Israeli prime minister might not be allowed to fly over the airspace of any country that could arrest him. If his plane needs to stop to refuel or have technical difficulties then it could be followed by international snitches and he could be arrested on the runway.
This is an outrage of course. But it is one that also affects America. If they can do this to Israel, they can do it to America.
President elect Trump has a historic mandate for many reasons. But now is a good time for him to make something very, very clear.
If you come for America then America will come for you. And if you come for America’s closest allies, then wow will you regret the day.