JCRC Statement
November 22, 2024
The following is a statement from Ron Halber, chief executive officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, on the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
“We condemn the ICC for issuing an antisemitic ruling that draws a moral equivalence between Hamas’s slaughter of 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023, and Israel engaging in its basic right to self-defense against a terrorist adversary. With this ruling, the ICC further erodes whatever sliver of moral authority it had left and once again shows its true colors as a fundamentally anti-Jewish body.
Only one side in this conflict executes civilians in cold blood, rapes and assaults young girls, stores weapons in and launches attacks from hospitals and schools, and uses countless Gazans as human shields. Yet the ICC’s ruling puts Israel’s attempts to eliminate Hamas terrorists and rescue innocent hostages on the same plane as Hamas’ decades-long embrace of terrorism that culminated in the worst attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
The ICC’s ruling does nothing to end the war, advance peace, or provide a safer future for the millions of Israelis and Palestinians who deserve to be free from Hamas’ terrorist grip. We applaud the United States government for rejecting this ruling out of hand, urge other nations to do the same, and reiterate our ironclad support for Israel’s right to defend her people.”