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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has once again proven itself to be a rogue, politicized entity that weaponizes international law against democratic nations while turning a blind eye to the crimes of terrorists. Its latest move—seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant—amounts to an open declaration of hostility against the State of Israel, a steadfast U.S. ally. And yet, despite the ICC’s blatant moral inversion, Senate Democrats have chosen to shield this illegitimate court from the consequences of its actions.
This week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer led the charge to block a bipartisan sanctions bill that had already passed the House, stopping it from even reaching the Senate floor for debate. The bill, aimed at imposing sanctions on ICC officials engaged in this anti-democratic overreach, was a reasonable and necessary response to an international body that has become an instrument of anti-Western legal warfare. By refusing to back these sanctions, Senate Democrats have signaled their willingness to appease an entity that equates a democratic state’s efforts to defend itself with the actions of terrorist groups like Hamas.
The ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders is not merely an attack on Israel; it is a direct assault on any democracy that fights to protect its citizens from terrorism. The court’s argument—that Israel has committed “crimes against humanity and war crimes” by conducting military operations against Hamas—sets an appalling precedent. Hamas, a terrorist organization that deliberately hides its operatives and weapons in civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, and mosques, intentionally invites civilian casualties as a propaganda strategy. If the ICC were genuinely concerned with human rights, it would first prosecute the Hamas leaders who use their own people as human shields and who initiated the October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians.
Instead, the court is using its prosecutorial powers to undermine Israel’s right to self-defense while granting moral legitimacy to those who murder civilians in cold blood. The implications of this cannot be overstated. If the ICC can target Israeli leaders for defending their country, then what stops it from going after American officials or military personnel engaged in counterterrorism operations abroad? In fact, this is not a hypothetical concern—under previous leadership, the ICC threatened to charge U.S. soldiers and officials with war crimes simply for fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
That Senate Democrats would choose to protect the ICC at this moment is not just politically craven—it is strategically reckless. The bipartisan bill they blocked was hardly radical. It did not target the entire ICC, but rather select officials involved in the persecution of American and Israeli leaders. If anything, it was a modest measure, meant to send a signal that the United States will not stand idly by while an unelected, unaccountable tribunal tramples on the sovereignty of democratic nations.
Schumer’s justifications for blocking the bill are laughable. His claim that it could “ensnare U.S. tech companies” is a flimsy excuse, particularly given that the bill’s language mirrors President Trump’s earlier executive order sanctioning the ICC—an order that President Biden himself rescinded without any such concerns at the time. Moreover, if banks and other corporations are expected to comply with U.S. sanctions, why should tech companies be exempt?
More likely, Senate Democrats’ opposition to the bill is a cynical act of political obstruction. By preventing the bill from advancing, they have denied a legislative victory to Republicans, even at the cost of abandoning Israel in its time of need. Worse still, some may be motivated by pressure from the increasingly vocal anti-Israel wing of the Democratic Party, which has pushed an agenda sympathetic to Hamas and hostile to the Jewish state.
The failure to pass this bill does not mean the end of the fight. With Senate Democrats stonewalling the measure, the issue now shifts to President Trump will take an even stronger stance than the bill that was blocked. Unlike the Biden administration, which has been reluctant to confront the ICC with real consequences, Trump has shown that he is willing to wield American power to defend its allies and its own military personnel.
Israel’s fight against Hamas is part of a broader struggle that all democratic nations face against jihadist terrorism. The ICC’s actions make clear that its sympathies lie not with democracies that uphold the rule of law, but with those who exploit human suffering for political gain. By siding with the ICC, Senate Democrats have chosen to undermine both Israel and the United States.
History will remember who stood with our allies in their hour of need—and who chose political expediency over principle.
