A leading Democratic lawmaker invoked the “Harry Potter” series in his criticism of the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s targeting of Israel.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) appeared to suggest that President Biden should not have reversed former President Donald Trump’s decision to impose sanctions on the ICC.
“Obviously, in hindsight, that’s where we are now,” Moskowitz said on “Fox News Sunday” when asked whether Biden, 81, should have left them in place.
“I support reinstating sanctions. I also support Congress acting on a bipartisan basis to pursue the ICC.”
Trump Administration Sanctions were imposed Senior ICC officials were sanctioned in September 2020 amid an investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan. The Biden administration lifted those sanctions the following year.
Moskowitz slammed the ICC last week after one of its prosecutors sought arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
“This is entirely political. The ICC has nothing to do with it. They have no jurisdiction. Maybe we should call them the Harry Potter Ministry of Magic,” he joked.
“This is unfortunately pressure from the international community, which doesn’t want to see Israel any more, so they’re using the ICC.”
Last week, International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan announced he would seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif over Israel’s war with Hamas.
Like the US, Israel is not a member state of the ICC, so technically a judge would first have to review the request for an arrest warrant for Khan before one could be formally issued.
Nonetheless, the move drew swift condemnation from bipartisan lawmakers in both chambers of Congress and a sharp rebuke from the White House.
If the judge grants the warrant, Netanyahu could face arrest if he visits any of the 124 ICC member states.
Netanyahu and Gallant oversaw Israel’s response to the bloody Hamas surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that left at least 1,200 Israelis dead.
Moskowitz, a pro-Israel Democrat, highlighted the numerous countries the ICC has refrained from targeting for investigation despite suspected human rights violations.
“when [Syrian leader Bashar al] “President Assad used chemical weapons to kill 300,000 civilians… Did the ICC go after President Assad? No, they didn’t, because they claimed Syria was not a member state of the ICC,” he said.
“Did they go after China? No, the ICC has made it clear that China is not a member state of the ICC. But is Israel a member state of the ICC? They are not. And yet they are going after Israel now.”
Congressional leaders suggested last week that legislation was in the works to penalize the ICC for its push to issue arrest warrants.
“I believe the United States needs to have a strong bipartisan response, which is why Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate and the Biden administration are united,” Moskowitz said.
Both chambers are in recess this week but are due to reconvene in June.
