Mondoweiss / January 30, 2025
The Shift (via email)
Palestine advocates saw a small victory this week when the Senate voted against advancing H.R. 23.
The legislation would impose sanctions on anyone working to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute American citizens or officials from U.S.-allied countries. The bill has exactly one target: the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has sought to prosecute Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes in Gaza. The bill passed the House earlier this month by a vote of 243 to 140.
This time around Republicans could not find 60 votes to advance the bill to a Senate vote. Unsurprisingly, the only Democratic Senator to side with the GOP was Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman. “My vote follows Israel,” Fetterman openly acknowledged on Twitter.
The Democratic reaction to this effort does not mark some sort of deep respect for the ICC. Multiple lawmakers made it clear that they support the overall effort of rebuking the court over Israel, but felt the bill’s text was too broad.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) tried to change the language so that the ICC could be sanctioned, but not necessarily U.S. companies who happen to do business with the court. She pointed out that most Democrats agree with lead co-sponsor Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-AR) goal, but simply want some small fixes.
“I know we share most of the same concerns he does in drafting the bill, but I think it’s overly broad, it’s not drafted in a way that addresses the unique concerns that we have with respect to the International Criminal Court,” she explained.
These sentiments were echoed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “The ICC bill is one I largely support and would like to see become law,” he said. “However, as much as I oppose the ICC bias against Israel, as much as I want to see that institution drastically reformed and reshaped, the bill before us is poorly drafted and deeply problematic.”
It’s also not an isolated incident. Criminal proceedings against the Court’s Prosecutor and Judges have been initiated in Russia and the Polish government adopted a resolution to protect Netanyahu from arrest during a recent visit, just to name two recent examples.
This week current and former presidents of the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC published an article at Just Security calling on the court to be protected.
“As the international legal order faces a critical moment, we urge States, civil society, corporations, and citizens worldwide to rally in defense of the ICC. Advocacy, education, and public support are essential to ensuring the Court’s resilience,” it reads. “This is a pivotal moment to reaffirm our collective responsibility to uphold the rule of law. Failure to act risks unravelling the multilateral framework that underpins global peace and justice.”
“The ICC, though young, holds a timeless promise. Allowing it to falter endangers the principles of justice, accountability, and international cooperation that are essential for a fair and stable world,” the article continues. “Now is the time to stand united, defend the ICC, and safeguard the future of the international legal order for generations to come.”
Republicans rejected the Democrats proposed alterations, but it’s safe to say that the effort to protect Israeli leaders from being prosecuted is not going anywhere. It’s unclear how the GOP will proceed from this point, but since the opposition party is aligned with their goals it does feel like only a matter of time before similar legislation is approved with bipartisan consensus.
Despite the arrest warrant, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump at The White House next week.
