Terrorism

July 30, 2021 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Appeasement is a Time Bomb Sitting on a Powder Keg!

Sir Winston Churchill once said, “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” This was most likely a reference to Sir Neville Chamberlain who had naively thought that he could appease Adolf Hitler. History proved Chamberlain wrong. It became one of the most common cases of failed appeasement. On September 30, 1938, when the “Munich Pact” was signed by France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany, Germany was pretty much “given” Czechoslovakia for peace purposes. In other words, within months of the start of WWII, as Hitler had already become a force to be reckoned with, he was “appeased” with Czechoslovakia. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain went home, proud of his group’s achievement, and telling all that, as a result of it, they had achieved “peace in our time”. The rest is history and, suffice it to say, Mr. Chamberlain and the Allies were proven wrong about fifty million times over.

Fast forward to today, and there should really be no dialogue with those who want to replace and/or eliminate Western civilization. Appeasement is one of the greatest weaknesses of the postmodern West and will very likely become part of its demise. It is born out of a desire to remain within the acceptable boundaries of political correctness. Unfortunately, both political correctness and appeasement are seen by our enemies for what they are: weaknesses and wide-open doors to get inside our democracies and destroy them slowly from within.

When it comes to end-times anti-Semitism, appeasing the enemies of Israel and the Jews will only be done by agreeing with them and further participating in their destructive agenda. The principal recipient of the “blessing” of appeasement is the main protagonist on the scene of end-times anti-Semitism. On one side, radical Islamic ideology pervades many aspects of our daily lives and dictates what must be done next. Liberalism, on the other side, also promotes appeasement at the high cost of denigrating, ostracizing and now even killing Jewish people. Radical Islamic ideology is behind the reshaping of Europe, the United States and, of course, most of the Middle East and Asia. It has slowly infiltrated large corporations, government agencies, schools and universities and even financial institutions over the last 50 years to reshape the West in what can be called “the stealth jihad.” So, appeasement with Islam in any radical shape it might be, is a sure loss for the West.

Appeasement shows weakness and even desperation, which is exactly what we are seeing all over the world when it comes to not offending Muslims. We can have no mention of Jesus in American public schools, no wearing of kippot (Jewish skull cap) in French public schools; yet, we even take down crosses in some public places because they offend Muslims. In one case, there appeared to be so many crosses in a Catholic (that’s right, Catholic!) University that a complaint was filed claiming Muslim students were uncomfortable praying there. This is a Catholic school, for goodness’ sake. What do you expect? Why can’t they just use a different room to pray? This hatred against the Christian cross is growing all over the world and especially in Europe. Muslims have a great aversion to the cross, so everyone else must bend and take them down or cover them. I would understand if we tried to erect crosses in Muslim countries like Iran, Afghanistan, or even Saudi Arabia, but in Western Europe? Seriously?

Why appease Muslims and erase the symbol of Christianity in what used to be Christian countries? If anything, the cross is even more offensive to Jewish people because of all the carnages and persecutions done in its name against my people for the last 2,000 years (Crusades, Inquisition, Pogroms, Holocaust, etc.), but you don’t see Jewish people anywhere suing for being offended by the cross or protesting its public display. Jewish people simply walk away or do not enter into a building with a cross, end of story!

Any type of appeasement is simply an act of postponement. In the name of tolerance, political correctness, multiculturalism or even out of fear, appeasement is a time bomb connected to a powder keg, sitting under Western civilization. Appeasement should make us very upset and cause us to speak against it, but it shouldn’t lead us to hate the people who attempt appeasement. In other words, it is necessary for us all to speak up against those who try to negotiate with terrorists, murderers and haters, whether with individual people or with whole countries. The danger is that in the process of our disagreement with appeasers, we can easily sway towards hatred of those they are trying to appease, simply to prove to them that they are playing with fire and eventually will get burned. In recent history, we have moved towards pointing the finger at the enemy, whether it be ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Boko Haram, Hezbollah or others. Without caution, we can find ourselves just a few steps away from racism.

It works the same for any other groups like BLM or Antifa. Violence, looting, racial slurs and destructive acts cannot be condoned by anyone for any reason. Appeasement, as good as it looks to the outside world, is a one-way street that is taken when negotiations are not an option and those appeasing appear to be a danger. It is akin to rewarding a guilty party for acts of treachery, abuse or even destruction. Appeasement is cowardice in action, and it is a clear sign of a lack of integrity!

May 29, 2021 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Time For Faith In Action: I Am Not A Bystander!

Only eighty years ago, the world was taken by surprise by the evil agenda of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. The intensity and frequency of the horrors inflicted upon European Jews was a shock to many and it was even hard to believe that such a country as Germany could descend so low in committing evil against fellow humans. The players in WWII can be identified as the perpetrators/collaborators (Nazis, French Vichy government, Fascist Italy), the victims (many minorities, handicapped, religious sects and of course, the Jews), the rescuers (many of whom became “Righteous Among the Nations”) and the bystanders (the many who looked the other way, and did NOTHING).

With resilience and by the grace of God, the Jewish people regrouped and grew again out of the ashes of Auschwitz, crying out to the world “NEVER AGAIN” as a testimony to the innocent victims and a commitment to never let it happen again. For a brief period of respite, the world believed that it would never happen again, but unfortunately, the global events of the last few decades have proven us wrong. Not only have we been proven wrong, but the morphing of racial antisemitism into anti-Zionism turned out to be the biggest lie that people are willing to buy. By renaming themselves anti-Israel or anti-Zionist, they believe that they are switching from anti-Semitism to social justice warriors or human rights advocates; thus, eliminating any sense of guilt they may have had in the past. The new narrative has grown very deep roots in the Western culture from the seed planted by Yasir Arafat and the PLO and watered by all the foes of Israel – including some within the evangelical world. The weed keeps growing as it continues being watered and even fertilized by the many. The victims are still the Jewish people and the perpetrators are all those who hate them in thoughts, words, or deeds.

There are still two groups left: the rescuers and the bystanders. As to the rescuers, I strongly believe that they will be what I call the “New Righteous Among the Nations”. Additionally, I believe that they should look at the prophecy of the goats and the sheep in Matthew 25:31-46 when Yeshua explains that during the Tribulation, those who will become believers will turn out to be rescuers of persecuted Jews. I do believe, however, that at the time of the Rapture, all believers will be taken prior to the Great Tribulation (also known as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble), there will be those who turn to Yeshua during the tribulation. Out of these believers, hearts will turn toward the Jewish people and they will aid in their rescue and protection. This is a very powerful model of love and service that we should ALL pay attention to today – Yesterday, for that matter!

You have always had those who turn in the innocent for their own benefit or what they are convinced is for their own good – all for selfish reasons. However, the bystanders scare me the most. Eighty years ago, Europe was plagued by Nazi antisemitism and collaborators like the French Vichy government. Those were the perpetrators that were transparent about their agenda; they were after the Jews at any cost. What about those who stayed in their apartments and peeked behind the blinders when the Gestapo came to take my grandfather away from his wife and daughter (my mother)? Were they scared? Did they feel powerless? Did they feel unconcerned because they were not Jewish – or they simply could not have cared less? Maybe it was a combination of some of these reasons or even all of them. However, the end result was a very large group of colleagues, neighbors and even friends who could have helped the Jewish people. Instead, they chose to look the other way and became co-perpetrators. I have said this for a long time: a bystander who does nothing only facilitates the crime of a perpetrator. In other words, doing nothing is still doing something.

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Fast forward to 2021, Israel was at war with Hamas for 11 days and much of the world watched in horror how the IDF was going after “innocent” Palestinians. The Palestinian narrative (read: propaganda) has been pushed through the media and various government agencies around the world with the advent of Arafat, it is now believed as truth. No fact-checking necessary. Those in media and government want Israel to feel alone and isolated. However, the Jewish people have the undeniable right to exist and to do it in their own ancestral, Biblical land that predates the Palestinian narrative by several millennia.

Evangelical Christians have had a history of support for Israel. After all, if you read your Bible correctly using a grammatical/historical method and paying attention to the context, it becomes extremely hard to deny the fact that God has a very special plan for Israel and the Jewish people whom He calls the “Apple of my eye” in Zechariah 2:8. Promises and covenants were made between God and Israel, and all of them but one, the Mosaic Covenant, were unconditional and eternal. This means that they are still in effect today and that God unconditionally promised certain things to the Jewish people. They are based on God’s character and not on Israel or the Jewish people’s performance. That history of support and love for Israel, which once was known as “Christian Zionism”, is eroding, especially with the newer generation of young evangelicals, as it drastically declined from 75% to 33% in just three years.

This still leaves us with a large group of Christians who genuinely love Israel and the Jewish people but allow me to be blunt: loving Israel doesn’t mean a trip to the Holy land, eating hummus and falafel and praying for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6.) Don’t quote me wrong, prayer ought to be at the foundation of all we do as modern-day followers of Yeshua, but it cannot stop there, especially today. Israel and Hamas are now experiencing a ceasefire, and I truly do not know how long it will hold. I would say at least until some tunnels in Gaza are rebuilt and the Hamas arsenal is somewhat replenished with rockets and missiles ready to be launched again on Israeli civilians. The ceasefire is in place in Israel, but there hasn’t been a complete ceasefire between Jews and their foes for the last 2000 years. Anti-Semitism is the conflict of all conflicts against the Jews. It is the longest and deadliest pandemic of all mankind, and right now it is picking up momentum like we’ve not seen or experienced since the Holocaust. It is global, it is vicious and it shows no signs of stopping.

I am somewhat encouraged by the various organizations getting involved to expose the lies, teach the truth and voice their outrage. They help educate people and hopefully call them to action. A call to action is exactly what I am praying I can do. I want to reach as many Christians as possible and challenge them to put their faith into action. Let’s see Genesis 12:3 come to life, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

I have designed a logo available on my Facebook page that reads: “I AM NOT A BYSTANDER, Genesis 12:3.” My hope is that people get ahold of it and post it everywhere on the net. Some people have already approached me to make signs, T-Shirts and hats…That’s great! What I really want you all to do beyond flooding the net with this image of support, is to call your Jewish Community Center, Synagogue or any other Jewish organization and tell them RIGHT NOW, when they need it the most: “Hello, my name is ________________ and I am not a bystander.” Let the Jewish community know that you are a Bible-believing Christian and that you have their back. Make yourselves available to help if Jewish property is defaced or destroyed. It is always the right time for prayer, but we all need to kick it up a notch because it is time for our faith to be in action. Some people even believe that the war against antisemitism has been lost. If it is true, and I certainly hope it is not, we have even more reasons to get involved in the lives of our Jewish friends and become the New Righteous Among the Nations. #iamnotabystander

May 21, 2021 By Olivier Melnick 1 Comment

Is the stage being set for the prophecy of Zechariah 12:3 ?

Having been a follower of Yeshua for 37 years, I have often heard or even said that we are in the last days. To be sure, even 1st-century believers thought they were in the last days, and each day that passes puts us closer to the end of God’s program for mankind on this side of eternity. So, when people hear that we are in the last days, many of them, suffering from some sort of eschatological fatigue, roll their eyes and move on. Are those of us claiming that it is 11:59 at the eleventh hour just sensationalists? Are we overreacting and redirecting our focus on the less important at the expense of what matters in life? Frankly, it all depends on what our focus is being redirected to.

I have always been a very literal, context-driven student of God’s Word. If God left us the Bible as His message to us on how to live and what to look forward to, we can look at it from different cultural vantage points, but we must agree that it contains the same truth for all mankind. We might not like some of the statements that the Bible makes, but that doesn’t give us the authority to declare that they are not the truth. When we survey God’s counsel, we are bound to find many prophecies fulfilled and more yet to be fulfilled. We must resist “newspaper exegesis”, but we need to honestly look at the news through a Biblical lens if we want to know where we are on God’s timeline of human history.

Much of that timeline revolves around Israel as God has promised to never forsake Israel or allow for its destruction (Jeremiah 31:35-37). At a time when rockets are raining down on Israel by the hundreds, from a human perspective, the situation looks very bleak. While casualties are inevitable on both sides, God isn’t caught by surprise by the present conflict, and neither should those of us who take His word seriously. Satan’s demise clock is ticking quickly, and he is desperate. Desperate times call for desperate measures and Satan finds, in most of the world, a plethora of willing executioners for his antisemitic agenda. Truth has long ceased to matter. Fact-checks are politically or socially motivated.

If someone believes that they are contributing to social justice, multiculturalism and tolerance, they immediately feel like they are making a difference to improve the world we live in; even if it is at the expense of someone else, and in this case, as is too often the case, at the expense of Israel and the Jewish people.

Not long after the tragedy of the Hyper Cacher Supermarket on the east side of Paris in 2015, Jeffrey Goldberg wrote a piece in The Atlantic that still resonates in my head. In it, he made a sobering statement that I was really hoping was inaccurate, but as it turns out, he might have been spot on. He wrote, ” The Shoah served for a while as a sort of inoculation against the return of overt Jew-hatred—but the effects of the inoculation, it is becoming clear, are wearing off. What was once impermissible is again imaginable. Memories of 6 million Jewish dead fade, and guilt becomes burdensome….Israel is coming to be understood not as a small country in a difficult spot whose leaders, especially lately, have been making shortsighted and potentially disastrous decisions, but as a source of cosmological evil—the Jew of nations.”

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What Goldberg saw six years ago, was the erosion of Europe’s compassion towards the Jewish people. I have long been a believer that what happens in Europe, and even particularly in France, is a good indication of what is coming to America. The barometer of the new antisemitism in Europe sets the temperature for what is coming to America. Since 1948–when Israel was reborn as a modern nation–antisemitism, which was localized mostly to Greater Europe, became a global virus. The tiny Jewish state gave anti-Semites a justification for a Jew-hatred that has now spread over the four corners of the world. The irrational conclusion has been that if Israel is guilty, by proxy, all Jews are as well. This could lead to the whole world hating the Jews…but wait, isn’t there a prophecy in the Bible about that?

The prophet Zechariah wrote, “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.” (Zechariah 12:2-3). Mind you, this is a reference to the Campaign of Armageddon, and we are not there since this will be taking place during the final stretch of the Great Tribulation (Revelation 16:16, 19:19). Yet, we cannot afford to put our heads in the sand and ignore the signs of the times. None of this final chapter of mankind, hinging around Israel is going to happen in a vacuum, but rather, it will be progressive AND exponential. I believe that we are well on the way to that final Biblical curtain call, as the pressure is mounting against Jews worldwide. In the last week:

In a recent conversation with the Pope, Turkish president Erdogan declared, “All of humanity should be united against Israel.” I wonder if he had any idea of how Biblical he was when he made that outrageous statement?
Pro-Palestinian crowds gathered in Los Angeles and attacked Jewish diners as a result of the current conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Pro-Palestinian crowds rallied in Westwood, CA demanding that Israel stop the airstrikes over the Gaza Strip. They didn’t ask for a ceasefire or for an end to the conflict, but just for Israel to stop defending itself.
In New York, Jewish people were attacked by pro-Palestinian passing cars who threw fireworks at them, screaming “F…ing Zionists”. One Jewish person was burned.
In Germany, people marched on the streets shouting “free Palestine for the Jordan to the sea” which is a euphemism for getting rid of all the Jews.
In London, a group of cars drove through a Jewish neighborhood screaming, “F… the Jews, rape their daughters.“
In Washington D.C., protesters gathered outside the Israeli Embassy and shouted “Free, Free Palestine” and declared that Israel had no right to exist.

As of this writing, Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. It is uncertain if that ceasefire will hold, but what is sure is that the hatred for Israel and the Jewish people seems to continue to grow on a global scale, preparing the way for an all-out war against the Jews. The Bible is clear, at some point, all the nations of the world will gather against Jerusalem, but that doesn’t mean that all people will follow suit. It is time for all Christians and people of goodwill to unite in rebellion against the real oppressor. For the last several decades, under the leadership of the new antisemitism, the Jews became the perpetrators, something that they never have been. Now is the time to reset our moral GPS because nobody in his right mind will find any moral equivalence between a country that uses weapons to defend its civilians and a group of people who uses civilians to hide their weapons.

Maybe the days of Zechariah 12:3 are closer than we think?

April 26, 2021 By Olivier Melnick 1 Comment

Do Jewish Lives Matter only in Theory?

If 2020 was the year of Covid-19, it was also the year of the US race riots. The tragic death of George Floyd is still having ripple effects in America, and the motto “Black Lives Matter” continues to be seen and heard across the land. It is not my intention to debate the various ways that this motto has been used, suffice it to say that there exists a certain amount of racial inequality in America that needs to be addressed if we desire to move towards solving it. Being a Bible believer and modern-day follower of Yeshua the Messiah, I believe that “All Lives Matter” to God and should matter to us as well.

The African American community has been at the forefront of the news for the past year; and while much remains to be accomplished, voices are heard and opinions are formed and even altered for the better. It’s all good, but unfortunately, it is not equally good for all people. I am devastated by the recent news out of France regarding the trial of a man who murdered an innocent Jewish woman. All seems to indicate that in France–and possibly other countries–Jewish lives do not matter. Let me elaborate.

On April 4, 2017, 65-year-old Sarah Halimi, a retired doctor, was tortured by her neighbor Kobili Traoré, and then thrown to her death from the window of her third-floor apartment. Traoré committed this murder while reciting verses from the Qur’an and calling Sarah Halimi a “dirty Jew”. Upon throwing her through the window, Traoré shouted in Arabic that he had succeeded in killing an evil spirit or “killed the Satan”.

When questioned, Traoré declared that he felt “persecuted”, and after realizing that he was high on marijuana, the French justice system decided that he would not stand trial. That decision basically sent the message that anyone’s voluntary drug consumption exonerates them from any responsibility. Traoré was officially acquitted in April 2021 and is literally getting away with murder, while the global media is – for the most part – completely ignoring this story.
France continues to be a very secular country and authorities don’t like to report acts of antisemitism. This doesn’t stop people from reporting them, but since not much gets done to remediate the problem, many of these acts remain unreported at worst or wrongly reported at best.

It is also shameful that much of the media in France and in the USA decide to remain silent on the fact that Traoré will walk free after killing a Jewish woman. Islamic antisemitism is a very touchy subject in France. They only started to report the news after the decision to let Traoré walk free and when the Jewish community started to protest in large numbers. It looks like a reaction to a protest that couldn’t be ignored rather than honest reporting about a murder that went unpunished. Within a few days of the acquittal, a police officer in the city of Rambouillet near Paris was stabbed to death by a Tunisian man. The news in France, Europe and the United States were all over it within hours. The death of that police officer was a tragedy indeed, leaving a father and two children behind. Its reporting was necessary, but when I compare the two events and how one was ignored, I cannot help but think that there is a double standard being applied here. What a shame!

Traoré’s exoneration sets an extremely dangerous legal precedent in France and the rest of the world. French President Emmanuel Macron said that the Jewish community has his full support. What did he mean by that? Were these empty words to save face? It is not the first time that Jewish people have been killed in France in recent years. What about the multiple stabbing of Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll in 2018, left to die in her burning apartment? Of course, we all remember the kosher supermarket carnage of January 2015 when four Jewish shoppers were murdered. That was six years ago! The site of the tragedy–just a stone’s throw from the house I grew up in– continues to see flowers and photos brought in memory of the victims, that’s very thoughtful, but you cannot fight terrorism and antisemitism with flowers, photos and poems.

Before that, there was the 2012 Toulouse massacre, when Mohammed Merah entered a Jewish day school and killed three students and a rabbi in cold blood. What about 2006, when Ilan Halimi (no relation to Sarah Halimi), was tortured, burned over most of his body and then thrown beside railroad tracks to die? Not to mention the killing of Jewish people that occurred in other parts of the world such as the Pittsburgh synagogue and the San Diego attack of recent years.

Back to the Sarah Halimi case. The man who killed her didn’t just kill her. He insulted her, killed her and then threw her out her apartment window. This shows much more than killing for whatever motive, it shows violent, uncontrollable hatred. We are told that because he was high on cannabis, he was not acting rationally because of being in some sort of altered state. The problem I have with that is that whenever someone is under the influence of any mind-altering substance, it doesn’t just alter their behavior, it may also enhance the tendencies that lie dormant within them. Whatever control that person may have while sober may not be controlled while under the influence. To say that Kolibi Traoré cannot be held guilty of murder because of cannabis in his system is wrong, but to decide to not even go on with a trial is adding insult to injury. Even if murder is off the table–and it shouldn’t be–manslaughter would be the absolute minimum charge. Doesn’t that endanger Jewish lives elsewhere once someone is seen to be not responsible for their actions because of a drug or alcohol?

I can promise you that if the victim(s) had been from the Muslim faith, the case would have not been swept under the rug. If the victim was a Muslim thrown out the window by a Jew, the Imams would be all over the case and the news would have exploded with the details shouting “Islamophobia” from the social networks’ rooftops. For Jewish victims…Not so much! Let me reiterate that all lives matter: Jewish, Muslim, Christian or atheists, but why is this case of murder ignored and the perpetrator exonerated of any responsibility? What a slap in the face of the Jewish community, and not just in France. This will probably be seen as a go-ahead for violence against Jews elsewhere.

It would appear that the lives of Jewish people are not worth much. Incidentally, France is a country where people will get one year in prison if they throw their dog out the window. So, is the life of a dog worth more than the life of a Jewish person? It would appear so!

This can only encourage antisemites to perpetrate more crimes against Jews as they see that their actions if noticed AND if reported properly, might not even garner any punishment. Justice is usually served, but maybe not for Jews, after all. At least not for the foreseeable future in France. This is despicable and very scary for the Jewish community of France. That community already doesn’t report all antisemitic acts because very little if anything gets done when they do. Sometimes Jews even get accused of playing “the victim card” or calling any disagreement with the Jewish community “antisemitism.” There might have been some abuse in that area, but throwing a Jewish woman through her third-floor window screaming “Allahu Akbar” and “I have killed the Satan” is antisemitism without a doubt. So, do Jewish lives matter? Well, it certainly looks like they don’t in France.

In every situation, there are always going to be the perpetrators, the victims and the bystanders. In the case of Sarah Halimi (the victim) and Kolibi Traoré (the perpetrator), inevitably, there are some bystanders. People who are not Jewish, people who fear Islamic extremism’s repercussions and people guilty of “soft antisemitism” who wouldn’t kill Jewish people, but certainly don’t care if someone else does.
If you don’t see the beginning wave of a repeat of history in Europe, you are not really paying attention. The last time a Jewish life was worth nothing, we let an evil man and his cohorts decimate six million Jews in the most horrific, systematic way possible.

The never-ending scapegoating of the Jews and bloody massacres against them will not stop until Messiah brings peace to the world. That day will come soon at the Second Coming of Yeshua of Nazareth. Some people say that since we cannot stop evil, we should just pray for God to intervene, and He might very soon. After all, if Hitler had not committed suicide, who knows how many more Jews would have perished at the hand of the Nazis. It is believed that Germany would have acquired the atomic bomb within six months after he died. Imagine the damage inflicted if that would have taken place.

So, yes God is absolutely in control, but He works through people. Not because He needs our help to fulfill His program, but because He wants to give us opportunities to bless and be blessed. Don’t be a bystander, be a lending hand, be a helper, be a blesser and be blessed as you do your part in reassuring the Jewish community that Jewish lives do matter! In the meantime, don’t be surprised if French Jews start making Aliyah in droves again. After all, didn’t France just throw them under the bus?

In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.
(Isaiah 63:9)

March 6, 2021 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

ICC Investigates Israel War Crimes…What’s One More Libel?

The International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands just launched an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israelis against Palestinians. Most people have heard of the ICC, but very few really understand its role and how binding its rulings are. The idea of an international criminal court goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, 1919 to be exact, during the Paris Peace Conference that followed WWI. Various people went back and forth trying to get something organized and started for several decades after that.

Eventually, in 1948, after the atrocities of WWII, the United Nations General Assembly saw the need for such a legal body. At that point, the International Law Commission or ILC (a group of 34 experts helping to develop and codify international law and elected by the United Nations General Assembly), slowly started to work towards the establishment of the ICC. In 1994, the ILC came up with their final proposal and it was agreed that a conference should convene with the various countries involved in hopes of solidifying the ICC statutes. That conference took place in June 1998 in Rome, Italy. Voting followed, and 120 countries adopted the draft, while 21 abstained and seven voted against. Out of the seven votes against, we can find the United States and Israel. in 2002, the ICC was officially born and became active soon after. It currently has 123 member states. The ICC’s maximum possible sentence is life in prison.

The long list of crimes that the ICC identifies is based on the Geneva Convention that established the standards of international law for humanitarian treatment in wartime since 1949. According to their own website, the ICC claims that their purpose is, “Trying individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression.” This sounds very honorable, and in the world we live in, it would appear that such a body is critically needed. That is of course if that body is truly unbiased, which remains to be seen. I am not implying that the ICC is corrupt at its core, but I wonder about some of the decisions made over the years, especially one that was recently made involving Israel and possible war crimes against Palestinians.

Israel is not part of the countries that signed the Rome Statute and doesn’t agree with its rules and/or jurisdiction of the ICC. As it would appear, the ICC is currently claiming that it has the power to enforce the rules of the 1998 Rome Statute on any country or individual of its choice regardless of that country agreeing or not with the Rome statute. This is definitely a case of overreaching or overstepping boundaries. The United Nations Security Council officially has the power to rule in that arena and the Oslo Accords (1993 and 1995) which dictate the relationship between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Palestine was declared a state by Yassir Arafat in 1988 and is recognized by 138 UN members. It is a non-member observer state at the UN. UNESCO accepted Palestine as a member country in 2011, even though Palestine isn’t a country per see. Could “Palestine” influence the ICC? Possibly!

There are several problems with what the ICC is doing right now, and it could have many grave ramifications for Israel and its citizens around the globe. Basically, according to what the ICC is trying to do, any Israeli citizen could become guilty of war crimes against Palestinians and become imprisoned for up to 30 years. Several issues must be considered as we look at the validity of such claims:

• The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel who didn’t ratify the Rome Statute: As one of several countries that do not agree with the Rome Statute, Israel doesn’t have to abide by the ICC’s ruling.
• The ICC claims that Israel can be prosecuted because they committed crimes within Palestine which has ratified the Rome Statute: This is an illegal unprecedented move.
• The ICC has no right to apply the rules of a treaty to any other countries than parties of that treaty:This would constitute a severe departure from the very nature of international law.
• The entity known as Palestine is neither a sovereign state nor has clearly defined borders: The entire case hinges on the acceptance of Palestine as a state, which it is not.

So, the question remains: Why is ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda going after Israel for war crimes, and did Israel really commit war crimes against Palestinians? This goes hand-in-hand with the same narrative being used to justify the accusations made by the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement. Israel continues to be accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes and illegal occupation. That narrative is constantly fed to the world and continues to paint Palestine and the Palestinians as victims. I have a few questions for Mrs. Fatou Bensouda:

• Why isn’t Hamas being investigated for war crimes against Israel?
• Why hasn’t the ICC investigated Syria for crimes against humanity, if not genocide in the last several years?
• Will the ICC ever investigate Turkey for killing so many Kurds over the last few decades?
• Should Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah be held responsible for crimes against Israel?

My concern is the fact that the ICC’s current decision seems to be a very biased one against Israel. We continue to witness a tremendous double standard against the Jewish state. The panel of judges who voted on the investigation comprised of three judges, one of them, Judge Péter Kovács, wrote a lengthy, detailed dissenting opinion in which he concluded: “I am convinced that without the cooperation of the directly interested States in the present and truly complicated, over-politicized situation, the Prosecutor will have no real chance of preparing a trial-ready case or cases.” I commend him for seeing through the real agenda.

I think it would be absolutely accurate to describe Mrs. Bensouda’s move as a libel against Israel and by proxy, all Israeli citizens anywhere in the world. A libel, according to the dictionary is, “a written or oral defamatory statement or representation that conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression.” That is exactly what is happening here. I am not sure that this investigation will result in a trial, let alone a conviction, but it certainly helps in continuing to paint Israel as the problem standing in the way of peace in the Middle East. We don’t need the help of the ICC to further that propaganda. If they were doing their job properly and in an unbiased way, they would come to the opposite conclusion.

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