Brian Giesbrecht is a retired Manitoba judge. He was recently named the 'Western Standard Columnist of the Year'The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel. This is the first time in the history of the ICC that they have ever issued a warrant for the arrest of the democratically elected leader of a nation. This is remarkable, in that the last few decades have included some of the worst, and most brutal leaders. Yet the ICC has decided to single out the longest-serving prime minister of the most prosperous, and only liberal democracy in the Middle East, for this special “distinction”.An ICC warrant obliges any nation that is a signatory to the ICC to arrest Netanyahu if he sets foot on their soil. Neither the United States nor Israel are signatories. Canada is. When he was advised of the warrant, President Joe Biden declared the ICC decision to be “outrageous.” That was the proper response. Netanyahu is the democratically elected leader of the West’s most important ally in the Middle East. Israel is currently defending itself against enemies who are determined to wipe Israel off the face of the map — in their words “From the River to the sea”. Netanyahu, and the Israeli prime ministers who come after him, are equally determined to not let that happen. The fact that Iran and its proxies very deliberately hide their terrorists within the civilian population — and even under it — makes it inevitable that civilians will die while Israel is engaged in legitimate defence. It is a deliberate strategy of these terrorist organizations to let their fellow countrymen die, in order to cause outrage. The highly politicized ICC and its equally politicized organizational ally, the United Nations (UN) know this, but piggyback on this terrorist strategy to achieve their agenda — namely scapegoating Israel, and attacking everything “Western.”So, even the Biden regime, which has itself too often equivocated on its support for Israel, knew immediately what to do when advised about the ICC’s outrageous issuance of the warrant. They called it out as such. To their credit, there was no equivocation. They knew instantly that the ICC had gone rogue.Not so with our Prime Minister. When he was told what the ICC had done he seemed quite fine with it, and offered no criticism of the ICC’s outrageous decision. Trudeau’s response was either incredibly reckless, absolutely brainless, or some combination of both. Whatever he was thinking, unless he plans to lead our incredibly weak armed forces into pitched battle with the Americans, he had better rethink. And fast.Just imagine an airplane carrying Netanyahu on a visit to Washington being diverted to a Canadian airport because of bad weather — a not uncommon occurrence. Canada would be obliged to arrest Netanyahu and place him in custody. Does Trudeau actually believe that this could be done without a massive American response? And what if the ICC next issues a warrant for the arrest of an American president? If that sounds extreme, consider that Donald Trump has promised to give strong support to Israel, after he assumes power. That will almost certainly include supplying Israel with the heavy, bunker-busting bombs that the Biden regime has denied Israel. This will outrage Iran and its ICC and UN toadies. Given the ICC’s brazen act in issuing a warrant for Netanyahu, and the UN’s increasingly radical stance on the Palestine issue, is it too extreme to imagine the same people issuing a warrant for the arrest of Trump? And what would that mean for Canada? In fact, if Canada did undermine the United States in such a manner there would be no need for America to send in a single soldier. An angered Trump could cripple our economy in a thousand ways — without firing a shot.There are many other scenarios that come to mind that illustrate how ridiculous Trudeau’s current stance is. But it gets worse. While the ICC is playing their games, Montreal is being destroyed by pro-Hamas anti-semites, chanting hate-filled rhetoric that include threats of the “final solution.” (For those unfamiliar with the phrase, it refers to Hitler’s plan to kill every Jew on the planet.) And while these hooligans are having their way in the police-free streets of Montreal, Trudeau is happily dancing at a Taylor Swift concert. There are headlines around the world announcing this sad reality.It is becoming increasingly embarrassing to admit to being a Canadian. Our prime minister is obviously trying to pander to the type of person shouting out threats of a “final solution” while pretending to lead a liberal democracy that fought a war to prevent exactly such a thing from ever happening. Canada must take a clear stand on issues of right and wrong. It is not only Jews who are under threat when thugs call for a “final solution”, “globalize the intifada”, “from the river to the sea” or such openly antisemitic slogans. It is all of us. It is the entire western way of life that is under attack. The ICC, which was originally founded on good ideas, and has done some good work in the past, has beclowned itself. Its rash action in issuing a warrant for the arrest of Prime Minister Netanyahu has permanently destroyed its credibility. This will also further diminish an increasingly biased UN’s usefulness. An international body that also came into being with great expectations has increasingly become a puppet of those wishing to bash the west, and to find scapegoats for their own serious problems. Trump will no doubt share their target area with Netanyahu soon.The ICC’s reckless decision will also risk diminishing the reputation of the more important International Court of Justice (ICJ), an organ of the UN, which is already under fire for considering a charge of genocide brought against Israel by the thoroughly corrupt South African regime. (The ICJ has been hearing disputes between nations since its formation in 1945, while the ICC tries individuals for war crimes, and has been doing so since its formation in 2002.)The ICJ should take immediate steps to distance itself from the increasingly political ICC so as not to bring its reputation further into disrepute.The ICC warrant, and a UN majority increasingly hostile to Israel and United States all have one thing in common: They all use Israel and United States as scapegoats for the many problems in their own failed countries - problems that they are incapable of solving. The most vehemently anti-Israel and anti-American nations are among the most authoritarian and troubled of the nations and failed states. They obsess about tiny Israel, and all things “western” to distract their citizens from their own miserable condition. This hypocrisy and scapegoating is in danger of ruining the international rules-based system that has been carefully constructed since the end of WWII. Canada can do little about any of this, given our diminished status on the world stage.But we can at least stand up for Canadian values. One is that openly calling for a “final solution” and burning down our cities will not be tolerated. We must demand more from our leaders. Attempting to appease antsemites who destroy our cities and call for the murder of Jews is something that no Canadian prime minister should ever do. Many of those vandalizing Montreal and spewing antisemitic bile are foreign “students.” Those who committed criminal acts should be criminally prosecuted and then expelled from Canada. Those whose acts fall short of criminality should simply be expelled. Many of these people have been indoctrinated with antisemitism from birth in their countries of origin. It can be argued that their antisemitism is not their fault. Regardless, their antisemitism and extreme anti-western ideology is not something that belongs in Canada. Contrary to what Trudeau has claimed, Canada is not “A post-national state, with no core identity”. It is a country with borders that is deeply proud of its western enlightenment values of tolerance. Anti-semitism has no place here.The ICC should be called out for what it has allowed itself to become — the anti-Israel, anti-Western puppet of authoritarians. The sham arrest warrant should be ripped up by the prime minister in front of television cameras.What we don’t need is a prime minister playing “student politics” and trying to appease violent anti-semites. What we don’t need is a prime minister who plays along with an ICC that has clearly gone rogue.He must denounce the ICC, and announce his strong support for Israel and its democratically elected leader.Brian Giesbrecht is a retired Manitoba judge. He was recently named the 'Western Standard Columnist of the Year.'
