Democrat says ICC as ‘irrelevant’ as “Harry Potter School of Magic’
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) blasted the International Criminal Court (ICC) as political and irrelevant in a Sunday interview with Fox News’s Shannon Bream.
“This is totally political. The ICC is irrelevant. They have no jurisdiction. We might as well call them the Harry Potter School of Magic,” Moskowitz said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
Moskowitz criticized the ICC for targeting Israel, while not similarly targeting China and Syria – even though none of the three countries is subject to the court’s jurisdiction.
Moskowitz said the ICC has in the past defended its decision not to go after China and Syria more aggressively by noting its lack of jurisdiction. Both China and Syria have been widely criticized for allegations of human rights abuses.
“They’re irrelevant because Israel is not a party to their treaty,” Moskowitz said about the ICC. “So this is pressure unfortunately from the international community that wants to see no more Israel.”
The chief prosecutor at the ICC announced this past week that he would pursue arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas officials, prompting fierce criticism from Israeli allies that the court was drawing a false equivalence between Hamas and Israel.
There has since been a bipartisan effort in Congress to punish the ICC for its latest move, with President Biden calling the ICC’s move “outrageous” and some progressive Democrats objecting to the effort to demonize the ICC.
Neither the United States nor Israel have endorsed the ICC’s charter, meaning the court has little recourse to prosecute alleged crimes by citizens of those countries.
Still, the court’s critics say the recommended charges against Netanyahu send a dangerous message to Israel’s enemies — and justify the United States’ decision not to ratify the ICC’s authority.
Moskowitz on Sunday said he thinks the U.S. must respond in a strong bipartisan way and said he is hoping they will get to legislation when the House returns.