Respect international law

Op-ed: Israelis must keep in mind that our right to establish state was granted by United Nations

Reuters | Published: 03.07.11, 00:35

The hand of any human being, and certainly an Israeli or a Jew, must tremble when he seeks to disparage international law. One need not go too far back in history; only 65 years ago, to the first international court in history.

The place was called Nuremberg; the accused included Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess, the SS, the Gestapo, and the top Nazi echelon. The indictment included noble terms such as “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes.” By the way, this international tribunal and its decisions constituted the basis for the Eichmann trial held in Israel 16 years later.

Muammar Gaddafi is no Eichmann, and his mercenaries are not even close to perpetrating SS-like horrors, yet they are deteriorating with every passing day. Hence, the International Court of Justice’s intention to probe the war crimes being committed in Libya these days is an elementary step; it would be ridiculous to speak out against it.

Indeed, military intervention or harsh sanctions may also be required in order to put an end to the massacre on Benghazi’s and Tripoli’s streets. Indeed, we can assume that if and when it happens, the criminals will be tried for their actions a long time after the dust settles. So what? Any human being must support an international tribunal. Otherwise, it’s as though you’re objecting to the very existence of law.

Once in a while we hear people around here muttering “we don’t care about The Hague, it doesn’t matter what the world says or what the United Nations decides.” For these people, whatever we do in dark corners is our own personal business.

Yet here’s a quick reminder: The international court in The Hague is the court of the UN, the organization established in the wake of the World War II disaster. This is the place where Jews were given the right to establish a national home in the State of Israel. The promise made to us by God is very nice indeed, yet until the UN’s decision, our people were persecuted and exterminated by peoples that did not want interference in their “domestic affairs.”

So now you’re speaking out against international law and humanity’s court of law? Mazal Tov! You’re in good company, along with mass murderer Milosevic, madman Gaddafi, and a guy called Wilhelm Frick, the man who drafted the Nuremberg Laws. He too said: Who gave the world the right to judge me?