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Germany says it will arrest Netanyahu as Israeli envoy appeals to Berlin to defy ICC
JPost ^ | 05.23.2024 | BENJAMIN WEINTHAL

Posted on 05/23/2024 6:48:18 AM PDT by Dr. Marten

Israel’s Ambassador to Berlin, Ron Prosor, was rebuffed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government on Wednesday after the envoy made a dramatic appeal on X, formerly Twitter, to the Federal government to reject the ICC’s legitimacy fully.

Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, was asked on Wednesday if the German government would execute an ICC arrest order against Prime Minister Netanyahu for alleged war crimes during Swords of Iron.

Hebestreit said, "Of course. Yes, we abide by the law."

 
 

 

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit was just asked in Berlin whether ICC arrest warrants would be implemented. His answer: "Of course. Yes, we abide by the law" @POLITICOEurope — Peter Wilke (@peterjwilke) May 22, 2024

 

On Tuesday, before Hebestreit’s announcement, Prosor wrote on X in both German and English, “This is outrageous! The German 'Staatsräson' is now being put to the test—no ifs or buts. This contrasts with the weak statements we hear from some institutions and political actors. The public statement that Israel has the right to self-defense loses credibility if our hands are tied as soon as we defend ourselves.”

Staatsräson is the German word that refers to Germany's pledge to ensure Israel’s security is part of its national security and interests. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared during her 2008 Knesset speech that Israel is part of Germany’s raison d'etre—or state of being. 

The ambassador continued, “ The Chief Prosecutor [of the ICC] equates a democratic government with Hamas, thereby demonizing and delegitimizing Israel and the Jewish people. He has completely lost his moral compass. Germany has a responsibility to readjust this compass. This disgraceful political campaign could become a nail in the coffin for the West and its institutions. Do not let it come to that!"

 

This is outrageous! The German 'Staatsräson' is now being put to the test—no ifs or buts. This contrasts with the weak statements we hear from some institutions and political actors. The public statement that Israel has the right to self-defense loses credibility if our hands are… https://t.co/otONmN1ck5 — Ambassador Ron Prosor (@Ron_Prosor) May 21, 2024

 

ICC formed in response to Holocaust

The International Criminal Court was formed in response to Nazi Germany’s extermination of 6 million Jews. Germany is a generous donor to the ICC. The possibility that a German government would arrest and deport an Israeli Prime Minister and defense minister if they stepped foot on German soil in light of the country’s Hitler movement history has triggered shocking reports in the German media and on social media.

Germany seems to be working at cross purposes in its diplomatic messaging. On Tuesday, a spokesman for the German foreign ministry said about the ICC arrest warrant request that “The simultaneous application for arrest warrants against the Hamas leaders on the one hand and the two Israeli officials on the other has given the false impression of equivalence.”

Separately but related, Tal Heinrich, Israeli government spokeswoman, sharply criticized the German civil servant, Michael Blume, who is tasked with fighting antisemitism in the state of Baden-Württemberg but has blamed Israel’s government for Hamas’s October 7 mass murder, according to German experts on antisemitism.

Heinrich responded to reports about Blume denigrating the Israeli icon, Orde Wingate, Blume’s calls on the Israeli government to dismantle its security fence to stop Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Fatah terrorism, and his sympathy for the ICC case against the Jewish state.

Hamas slaughtered nearly 1,200 people on October 7 and kidnapped over 250.

Heinrich told the Post on Tuesday that “One of the very first statements of the PM in the beginning of the war - right after October 7 - underscored that this is a time for moral clarity. Comments that we have seen from Mr. Blume in the past about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and throughout this war demonstrate that he often lacks moral clarity. “

The Israeli government spokeswoman, Heinrich, added, “Whether or not he should stay in his role is not in my place to say. But generally speaking, when you’re on a mission to fight antisemitism you have to be able to clearly differentiate between good and evil. There’s no grey zone when it comes to the hatred of Jews.”

On Tuesday, the day the ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said he is seeking to arrest Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant, Blume took to X to again trash the Israeli national hero, Orde Wingate, as a “war criminal.” Orde Wingate was termed the “father of IDF” by former MK and Israeli  Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, who told the Post in 2022 that Blume “should resign" because of his attacks on Wingate. The IDF also rebuked Blume at the time for his slashing criticism of Wingate.

The timing of Blume’s attack on Wingate was noticed by Blume’s critics as he lashed out at Wingate and defended the ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan against Netnanyhu’s charge that Khan’s decision was antisemitic. Blume also endorsed an X post declaring that the decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu was “right.”

Blume previously “liked” an X post and reposted it, calling on Netanyahu to “tear down” the security fence in  Judea and Samaria that has saved the lives of thousands of Jews and Arabs, according to the IDF. Blume compared the anti-terror fence to the Berlin Wall. Brigadier General (Res.) Amir Avivi, who is the head of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, told the Post, "The time has come to fire Blume, who, instead of siding with Israel amid the most horrific attack since the Holocaust on innocent civilians, once again confuses who the good guys are and from where pure evil emanates. Israel builds walls to defend itself against Hamas and other terror organizations. Time has come to hold Palestinian leadership accountable and Blume as well."

Blume has delivered talks across Germany that mainly pin the blame on Israel for October 7 and not Hamas, according to his critics. He told students at the University of Tübingen  about Netanyahu that “His government coalition with right-wing extremists and ultra-Orthodox divided Israeli society by attempting to abolish the separation of powers and relocated the Israeli army to the settlers in the West Bank instead of protecting its own south.”

Natan Sharansky, a one-time Soviet dissident and former Israeli government minister, termed an X post by Blume  “anti-Semitic, “ in which Blume suggested he was being surveilled by an alleged Israeli intelligence company. Blume provided no evidence.

Sharansky said last year there was "no doubt that his[Blume] tweet…is anti-Semitic. As it demonizes our people and goes to classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. It is a legitimate question why should the German government pay him for fighting anti-Semitism."

 Matthias Gauger, a spokesman for the Green Party governor, Winfried Kretschmann, in Baden-Württemberg declined to comment. Kretschmann has faced criticism for supporting Blume’s alleged antisemitism and providing funds to an antisemitic BDS preacher in the West Bank, according to a Post report.

On Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post sent press queries to the German foreign ministry about Prosor’s X post and Chancellor Scholz’s decision to arrest  Netanyahu if the warrant is implemented.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Germany; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: icc; israel; kkk; koranickarimkhan; netanyahu
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To: Dr. Marten

What a despicable disgrace! Satan himself rules the roost in Germany, just the same as 1933-45.


41 posted on 05/23/2024 9:27:14 AM PDT by LuxAerterna
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To: Dr. Marten

My thought too....doesn’t look like they considered the optics here.


42 posted on 05/23/2024 9:42:19 AM PDT by fuzzylogic (welfare state = sharing of poor moral choices among everybody)
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To: 'smith

I‘m not worried. Wiser people (not that difficult) than you rule the world. 🤣


43 posted on 05/23/2024 10:02:47 AM PDT by Menes
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To: caww

Yes, sponsored by greenslime „minister“ Joschka Fischer, the Balkanese wh.reson bastard.


44 posted on 05/23/2024 10:04:04 AM PDT by Menes
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To: Dr. Marten

I guess 6 million Jews murdered by their country is not enough. They gotta have 6,000,000+ one. They should totally be effing embarrassed, and shame of this! They should make a dash to the deepest hell hole in this world! What an effing demonic joke they are! Go straight to hell, Germany! And the people just sit there twiddling their thumbs they should be outraged at what’s going on. Repentance and regret should be in the forefront of their stinking hearts!


45 posted on 05/23/2024 10:40:23 AM PDT by RoseofTexas
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To: Dr. Marten

They should send officers to Israel and serve that warrant arresting netenyahu . I’m sure the Mossad will be of assistance.

The clowns in our media and the EU think these are the “turn the other cheek” kinda Jews.

These guys now in Israel were the “fighters” …. All the “runners” stayed in Europe or went to the US.

Good luck trying to tell Israel that you’ll arrrest their prime minister.


46 posted on 05/23/2024 10:47:53 AM PDT by Dick Vomer ( (2 Timothy 4:7 "deo duce ferro comitantes" <p><b></B><P> <img src="">)
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To: RoseofTexas

You might consider switching to decaf, Ma‘am. It will do you a world of good.


47 posted on 05/23/2024 11:23:55 AM PDT by Menes
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To: Dr. Marten
Germany should have followed the policies of Japan when it surrendered. When I visited Japan in the Navy (late 70's), they were the politest, friendliest, most courteous, with a working republic government, and very strict emigration policies. Through popular vote and top government they decided to remain a homogeneous society to maintain there culture.

Unlike much of Europe and America, Japan refused to accept the so-called asylum seekers. Germany, France, and many other European nations let in so my refugees, asylum seekers, and others under false pretenses, the original cultures and life-styles are barely recognizable in certain troubled regions (read: crime) of their new homelands.

I'm not sure why Japan has worked out so well and Germany has not. May be because we didn't nuke Germany as we did Japan. Even though the Allies obliterated Cologne, Dresden, Dortmund, Nuremberg, somewhat of Berlin, maybe the Japanese got a stronger message from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Or maybe Germans are a culture that can't leave well enough alone.

All the above shows why I'm not a racist. I am a Culturalist: Culturalist theory is a type of social theory that focuses on the relationship between culture and society. It emphasizes the role of culture in shaping human behavior and social structures. Just plain observation and commonsense has shown throughout human history that not all cultures benefit mankind to the same degree, if at all.

48 posted on 05/23/2024 12:57:39 PM PDT by A Navy Vet (USA Birth Certificate - 1787. Death Certificate - 2021? )
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To: All

KKK:

Koranic
Karim
Khan

IslamoFascist.


49 posted on 05/23/2024 12:58:55 PM PDT by Words Matter
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To: A Navy Vet

Japan is an island, it’s a heckuva lot harder to sneak into Japan, than into Europe.


50 posted on 05/23/2024 1:04:34 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Dr. Marten

Yo Olaf, I don’t think this is a very good idea.

Sheesh, the optics are terrible here Olaf. Don’t you think?

5.56mm


51 posted on 05/23/2024 1:12:02 PM PDT by M Kehoe (Quid Pro Joe and the Ho have got to go. )
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To: Bob434
Jew-haters to the end it seems

Many observant Jews still refuse to purchase anything made in Germany. I can see why.

52 posted on 05/23/2024 3:54:04 PM PDT by EinNYC
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To: dfwgator
"Japan is an island, it’s a heckuva lot harder to sneak into Japan, than into Europe."

Tell that to the DoLittle raiders. Japan is an island? Hope we don't transfer too many troops there so it doesn't capsize like Guam according to one of our brilliant Congress critters.

53 posted on 05/23/2024 6:13:00 PM PDT by A Navy Vet (USA Birth Certificate - 1787. Death Certificate - 2021? )
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