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war crimes
ICC Rebukes Hungary for Refusing to Carry Out Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu
"Hungary should comply with its legal obligations as a party to the ICC and arrest Netanyahu if he sets foot in the country," said one human rights expert.
Apr 02, 2025
International human rights organizations joined the world's top war crimes tribunal in condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Hungary, expected to begin Wednesday evening—with the leader freely traveling to the European country without fear of being arrested under a warrant issued last year for Netanyahu's actions in Gaza.
Hungarian President Viktor Orbán said last year that he rejected the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which directed member countries to arrest Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes they have committed in Gaza starting October 8, 2023.
Hungary's far-right president—who took control of his country's court system several years ago and has used it to further his own political goals, and who banned LGBTQ+ pride events last month—invited Netanyahu to visit Budapest, while his foreign minister called the warrants "shameful and absurd."
Fadi El Abdallah, a spokesperson for the ICC, said Wednesday that it is not up to ICC signatories to "unilaterally determine the soundness of the court's legal decisions," which member countries are legally obligated to follow, including by making arrests when a suspect who is subject to a warrant sets foot within their borders.
"Any dispute concerning the judicial functions of the court shall be settled by the decision of the court," said El Abdallah.
Orbán said in February that he would "review" Hungary's membership in the ICC after U.S. President Donald Trump approved the use of sanctions against ICC officials.
Al Jazeera reported that Hungary may announce its withdrawal from the ICC this week during Netayahu's visit, which is scheduled from Wednesday until April 6.
Liz Evenson, international justice director for Human Rights Watch, called Orbán's welcoming of Netanyahu "an affront to victims of serious crimes."
"Hungary should comply with its legal obligations as a party to the ICC and arrest Netanyahu if he sets foot in the country," said Evenson.
Western European countries including France, Italy, and Germany have also refused to carry out Netanyahu's arrest under the ICC warrant, with the French foreign ministry claiming the prime minister and Gallant have "immunities" because Israel does not recognize the authority of the ICC.
German Christian Democrats Leader Friedrich Merz said last month that he would "find ways and means for [Netanyahu] to visit Germany and also to be able to leave again without being arrested in Germany," adding that it was "a completely absurd idea that an Israeli prime minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany."
Earlier this week, Erika Guevara-Rosas, the head of global research, advocacy, and policy at Amnesty International, said that every trip Netanyahu takes "to an ICC member state that does not end in his arrest" will embolden Israel " to commit further crimes against Palestinians" in Gaza and the West Bank.
"Netanyahu's visit to Hungary must not become a bellwether for the future of human rights in Europe," said Guevara-Rosas. "European and global leaders must end their shameful silence and inaction, and call on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu during a visit which would make a mockery of the suffering of Palestinian victims of Israel's genocide in Gaza, its war crimes in other parts of the occupied Palestinian territory, and its entrenched system of apartheid against all Palestinians whose rights it controls."
In the U.S., which like Israel does not recognize the ICC and which has backed the Israeli assault on Gaza, Netanyahu received a standing ovation last year when he addressed Congress—while progressive lawmakers protested his visit.
The alleged war crimes Netanyahu and Gallant have been accused of include intentionally attacking civilians and starving Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinian residents since Israel began its military assault on the enclave in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack.
Anita Zsurzsán, an independent scholar based in Budapest, wrote at Jacobin on Wednesday that "liberal critics" of the Hungarian president are doing little to challenge Orbán for inviting Netanyahu to the country.
"It seems that the principle of 'never again' is routinely ignored in Hungary. Netanyahu's visit presents a historic opportunity for Hungarians to challenge Orbán on hosting a war criminal," said Zsurzsán. "But, instead of upholding international law and doing what is right, forces across the Hungarian political spectrum have opted for compliance and silence. As has often happened in Hungarian history, this risks leaving an indelible stain of acquiescence to fascism and genocide on our collective conscience."
"The fact that an internationally charged war criminal can walk free in Hungary with no resistance shows that the fascization of Hungarian society is continuing apace," she added.
Evenson called Orbán's decision to ignore the ICC warrant his "latest assault on the rule of law, adding to the country's dismal record on rights," and called on other ICC members to pressure Hungary to comply with the court's statutes.
"All ICC member countries need to make clear they expect Hungary to abide by its obligations to the court," said Evenson, "and that they will do the same."
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'Every Atrocity Imaginable': Litany of Israeli War Crimes Continues
"Genocide, ecocide, mass infanticide, rape, sexual assault, torture, slavery, sniping children, bombing hospitals, executing aid workers," said one critic. "We are funding an endless nightmare and it should haunt us forever."
Mar 31, 2025
As Israel Defense Forces bombing continued to kill and maim large numbers of Palestinians across the Gaza Strip over the weekend and into Monday, the discovery of the bodies of medical workers who were apparently executed by their captors and the publication of several reports in which Israeli soldiers admit to torturing prisoners and using civilians as human shields have drawn renewed war crimes accusations and calls for accountability.
On Sunday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it had recovered the bodies of 15 Palestinian first responders from a mass grave, including eight Red Crescent workers and six Civil Defense personnel, who were killed by Israeli forces on March 23 while traveling "on duty" in five ambulances, a fire truck, and a United Nations vehicle in the al-Hashashin area of southern Gaza.
Jonathan Whittall, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, said Sunday that the vehicles were picked off "one by one."
"Their bodies were gathered and buried in this mass grave," Whittall added. "We're digging them out with uniforms, with their gloves on. They were here to save lives. Instead, they ended up in a mass grave."
The IFRC condemns the killing of eight Palestine Red Crescent Society medics in Gaza. We are heartbroken. These dedicated humanitarians, killed while responding to the wounded, should have been protected. We mourn their loss and stand with the Palestine Red Crescent. Full statement: bit.ly/427LXxp
[image or embed]
— IFRC (@ifrc.org) March 30, 2025 at 11:47 AM
The Gaza Health Ministry said that "some of these bodies were bound and shot in the chest" before being "buried in a deep hole to prevent their identification."
Accusing Israel of a "heinous crime," the ministry called on U.N. agencies "and relevant international bodies to conduct an urgent investigation into these crimes and hold the occupation accountable for committing them."
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said troops opened fire on the convoy because it was "advancing suspiciously" toward their position.
"Following an initial assessment, it was determined that the forces had eliminated a Hamas military operative, Mohammad Amin Ibrahim Shubaki, who took part in the October 7 massacre, along with eight other terrorists from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad," the spokesperson claimed.
Israeli officials routinely claim—often with little or no evidence—that Palestinian first responders, United Nations workers, journalists, and other civilians that it kills are members of Hamas or other militant resistance groups.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a statement Sunday that it is "outraged" by the killings, which it called "the single most deadly attack on Red Cross Red Crescent workers anywhere in the world since 2017."
"After seven days of silence and having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen, the bodies of ambulance officers Mostafa Khufaga, Saleh Muamer, and Ezzedine Shaath and first responder volunteers Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed Al-Heila, Ashraf Abu Labda, Raed Al Sharif, and Rifatt Radwan were retrieved today," the statement noted. "Ambulance officer Assad Al-Nassasra is still missing."
Noting that at least 30 Red Crescent workers and volunteers have been killed by Israeli forces during the war, IFRC secretary general Jagan Chapagain said: "I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians. They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked. They should have returned to their families; they did not."
"Even in the most complex conflict zones, there are rules," Chapagain stressed. "These rules of international humanitarian law could not be clearer—civilians must be protected; humanitarians must be protected. Health services must be protected."
"Our network is in mourning, but this is not enough," he added. "Instead of another call on all parties to protect and respect humanitarians and civilians, I pose a question: When will this stop? All parties must stop the killing, and all humanitarians must be protected."
Journalist Mohammad Alsaafin compared the killings to last year's IDF massacre of 6-year-old Hind Rajab, five of her relatives, and two PRCS medics who rushed to the site of the attack in a doomed bid to rescue the wounded child after she called for help.
On Sunday, the British newspaper The Independent published an investigation into alleged Israeli torture of Palestinians detained at facilities including Ofer Prison in the illegally occupied West Bank and the notorious Sde Teiman base in the Negev Desert.
The report begins:
Handcuffed and cowering on the floor of a cell in a military base in southern Israel, the Palestinian found himself surrounded by five soldiers. Armed with dogs, the five reservists allegedly kicked, punched, and stamped on the man as he lay on the ground. Continuing their assault, they are accused of attacking him with Taser guns and sharp objects, sexually abusing him with these instruments. At one point, the soldiers allegedly stabbed him so hard that they pierced his buttocks and anus. The brutal alleged assault left the man hospitalized with a punctured lung, cracked ribs, and a tear in his rectum needing surgery for a stoma. He had not been charged with any crime.
The Independent noted details regarding some of the dozens of Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli custody. The IDF is currently conducting its own probe into the deaths of at least 36 Sde Teiman prisoners, including one who died after allegedly being sodomized with an electric baton.
"The fact that we see some signs of abuse means that this is probably the tip of the iceberg," said one Israeli physician who has overseen multiple autopsies on dead detainees.
In an anonymous testimony leaked to The Independent, one Sde Teiman guard described a prevailing attitude of "Yes, they need to be beaten, it must be done."
"We began looking for opportunities to do so," the soldier said, adding that when he spoke out against the beating of one detainee, he was told, "Shut up, you leftist, these are Gazans, these are terrorists, what's wrong with you?"
One former Sde Teiman detainee said that "every meter you moved, they beat you, they hit you, they insulted you; they used dogs, tear gas, and electric shock."
IDF troops and veterans who were posted at Sde Teiman have provided similar details about "Israel's Abu Ghraib," a reference to the U.S. torture prison outside Baghdad during the Iraq War. Israeli doctors and medics have described forced starvation and 24-hour shackling so severe that prisoners have had limbs amputated.
A number of Sde Teiman guards were arrested last year following the leak of a video allegedly showing them raping a Palestinian detainee. The arrests outraged far-right Israelis, a mob of whom stormed Sde Teiman in a failed bid to free the accused guards.
As The Independent noted, "Among those held in [Israeli] detention are many of Gaza's healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics." Some of these prisoners have died in custody, including the renowned surgeon Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, who may have been raped to death, according to Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.
Earlier this month, an independent U.N. panel found that Israel has "systematically" used reproductive, sexual, and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinian men, women, and children during the war.
The IDF has responded to these and other allegations by claiming it "operates in accordance with international law."
However, the International Criminal Court last year issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant—who ordered a "complete siege" of Gaza blamed for deadly starvation and disease there—for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel is also the subject of an ongoing International Court of Justice genocide case brought by South Africa.
Also on Sunday, Haaretz, Israel's oldest newspaper, published a piece by an anonymous Israel soldier who said that "in Gaza, almost every IDF platoon keeps a human shield."
"We operate a sub-army of slaves," the soldier said, describing how innocent Palestinians are used to check buildings for Hamas fighters or booby traps before IDF troops enter.
"I recently saw that the IDF's Military Police Criminal Investigation Division opened six investigations into the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, and my jaw dropped," he wrote. "I've seen cover-ups before, but this is a new low."
Previous reporting has detailed the IDF's widespread use of Palestinian civilians—including children—as human shields in Gaza. The IDF even has a name for the practice—the "mosquito protocol." In one case, an 80-year-old man was used as a human shield before being shot dead by Israeli troops.
The IDF's thoroughly documented use of noncombatants as human shields stands in start contrast with mostly baseless claims of Hamas using Palestinian civilians in such a manner.
The new reports come as Israeli forces continued their assault on Gaza. Health and medical officials in Gaza said at least 41 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes throughout the strip on Monday, the second day of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr. This followed the killing of at least 64 Palestinians across Gaza on Sunday.
Approximately 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed its assault on the embattled coastal enclave on March 18,
including hundreds of children. Israel's 542-day annihilation of Gaza has left more than 175,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing since October 7, 2023, when Hamas led the deadliest-ever attack on Israel.
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Why a Workshop on Antisemitism Is Accused of Being Antisemitic
In addition to a robust discussion of what antisemitism is, the curriculum also includes what antisemitism is not, distinguishing between antisemitism and criticism of, or opposition to, Israel or Zionism.
Mar 31, 2025
An education group makes plans to hold a workshop for its community on antisemitism from a framework of collective liberation; publicity goes out; and, before you know it, a right-wing organization (that has never actually seen the curriculum) is determined to get it cancelled. The firestorm is so intense that it’s hard to imagine that it’s about one workshop. The workshop in discussion is one we offer and facilitate at PARCEO, a resource and education center that works with a range of institutions to strengthen their work for justice. The scenario is one we have encountered on multiple occasions.
The accusations hurled at the workshop, its organizers, and those endorsing it: “I knew it would be antisemitic once I saw the word ‘collective.’” “The facilitators are pro-Palestine.” “The organization believes that criticism of Israel is not antisemitic.” “They are antisemites.” “They are antisemites.” “They are antisemites.”
To reiterate: The workshop being offered is on antisemitism! The topics cover what antisemitism is—historically and currently—and how it manifests in the U.S. today. Sections are included on Christian hegemony; on white nationalist antisemitism; on tropes and stereotypes; on conspiracy theories; on philosemitism. The voices of Jewish historians, educators, and scholars, along with many others, are integrated throughout the curriculum.
So what is actually going on? What, in fact, are the reasons there is so much venom and energy devoted to making sure these workshops don’t happen? Four interconnected reasons seem to be at play.
The first reason: In addition to a robust discussion of what antisemitism is, the curriculum also includes what antisemitism is not, distinguishing between antisemitism and criticism of, or opposition to, Israel or Zionism. Those wanting to shut down the curriculum reject any such distinction.
The workshop is attacked because it focuses on challenging antisemitism from a “collective liberation” framework. It seems just the name of the workshop is threatening.
This section of the workshop illustrates the ways that false charges of antisemitism are wielded to penalize and silence those standing with the Palestinian movement for justice. One example of how this plays out is through the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism—in which 7 of its 11 examples of antisemitism are about criticism of Israel, not antisemitism. The IHRA definition is the gold standard of antisemitism definitions for these detractors.
Author Antony Lerman, in “Whatever Happened to Antisemitism,” couldn’t be clearer about the danger of these false definitions: “By falsely conflating anti-Zionism—a form of legitimate political discourse and belief—and antisemitism—a form of ethno-racial hostility and hatred—and calling it “new antisemitism” and codifying it in the form of the “IHRA working definition of antisemitism, antisemitism has been redefined to be what it is not.” He adds: “The conflation is false because, first, the root concept of ‘new antisemitism,’ that Israel is the ‘collective Jews’ among the nations, is a myth—a state cannot have the attributes of a human being. Second, it is a heretical corruption of Judaism because it entails an idolatrous deification and workshop of the state…”
The workshop points to other ways these false conflations are employed to further a particular agenda. For example, the Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther, a recently released right wing national strategy document, lays out a plan to supposedly combat antisemitism in the US. But by characterizing critics of Israel as “a global Hamas Support Network,” it’s clear its real aim is to destroy the Palestinian movement for justice and restrict activism against US policy more broadly.
Another example highlighted in the workshop is how, under the guise of fighting antisemitism, specifically on college campuses, Zionist groups (like those trying to get the workshop cancelled) are using Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to suppress pro-Palestine advocacy. Just a bit of background: Title VI, which prohibits discrimination in educational institutions, authorizes the Department of Education to investigate charges of antisemitism. That authority was expanded in 2019 when President Trump issued Executive Order 13899 directing that the DOE, in protecting against antisemitism, "consider" the IHRA definition. As a result, DOE investigations of antisemitism now include not only the classic examples of anti-Jewish bigotry, but anti-Israel protest as well. And President Trump ramped this up even more with his recent Executive Order, “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism,” that directs all agencies charged with enforcing Title VI to report to him within 60 days about what they are doing to address antisemitism. As if to underline his concern with protest that is critical of Israel, the Order refers specifically to complaints of antisemitism following “October 7, 2023.” So, again, we can see the ways that criticism of Israel and actual antisemitism become indistinguishable.
The second “problem” of the curriculum, for those opposing it, is that it rejects the essentialist view of antisemitism that is so central to many mainstream and right-wing Jewish organizations. This perspective understands antisemitism as eternal and never-ending. According to the eternalist perspective, antisemitism can’t be stopped and Jews are always under threat–it is “us” versus “them.”
A different perspective—which is the one adhered to in the workshops—understands antisemitism as historically contextual, emerging in different historical periods for different reasons and in relation to other forms of oppression. In other words, when understanding antisemitism and Jewish experience, context is critical.
These different understandings impact whether we see—and respond to—antisemitism in isolation (eternalist view) or, rather, in relationship to the societies and to other struggles against oppression. As Professor Barry Trachtenberg points out, “If one accepts antisemitism to be eternal, and not a consequence of social or historical factors, then it is a fact of life that will forever push Jewish people into defensive postures. It will make us more nationalist, more reactionary, more militaristic, and more closed off from the rest of the world.” We see this perspective in living color today as a number of Zionist organizations have unequivocally supported Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people, (wildly!) positioning Israel as a victim and lamenting that nobody cares about the Jews (“us” versus “them”).
Next, the workshop is attacked because it focuses on challenging antisemitism from a “collective liberation” framework. It seems just the name of the workshop is threatening.
Challenging antisemitism necessitates a commitment to challenging all forms of racism and injustice.
The workshop’s emphasis on collective liberation reflects a deep commitment to the ways our different communities can act in solidarity with one another, as so many are. As we think more deeply about solidarities and what that tangibly looks like, we know that such injustices as Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, anti-Palestinian racism, and antisemitism must not be viewed as oppositional or isolated struggles, but, rather, the success in challenging each of these injustices requires a vision that is holistic and interconnected.
Those opposing the workshop believe that a collective liberation framework minimizes, even makes a mockery of, antisemitism. This perspective is rooted in the belief that antisemitism is exceptional, that is, it is separate from, and unrelated to, other struggles for justice. In fact, the concept of “collective liberation,” in their view, is yet another example of antisemitism.
We challenge this exceptionalism in our workshop with an excerpt from Professor Alana Lentin: “As I write in Why Race Still Matters (2020), the elevation of antisemitism as the racism above all racisms, and the contention that any discussion of the Shoah alongside other genocides renders it banal, constrains solidarity between Jews and other racialised people, thwarting a fuller understanding of race as a colonial mechanism and a technology of power for the maintenance of white supremacy.”
A framework rooted in collective liberation is essential in the fight against antisemitism and all forms of racism. After the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue, Rabbi Brant Rosen, reflecting on the sacred power of solidarities, said “Yes, among the many important takeaways from this terrible, tragic moment is the simple truth that we must never underestimate the sacred power of solidarity. Moments such as these must remind all targeted minorities that we are always stronger when we resist together.”
The amount of effort spent trying to get a simple workshop cancelled would just seem absurd if it weren’t so destructive and didn’t reflect a much deeper commitment by those opposing it to defend Israel's genocide, to attack anyone who speaks out as an antisemite, and to insure that those voices are not heard.
Finally, those trying to shut down the workshop are outraged that it is being facilitated by individuals who support justice for the Palestinian people. In the view of the workshop’s detractors, those facilitating the workshop (who, in fact, support Palestinian justice) are thereby automatically excluded from any authority to teach about antisemitism (and, even worse, proves that they are antisemites). What they are in fact saying is that if you care about anti-Palestinian racism, then you can’t care about antisemitism.
We turn that view on its head and say clearly that challenging antisemitism necessitates a commitment to challenging all forms of racism and injustice. And we know that solidarity, as articulated by community leader Sister Aisha Al Adawiya means: “Standing up for each other in a real authentic way. No cameras rolling. Just the human spirit calling on us to say, ‘This is not right and I have to say something’.”
The amount of effort spent trying to get a simple workshop cancelled would just seem absurd if it weren’t so destructive and didn’t reflect a much deeper commitment by those opposing it to defend Israel's genocide, to attack anyone who speaks out as an antisemite, and to insure that those voices are not heard. We know the attempts to silence and penalize those protesting across the country have tremendous repercussions; students, faculty, and other activists are being doxxed and punished, losing their jobs, being denied financial packages, and, more recently, facing threats of deportation—and all in the name of fighting antisemitism.
But the voices demanding justice will continue to reverberate and strengthen day by day despite these desperate attempts to shut them down.
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