Legislation passed in the U.S. House of Representatives drew praise from Jewish and pro-Israel organizations for its call to levy sanctions against the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act (H.R. 23), which passed with bipartisan support on Thursday, would instruct the president to impose sanctions on members of the ICC over its issue of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the former defense minister.
“The ICC emboldened terrorists around the world when they sanctioned Israel’s leaders—now it’s time for them to be held accountable for their outrageous and irresponsible decisions,” said Karen Paikin Barall, vice president of government relations for the Jewish Federations of North America.
“We urge members of the Senate to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel and act swiftly in passing this bill,” she said.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee commended the House for its action against the ICC’s “morally bankrupt and legally baseless attack against Israel.”
“The ICC’s outrageous action against Israel—the first against a democratic country—sets a dangerous precedent that the Court may again arbitrarily expand its jurisdiction to prosecute Western nations with robust judicial systems like Israel,” the group stated.
The Anti-Defamation League also welcomed the bipartisan passage of the legislation, writing on X that “the International Criminal Court’s politically driven arrest warrants against Israeli leaders distort the truth and undermine justice. The ICC must be held accountable for prioritizing bias over facts.”
The Combat Antisemitism Movement thanked the House for passing this “vital bill” and urged the Senate to follow suit.
“Israel’s enemies are deterred when America stands by Israel,” the group wrote on X. “The International Criminal Court must pay a real price for its anti-Israel obsession.”
Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of the International Legal Forum, particularly praised the work of Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), an original cosponsor of the legislation.
Ostrovsky wrote on X that he met with Mast to discuss ICC’s “obscene proceedings, how they also represent a direct national security threat to the U.S. and need to urgently sanction the hell out of ICC.”
Mast’s “clear sense of moral clarity and unwavering commitment to solidarity with Israel and doing everything possible to help bring back all the hostages still being held captive in Gaza, which courts like the ICC are trying to prevent from rescuing,” were crucial in getting H.R. 23 passed, Ostrovsky wrote.