"Evil" Schumer manufactured a quibble to justify voting against ICC sanctions

 

Last week, Senate Democrats led by Schumer tanked a vote on a bill that would have slapped sanctions on the International Criminal Court for its outrageous arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

The ICC’s action showed its willingness to act against non-members like Israel and the United States, putting American service members and other potential US targets in danger.

But the Democrats’ action was equally craven: Not only did it keep alive the grotesque prosecution of Israel’s leaders for defending their nation against terrorist attackers, it set a ticking time bomb for President Trump.

The “Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act” would have imposed direct sanctions on ICC officials who “engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute” an individual or entity in the United States, or any citizen or lawful resident of a US ally that has not agreed to the court’s jurisdiction.

In other words, the bill would have protected Americans and allies like Israel from being targeted by the rogue court.

The bill passed with significant bipartisan support in the House, and Senate Democrats previously said they favored it.

But at the last minute Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) manufactured a quibble to justify voting against it, claiming the bill’s “lack of precision” could have put in its crosshairs American tech companies that assist the ICC in its investigations.

Schumer’s argument was disingenuous: The first Trump administration imposed sanctions almost identical to those in the bill by executive order, without any US firms being penalized.

But it was enough to sink  the ICC Act — and preserve the court’s hounding of Israel in the wake of Oct. 7.

The ICC enjoys a ballooning annual budget of $200 million, yet over its entire lifespan it has convicted a total of six individuals of the mass-atrocity crimes it was supposedly designed to prosecute.

Having had little success targeting warlords and mass murderers like Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, it turned its attention to Israel, a non-member state and globalists’ favorite punching bag.

And the action against Netanyahu came after the ICC in 2020 opened an investigation into the United States, allegedly for military service members’ war crimes in Afghanistan.

Senate Democrats are far from stupid. Their party has already used impeachment, state prosecution and federal criminal charges to target Trump — and they view the ICC warrants against Israeli officials as an avenue for a future lawfare strategy.

Four years from now, when Trump is once again an ex-president, expect the ICC to seek warrants against him, administration officials and perhaps Republican lawmakers for attempting to sanction it.

The ICC warrants against Israeli leaders show that its prosecutors can be as creative as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in manufacturing charges.

Indeed, the ICC prosecutor has already threatened American legislators with punishment merely for threatening to “retaliate” against the court with sanctions.

Of course, should a Trump indictment happen, a Democratic presidential successor would publicly lament the ICC’s overreach, while doing nothing to stop it.

The ICC is no stranger to such maneuvers. In its latest ploy targeting Israel, the court invented a state of Palestine over which to exercise its jurisdiction, then invented a phenomenon of mass starvation in Gaza to prosecute, despite the thousands of aid trucks Israel has facilitated.

Senate Democrats also claimed that sanctions would only make the ICC dig in its heels against Israel, but experience shows otherwise.  

When Trump sanctioned ICC personnel via executive order in 2020, its prosecutors promptly abandoned their investigation into alleged torture by US troops stationed in Afghanistan — only to reopen the matter when President Biden rescinded the sanctions.

Ironically, ICC officials thought the court could survive the sanctions that Schumer blocked. What they truly fear is a stronger measure that would sanction the institution itself, not just its employees.

Republicans passed on imposing such a measure because Democrats signaled their support for the more limited bipartisan bill that passed the House.

Now that the façade of cooperation has disappeared, Trump has no reason not to sanction the ICC once again by executive order — and now that he’s witnessed the cozy relationship between the court and the Democrats, he knows he can’t stop at half-measures.

Erielle Azerrad is a senior fellow at the Center for the Middle East and International Law at George Mason’s Scalia Law School, where Eugene Kontorovich is a professor of law.

Why Arab nations may secretly approve of Trump’s Gaza ‘takeover’ proposal

 

Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations have publicly rejected President Trump’s plan to evacuate war-torn Gaza’s 2.3 million residents so the US can “take over” and redevelop the land.

But, they may come to support it in secret because it would finally solve decades of conflict and end Hamas’ iron grip, a former Israel-Palestine negotiator says.

Avi Melamed, an ex Israeli intelligence official who served as a senior Arab affairs adviser to Jerusalem, said Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan are likely interested in Trump’s future vision for Gaza as a possible solution to their Hamas problem.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to know that in the back rooms, the Saudis, the Egyptians, the Jordanians, are very much happy about Trump’s… that idea of the United States taking control over the situation in Gaza,” Melamed told The Post.

“We have to remember that in the end of the day, Hamas presents Egypt and Jordan and the Saudis and the Emirates… a significant threat,” he added.

The Arab nations have previously shown disdain for Hamas, which seized power of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Minister Karhi estimates: Hamas won't complete hostage deal...Says AG Will be Fired

 

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says Attorney General may be fired soon, Hamas unlikely to return the last of the hostages.

82% Of Palestinians Freed In First Ceasefire Have Returned To Terrorism; 1 In 4 Already Killed Or Re-Arrested

 New data from the IDF reveals that one in four Palestinian terrorists released under the November 2023 Israel-Hamas ceasefire has since been re-arrested or killed.

According to IDF Central Command statistics shared with Channel 13 News, 33 released terrorists have been detained again by Israeli security forces, while four were eliminated while carrying out new attacks. The alarming figures reinforce growing concerns that the mass prisoner releases—a key component of the 2023 ceasefire agreement—have strengthened terrorist organizations and fueled further violence.

Beyond the 25% who have already been re-arrested or neutralized, the Shin Bet reported earlier this week that at least 82% of the freed terrorists have returned to terrorist activity.

Beit Shemesh Leads in Frum Divorce in Israel

 

מה קורה בבית שמש? ▪︎ הפרשן 'עוקץ' ומסביר מדוע כל כך הרבה זוגות מתגרשים

לאחר פרסום נתוני הזוגות שהתגרשו בשנה האחרונה, לפיהם עלה כי מגמת הגירושין בבית שמש היא הגבוה ביותר מבין הערים הגדולות בארץ - עולה השאלה מה הגורם לתופעה.

הפרשן החרדי יעקב ריבלין, שנוהג לעיתים קרובות 'לעקוץ' את קהילות הצעירים המודרנים בבית שמש, מסביר כי התופעה קשורה להפיכתה של בית שמש ל'בירת החרדים החדשים (מודרנים)'.

ה"פרשנות" של ריבלין עוררה גיחוך אצל הגולשים, שהסכימו אמנם שבית שמש הפכה לבירת החרדים המודרנים, בדגש על רמה ד', אבל זו אינה הסיבה לתופעת הגירושין.

‎After the publication of data on couples who divorced in the past year, according to which it emerged that the divorce trend in Beit Shemesh is the highest among the large cities in the country, the question arises as to what is the cause of the phenomenon.‎

‎Ultra-Orthodox commentator Yaakov Rivlin, who often "criticizes" the modern youth communities in Beit Shemesh, explains that the phenomenon is related to the transformation of Beit Shemesh into the "capital of the new (modern) ultra-Orthodox."‎

‎Rivlin's "commentary" caused ridicule among the bloggers, who agreed that Beit Shemesh had become the capital of the modern ultra-Orthodox, with an emphasis on Rama D, but this was not the reason for the divorce phenomenon.‎

Bondi Comes in like a Hurricane ...Ends DEI, Targets Sanctuary Cities, And Pursues Hamas Terrorists

 Attorney General Pam Bondi wasted no time in launching sweeping reforms at the Department of Justice (DOJ), issuing a series of bold directives aimed at restoring law and order, eliminating political bias, and cracking down on violent crime and illegal immigration.

Bondi, confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday and sworn in on Wednesday, is expected to usher in a dramatic shift in the DOJ’s priorities, focusing on death penalty enforcement, cartel dismantlement, and reversing progressive-era policies that she argues have weakened America’s justice system.

Among Bondi’s first actions was the creation of the “Weaponization Working Group,” tasked with investigating politically motivated prosecutions and government overreach. The group will focus on cases involving former Special Counsel Jack Smith, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, all of whom have aggressively pursued legal action against President Donald Trump.

Additionally, the working group will review cases involving January 6 prosecutions, the FBI’s surveillance of Catholic Americans, and DOJ investigations into parents protesting at school board meetings. Bondi emphasized that DOJ attorneys must enforce the law impartially and warned that anyone refusing to defend Trump administration policies will face disciplinary action or termination.

Bondi immediately reversed the federal execution moratorium imposed during the Biden administration, directing DOJ prosecutors to seek the death penalty where appropriate, especially in violent drug trafficking cases.

Her directive also orders a re-evaluation of past cases where capital punishment was not pursued, signaling a potential reversal of Biden’s 2024 decision to commute the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates. Former President Donald Trump had condemned those commutations, calling the released individuals “the most vile and sadistic rapists, child molesters, and murderers.”

To address transnational crime, Bondi has partnered with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to dismantle drug cartels and human trafficking networks. Under her leadership, the DOJ will prioritize high-level cartel operatives rather than low-level offenders to maximize impact.

She has expanded Joint Task Force Vulcan, originally created to combat MS-13, to now target Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang recently designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

Additionally, Bondi has directed DOJ officials to pursue legislative reforms targeting fentanyl pill production and add Xylazine, a dangerous new synthetic drug, to the Controlled Substances Act.

Bondi halted all federal funding to sanctuary cities, ordering a full review of federal grants to NGOs that provide aid to illegal immigrants. The DOJ will now prosecute jurisdictions that obstruct federal immigration enforcement and identify funding agreements that enable illegal immigration.

In response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in Israel, Bondi established a Joint Task Force to pursue criminal charges against Hamas operatives and seek international arrests and extraditions of its leadership. The FBI has been ordered to dedicate top counterterrorism personnel to the task force, ensuring swift action against terrorist groups and antisemitism in the U.S.

As part of her justice system overhaul, Bondi ordered the termination of all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs within the DOJ by March 15. She also removed all DEI-related training requirements and reinstated merit-based hiring and promotion policies.

Additionally, Bondi will work with the Department of Education to ensure that federal grants only support schools that practice fair, race-neutral admissions policies, signaling a major shift away from affirmative action programs.

During her Senate confirmation hearings, Bondi vowed to end partisanship at the DOJ, declaring: “Politics has to be taken out of this system. America will have one tier of justice for all.”

These are the Funding Cuts That Have Democrats Like Pocahantas Fuming

 

Yesterday, a large-scale protest erupted outside the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., as Democratic lawmakers rallied against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Protesters voiced objections, citing potential privacy breaches and the dangers of an unelected individual wielding influence over government operations. Senator Elizabeth Warren was among the most vocal critics, declaring, “No one elected Elon Musk to anything.”

This Is the Crucial Funding They’re Rallying to Protect…

Karoline Leavitt Delivers Crushing News to Politico During Press Briefing: The Taxpayer ‘Subsidization’ Ends Now

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Wednesday that pricey subscriptions to the leftist media outlet Politico by the federal government are being canceled.

Real America’s Voice host Brian Glenn asked Leavitt to comment on the Department of Government Efficiency's discovery that the United States Agency for International Development had been one of the agencies paying tens of thousands of dollars per year for Politico Pro subscriptions.

"Upon coming out here to the briefing room, I was made aware of the funding from USAID to media outlets, including Politico, who I know has a seat in this room," Leavitt began.

"I can confirm that the more than $8 million taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayer’s dime will no longer be happening," she continued. "The DOGE team is working on canceling those payments now."

Trump has uncovered the Big Elephant in the Room "Not One Arab Nation Wants even a Single Gazan!"

 

See the Difference between the TV leftist Channel 12 and the normal 14 in reporting the Trump/Netanyahu meetings

 The Israeli Leftist Media are going berserk on the honor given to Netanyahu! 

Their entire agenda is collapsing like a wet cardboard box! 

I haven't really touched on this yet! 

זה הבדל בין 14 ל12