New US bill would punish cities that enforce ICC warrants against Israelis

The legislation responds to NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s threats to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) has introduced a bill that would penalize American state or local governments if they arrest Israelis targeted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The American Allies Protection Act strips them of Department of Justice grant money for four years if they enforce ICC warrants against a current or former government official of a NATO ally or major non-NATO ally.

In explaining the purpose of the bill, Budd specifically referenced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, calling the ICC arrest warrants issued against them last November for war crimes over their conduct of the battle against Hamas “baseless.”

Yet, he said, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has repeatedly stated he would order that Netanyahu be detained if the prime minister visited.

Just last week, Mamdani had defended his intentions again, saying, “Being a city of international law means looking to uphold international law,” whether the arrest warrant is “for Benjamin Netanyahu or [Russian President] Vladimir Putin.”

“Mayor-elect Mamdani’s pledge to facilitate the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu is not just ridiculous; it represents a grave threat that could seriously damage America’s relationship with our closest allies and partners,” the Republican senator said.

“The United States is not bound by the morally bankrupt ICC or the Rome Statute, displaying that Mamdani’s comments aren’t based in respect for any law, but rather to virtue signal to his radical, anti-Israel base,” the staunch Israel supporter continued.

Mamdani, who headed the anti-Israel Democratic Socialist Party ticket as well as the Democratic one, has made no secret of his antipathy to the Jewish state and support for the Palestinian cause that seeks Israel’s destruction.

“It is unconscionable that the man elected to lead the city, home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, would seek to target Israel’s leader, and Congress must take action to hold any leader accountable should they pursue this blatant overreach,” he said.

As an example of the ICC’s “moral bankruptcy,” Budd pointed out that the court has never issued an arrest warrant of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “who has directly bolstered and facilitated the terrorist activities of Iran’s proxies that have targeted U.S. allies and are responsible for the death of American service members.”

The act allows the president to waive it in cases where an ICC warrant is essential to the country’s national security, after providing “detailed justification” to Congress.