PORTLAND - The United States boasts about its pivotal role in establishing the post-WWII international system and its guardrails, both of which have supported unprecedented social and material progress while avoiding a world war. Yet decades of blind support for Israel is in the process of destroying all vestiges of what America holds so dear, a tragedy that will haunt America and Americans for years to come.

Israel’s disdain for the international legal system has exposed America’s duplicity as never before, making a mockery of any and all claims to such an ideal. Israel’s unchallenged crimes over the years, its arrogance and ongoing indifference to global criticism and America’s embrace of all Israeli transgressions are coming home to roost.  

Ever since the tragic attack of October 7, where about 1,200 Israelis, including dual citizens and women and children were killed and 250 hostages taken, Israel has embarked on a bloody carnage. The indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and the willful destruction of parts of the West Bank have been an unimaginable horror show for much of the world to see, with Israel’s media largely shielding its citizenry from the human catastrophe that they have entirely supported.

The condemnations of Israel have been widespread—from demonstrations across the world, students on university campuses, podcasts and blistering opinion pieces. Credible voices, including the United Nations and the World Food Program cite Israel’s denial of medicines, food and water to Palestinians who face imminent starvation and disease; witnesses highlight the targeting of hospitals, aid workers and journalists; and Israel’s utter disregard for the United Nations and its workers. These are war crimes and crimes against humanity by any definition and standard.

“The United States of America has been supporting Israel for over 70 years with over $350 billion in aid, arms and dozens of vetoes at the United Nations Security Council to give Israel diplomatic cover for its crimes.”There are two legal cases that are the most damaging to Israel and by extension to Israel’s supporters, especially the United States of America. South Africa has accused Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in a case that has been enjoined by dozens of other countries. The Court saw sufficient evidence to accept the case for its judgment and ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza. Yet Israel has ignored the Court’s initial ruling and has continued its murderous strikes in Gaza and escalated its operation into the West Bank and most recently into Lebanon. 

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, has called on the court to consider the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for their promotion of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. 

Shamefully, the United States and its allies have done whatever they can to undermine and delay progress on these two cases in these international courts, actions that a country that purportedly champions the rule of law would not ever imagine doing. Although such cases may take years before a decision is reached at the ICJ, the United States has attacked the legitimacy of the Court to take up the case along with personal attacks on the judges—Mafia tactics at best. 

Simultaneously, although the United States has not ratified the statutes creating the ICC, it has wasted no time in challenging the jurisdiction of the court for looking into the case and has made personal attacks against its judges, including allegations of sexual misconduct against its chief prosecutor, who has requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister. America has clearly succeeded in swaying the judges as the issuance of the arrest warrants has already taken nearly six months, an unusual and inexplicable delay in the face of a mountain of evidence, whereas the normal delay for issuance has been 1-3 months. Ironically the warrant for Putin’s arrest for the Ukraine War took all of 22 days. Two very different applications of international law—one for a criminal Western ally, Israel, and another for a Western adversary, Russia! What hypocrisy and undermining of the international rule of law, engineered by its purported promoter, the United States? Who can respect the ICC after the onslaught by the United States in support of Israel?  

With all this as the landscape, in a letter “... more than 500 scholars and practitioners of international law, international relations, conflict studies, politics and genocide studies have urged the United Nations General Assembly and its member states to unseat Israel from the United Nations General Assembly. The UN General Assembly suspended apartheid South Africa in 1974 until its transition to democracy. The scholars argue there is a stronger case for suspending Israel, given its persistent disregard for international law over more than seven decades, including violations of the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions, and orders by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).” (https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/why-more-500-scholars-think-israel-should-be-unseated-un) 

The letter goes on to say “To permit Israel to continue participating in the General Assembly as it commits grave illegalities that pose a threat to international peace and security in contravention of the premises of the UN Charter aggravates a crisis of legitimacy in the international legal order," and added, "The unseating of the Israeli state, by contrast, signals that the General Assembly, as well as the UN more broadly, remains dedicated to defending and protecting the rights and principles upon which the UN was founded nearly eighty years ago.”

Israel’s arrogance and contempt for international law and for the United Nations was underscored by “the Israeli UN ambassador’s utter contempt for international law at a General Assembly session back in May. On May 11, Gilad Erdan pulled out a paper shredder at the podium of the General Assembly and shredded a copy of the UN Charter. He wanted to vent his anger at the assembly’s resolution in support of Palestinian membership.”

None of this should come as a shock, the United States of America has been supporting Israel for over 70 years with over $350 billion in aid, arms and dozens of vetoes at the United Nations Security Council to give Israel diplomatic cover for its crimes. It should be embarrassing for a self-respecting country such as the United States to claim that it was instrumental in establishing the post-WWII international legal system as it continues to undermine that very system with its unconditional support of Israel in its war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide and thus making a laughing stock out of the United Nations and its Security Council.

There will be a heavy price to pay, not just for Israel and the United States, but also for Arab and Muslim rulers who will have to answer to the billions of Muslims whose lives have been shattered and their offspring who will thirst for revenge. The rule of law is being trashed. There is no moral high ground for any country. Arms and force rule the day. There is no place for the United Nations; its Security Council with outdated veto power for a privileged few is itself a vehicle for undermining the rule of law and subjugating the powerless; and the financial contributions to its coffers could be better served as food and medicine for the needy around the world.

The world is becoming more and more a jungle, where voices calling out rogue actions by a country such as Russia will be dismissed as hypocritical in the aftermath of America’s attack on the international legal system. Israel and its American support have ushered a future with little or no regard for international law and with more conflicts and wars on the horizon.

The United States may have been the indispensable nation, but it has become the catalyst for a rogue nation, Israel, to commit unspeakable crimes that are destroying our admittedly flawed and fragile international legal system. 

Hossein Askari is an emeritus professor of business and international affairs, George Washington University