Steven Wernick: The double standard that treats Modi like a hero and Netanyahu like a villain

National Post

7 hours ago

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose government faces credible allegations of orchestrating the political assassination of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, was welcomed by world leaders at the G7 summit in Canada without hesitation. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who's controversial, but is the leader of a democratic state that's under attack — is threatened with arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for defending his citizens after one of the most horrific terrorist attacks since 9/11.
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This is not just hypocrisy, it's a distortion of justice. Of course, no democracy is above scrutiny. Legitimate criticism of Israel's wartime conduct — its proportionality, its humanitarian policies, its political leadership — is not only warranted, but necessary. Democracies thrive on accountability. But there is a profound difference between such critiques and the morally bankrupt equivalence that treats a sovereign state defending its citizens as indistinguishable from terrorists who deliberately target civilians.
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Let's be clear: Netanyahu is far from a flawless leader. His judicial reform agenda has shaken Israeli democracy, and his coalition includes extremist elements that many Jews find abhorrent. He deserves political accountability. But legal accountability for war crimes? That's a bridge too far — especially when the ICC treats a country defending itself from terrorism as morally equivalent to a terror group that proudly live-streams its own atrocities.
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On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, murdering 1,200 people — including babies, women and elderly Holocaust survivors — raping and mutilating civilians, and kidnapping more than 250. Fifty-three living and murdered people remain in captivity. That day shattered Israeli society and Jewish communities around the world. It was an unprovoked genocidal assault.
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Since then, Israel has waged war in Gaza. Thousands have died, and the suffering is real. But the war could have ended months ago, and it could end now, if Hamas accepted any of the multiple ceasefire and hostage-release proposals brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. Hamas has rejected every one. Every day that hostages remain in Hamas captivity prolongs the war and the suffering of civilians on both sides.
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Let's not pretend this is about proportionality or international law. If it were, the ICC would not ignore the fact that Hamas deliberately embeds its military infrastructure beneath hospitals, schools and apartment buildings. Nor would it ignore the difference between a democratic country's military operating under civilian oversight, and a terror group that glorifies martyrdom and uses its own people as human shields. The ICC's pursuit of Israeli leaders while delaying full investigations into far more egregious violations by Russia, Syria and others undermines its own credibility as an impartial institution of justice.