The incendiary remarks made by former IDF deputy chief of staff Yair Golan, who claimed that “a sane country doesn’t kill babies as a hobby,” and by past prime minister Ehud Olmert, who declared that Israel’s actions in Gaza are “close to war crimes,” are reverberating far beyond Israel’s borders. These statements cause considerable diplomatic and public damage. But more troublingly, they may have concrete consequences in the growing international legal campaign against Israel.
These statements could become part of the evidentiary fabric used by the Palestinians, Iranians, South Africans, and others to bring legal proceedings against Israeli officials and IDF soldiers. They may tip the scales in cases seeking arrests and prosecutions. It is deeply regrettable that former leaders of Israel’s army and government would so sharply undercut the very country and soldiers they once led.
Alongside the existential military campaign Israel is waging in Gaza and the diplomatic struggle for legitimacy in Western capitals, Israel is also facing a global legal offensive. The Palestinians and their allies are deploying every legal tool available to tarnish the name of Israel and criminalize the actions of the IDF.
The most visible front is the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where a formal criminal investigation into Israel is underway. Arrest warrants have already been issued for Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister. It is likely that additional sealed warrants exist, which have not yet been disclosed. The ICC’s legal assault on Israeli leadership is unprecedented in scope.
At the same time, there is a legal onslaught at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where South Africa is spearheading an effort, supported by several other countries, to designate Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.
But perhaps the most quietly insidious threat is playing out in national courts around the world under the principle of “universal jurisdiction.” In countries that recognize this doctrine, foreign nationals can be prosecuted for war crimes, regardless of where the alleged crimes occurred. This opens the door to the arrest and prosecution of IDF soldiers who fought in Gaza and are later targeted while traveling abroad.
In all of these legal machinations, context and intent are central. Investigations and evidentiary dossiers, especially those compiled by international courts, often rely heavily on the public statements of Israeli officials. For example, much of South Africa’s case at the ICJ relies on statements by Israeli leaders, purportedly demonstrating genocidal intent. As such, opponents of Israel closely monitor not only its military operations but also the discourse surrounding them.
These comments provide ammunition in the legal war against Israel
This is why the remarks of Golan and Olmert carry added gravity. The controversial headlines they generate do not fade with the rest of the news cycle; they provide ammunition to those conducting a legal war against Israel. In a world where criminal liability under international law hinges not just on what happened but on why and on whether leaders knowingly pursued unlawful objectives, the words of Israeli officials – past and present – may carry damning weight.
When a former prime minister and a former general-turned-political leader proclaim that Israel is committing war crimes and “kills babies as a hobby,” they risk validating the very narratives Israel’s adversaries are advancing in court. If Israel’s own leaders assert such things, it becomes easier for prosecutors abroad to argue that intent and knowledge of wrongdoing were present.
These statements could cost Israel dearly, impairing its ability to fight, harming its international standing, and, worst of all, jeopardizing the freedom of its soldiers and commanders.
Israeli leaders, current and former, would do well to think twice before offering sweeping condemnations of their country’s actions. Israel’s enemies are listening, and they are eager to use every word against it.
The writer is the director-general of the Jewish People Policy Institute and a senior lecturer in law at the Peres Academic Center.