Episode 14: Should Israel give up on international law ? A conversation with a former IDF lawyer

If the requirements of international law mean that Israel is effectively prohibited from defeating its enemies or protecting its borders, should Israelis turn their backs on international law? Why do we need "law?" Isn't it enough to just do our best to be as moral as possible?

After all, the institutions of international law seem so unfair to Israel. Just this past year, Israel was made to stand in judgment, accused of genocide, before a judicial panel whose president hails from an enemy country (Lebanon) and then left half-way through the proceedings to serve as the prime minister of that country. That is, the top judge who sat in judgment of Israel was campaigning in the political system of an enemy state.Then there are the many reports that accuse the ICC's prosecutor of rushing to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders without bothering with normal procedures because he was trying to cover for credible sexual assault accusations against him?

If the institutions cannot be trusted and the rules themselves are abused by every one of Israel's enemies, is this really a "law?" Can it ever be applied fairly?

I ask former IDF legal advisor Ben Wahlhaus, who spent 12 years as an international law officer whose duties included counseling senior officers on the legality of military operations, including during the Gaza war.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Sapir, the quarterly journal edited by Pulitzer-prize-winning commentator Bret Stephens. If you’re in the US, you can get this excellent journal sent to you absolutely free by going to http://sapirjournal.org/AskHaviv. Please use the link. It helps the podcast if they know we sent you.

Please join me on Patreon to support this project: ⁠ www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠

If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at ⁠haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠.

A podcast by Haviv Rettig Gur