When Butchers Take the UN Stage, the World Reeks of Rot: Netanyahu, the ICC, and the Hypocrisy of U.S. Empire
by Luxman Aravind
There is a rancid stench that fills the air every time a butcher steps on the UN stage—a putrid legacy of violence, oppression, and human suffering masked by hollow words of diplomacy. And no one embodies this hypocrisy more than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a man with blood on his hands and a looming shadow of accountability over his head. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has already begun to lay the groundwork for charges against Netanyahu for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, and yet, here he is, strutting across the world’s largest diplomatic forum, unchallenged and unchecked.
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| Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Source: AAP |
How can the world listen to the hollow, sanitized speeches of a man who has overseen decades of apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and systematic dehumanization of Palestinians? How can the global community, assembled at the United Nations, pretend to care about justice, peace, and human dignity while Netanyahu—a man who should be in handcuffs, not suits—lectures the world on security and stability?
Netanyahu is not just any figure. He is the embodiment of a larger global system of hypocrisy and impunity, a system propped up by the United States, which has made it its mission to shield this butcher from international law. The ICC’s investigations into war crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians have been stonewalled at every step by the U.S., which has not only refused to recognize the court’s authority but has actively sabotaged its efforts to hold Israeli leaders accountable. The U.S. claims to champion human rights, democracy, and justice, but when the butcher in question is their man, all principles are tossed aside.
For the U.S., it seems, war crimes are acceptable as long as they’re committed by their allies. They’ll scream for accountability in countries like Syria, Russia, or Iran, but when it comes to Israel—a nation built on the rubble of Palestinian homes, a nation that has bombed children and hospitals in Gaza, a nation whose leaders are wanted by the ICC—the U.S. suddenly sings a different tune. They turn a blind eye, shower Israel with military aid, and block every international effort to bring justice to Palestinians.
This grotesque display of double standards is not only an insult to the global community but a direct assault on the very concept of international law. What is the point of the ICC if men like Netanyahu can roam free, smiling and shaking hands with world leaders while the bodies of Palestinians pile up behind them? How can any global institution claim legitimacy while one of the world’s most notorious war criminals stands in the heart of it, immune to prosecution because of the geopolitical games played by his protectors in Washington?
The U.S. cannot continue to preach about human rights and democracy while it shields Netanyahu from facing his day in court. This is not just hypocrisy—it is complicity. Every time the U.S. vetoes a resolution at the UN that seeks justice for Palestinians, every time it sends more weapons to Israel, it is complicit in the very war crimes it claims to oppose. The butchers of history are often not just the ones who pull the trigger, but the ones who hand them the gun, and in this case, the U.S. has not just handed Israel the gun—they’ve loaded it, aimed it, and then looked the other way as it fired.
This rot has seeped into the global order, where Western powers use institutions like the UN and the ICC not as tools for justice but as weapons of selective enforcement. They cry out for investigations and sanctions when it suits their interests but block any and all efforts to hold their own accountable. The case of Netanyahu is just the latest, most glaring example of this nauseating charade. How many more civilians must be bombed in Gaza? How many more families must be torn apart in the West Bank before the world stops enabling this butcher?
And let’s not pretend that Netanyahu is alone in this quagmire. The Israeli government, for decades, has built its apartheid regime with the active support of U.S. administrations, both Republican and Democrat. From the illegal settlements in the West Bank to the unrelenting siege of Gaza, Israel has enjoyed carte blanche from Washington to commit atrocity after atrocity, all in the name of “security.” But what kind of security are we talking about when entire neighborhoods are bombed into oblivion, when children are imprisoned, and when families are forced from their homes at gunpoint?
Yet, Netanyahu takes the UN stage with impunity, knowing that his protector, the U.S., will continue to cover for him. This is the great moral collapse of our time—when a man who should be standing trial for crimes against humanity is instead welcomed as a statesman on the world’s most prestigious platform. And while the U.S. continues to sing its self-righteous song of democracy and human rights to the world, it does so with blood on its hands, drowning out the cries of the oppressed with the sound of its hypocrisy.
The time for soft diplomacy and quiet condemnation has passed. The world must finally confront the reality of the situation: Netanyahu is a war criminal. His actions in Gaza, in the West Bank, and against Palestinians constitute nothing short of crimes against humanity, and yet the international community, led by the U.S., has failed to hold him accountable. This cannot continue.
If the UN, the ICC, and the global community at large want to maintain any shred of legitimacy, they must demand that Netanyahu be brought to justice. The U.S. must stop shielding him from accountability and face the fact that by protecting this butcher, it is not just complicit in his crimes—it is enabling the ongoing suffering of an entire people.
Enough is enough. The world must wake up to the stench of rot that fills the UN stage when war criminals like Netanyahu take the podium, protected by the very powers that claim to stand for justice. We cannot allow this hypocrisy to go unchallenged any longer. Netanyahu must face the consequences of his actions, and the U.S. must be held accountable for its role in shielding him from justice. Anything less is a betrayal of humanity itself.
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