Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Rabbi Warren Goldstein has issued a powerful call to action for a global realignment in the form of a United Nations of the Free World, a coalition exclusively comprised of democratic nations. This call comes in response to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) recent issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, a move Rabbi Goldstein has described as “a dangerous farce” and “a direct security threat to the free world”, and comes at a time where Jews globally are under direct threat of heightened antisemitic violence, as evidenced by the tragic and heinous murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the UAE.
Speaking directly to Pre-Trial Chamber I who issued the warrants, Rabbi Goldstein condemned the ICC as “an illegitimate organ of an illegitimate organisation.” In a recorded video address he in turn criticised the United Nations (UN), which he argues are dominated by autocracies, for weaponising international institutions to undermine the sovereignty and security of democratic nations.
"The ICC is an illegitimate organ of an illegitimate organization - United Nations, which is dominated by dictatorships who do not have independent judiciaries nor the rule of law. No democracy in the world should accord any legitimacy to it”, said Rabbi Goldstein.
Rabbi Goldstein called for decisive action from democratic nations to actively discredit the UN’s legitimacy by imposing sanctions on any governments, civil society groups, and individuals who support the warrants. .
Furthermore, democracies must no longer afford any moral credibility to the UN and its affiliates, and says Rabbi Goldstein, in the aftermath of the continued assault on Israel, a global realignment is necessary culminating in the formation of a United Nations of the Free World, comprising only democratic states, with a mandate to uphold the true values of justice, human rights, and freedom.
An inherently flawed ruling
The Chief Rabbi emphasised the prosecutor's lack of objectivity and the Court’s lack of jurisdiction in this case in which the UN has become a tool in the hands of autocratic and dictatorial regimes to undermine the stability of the free world:
“That is exactly what we see in this ICC ruling whereby Israel, a free democracy, defended itself against a barbaric act of terrorism and then took the responsibility upon itself to fight a series of terrorist actors and their Iranian backers - all of which threaten the liberal Western world - only to be sanctioned with arrest warrants by the UN,” he added.
Quoting the ancient wisdom of King David, Rabbi Goldstein likened the UN and ICC's actions to “framing violence by statute”—using the veneer of law to legitimise oppression. He urged the global community to call out these injustices and commit to a vision of peace grounded in truth.
“The United States and the free world should sanction the governments, civil society groups, and individuals who conspired to secure these arrest warrants as a signal to others that the abuse of global institutions to weaken democracies and threaten their national security will not be tolerated. It’s time to end the charade,” he concluded.
The issue of arrests, argue Rabbi Goldstein, foreshadowed the violent terrorism that took the life of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, and it seems clear that the UN will seek to impede Israel’s ability to defend itself and Jews around the world.
Rabbi Goldstein’s statement serves as a clarion call to defend the principles of democracy and justice in the face of escalating threats from autocracies and their proxies.