Nuremberg Legacy: When War Crimes Were Actually Prosecuted
The article 'Prosecuting Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials' (DW, 11/20/2025) recounts the groundbreaking effort to hold individuals accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It's a noble historical retrospective, yet utterly divorced from present-day geopolitical realities. While DW rightly highlights the 1945 trials, they neglect to mention its modern-day equivalent: the International
Criminal Court (ICC). The prosecutor for the ICC, Karim Khan, has applied for arrest warrants for none other than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing 'crimes against humanity' and 'starvation as a method of warfare.' The international community, led by the US Congress (where AIPAC spent $3.5 million lobbying in 2023 alone), promptly condemned the
ICC, sanctioning its officials. One might wonder if the 'rules-based order' applies only when the accused aren't US allies. Apparently, the global standard for prosecuting war criminals hasn't evolved so much as it's been redefined by political convenience.