George Clooney called the White House to defend his wife over the International Criminal Court’s action on Israel. Amal played an instrumental role in supporting the cause that led to calls for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. And the actor, as reported by the Washington Post, spoke with Steve Ricchetti, Joe Biden’s advisor, expressing his concerns about the president’s criticism of this decision, and in particular his use of the word “outrageous”. Furthermore, as informed sources told the newspaper, he said he was irritated by the administration’s openness to imposing sanctions on the ICC, because his wife could be affected.
Clooney’s call came just weeks before he was due to attend a Biden campaign fundraiser on June 15 in Los Angeles, and his concerns were heard from the commander in chief’s orbit, where there are fears the star could slip out of the event which sees him as protagonist together with former president Barack Obama, television host Jimmy Kimmel and actress Julia Roberts. Also because Clooney has long been an important supporter of democratic candidates and causes: in 2020 alone he donated over 500 thousand dollars to Biden’s election campaign, as well as hosting a virtual fundraiser for him which raised a good 7 million dollars. Complications arose after ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he wanted to charge Netanyahu, Gallant, Hamas leader Yehiya Sinwar and two other senior leaders of the militant group with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Which Amal Clooney, an international human rights lawyer, followed by explaining that Khan’s office had enlisted her to help him with the investigation. The statement, published by the Clooney Foundation for Justice, a human rights organization she founded with her husband, said the team’s legal conclusions were “unanimous.”
“I do not accept that any conflict is outside the reach of the law, nor that any perpetrator is above the law – Amal underlined – Therefore I support the historic step taken by the prosecutor to bring justice to the victims of atrocities in Israel and Palestine” .
A move by Khan, decidedly not appreciated by Biden, according to whom the Jewish State and Hamas cannot be compared. The US administration initially signaled its willingness to work with Congress to punish the Court, then the White House said that imposing sanctions was “not the right answer”.
