Q&A: Confidential Arrest Warrants of the International Court
Confidential Arrest Warrants of the International Court
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Recently I heard that the international court is planning to issue confidential arrest warrants against Israelis. Suppose they manage to arrest an Israeli in Belgium—would it be permissible to detain, say, the Belgian ambassador as a bargaining chip to secure the release of the detainee in Belgium?
Best regards,
Answer
A strange question. Permissible morally? Under Jewish law? You cannot harm someone who is not connected to the matter. Someone who is connected, of course you can. But this would really not be wise, and the discussion is entirely hypothetical.
Discussion on Answer
First of all, The Hague is in the Netherlands, not in Belgium. But the Netherlands also is not the relevant party. It is only located there. I do not know how to handle this situation. It is very complicated.
Now I understand that you are talking about the arresting state, not the state that hosts the court. Here there may perhaps be moral justification, but this is entirely hypothetical. It will not happen and it would not help.
Every Belgian is connected to the matter simply by being part of a persecuting collective. If the only way to save the Israeli is by seizing an innocent Belgian, I assume that would be morally permissible, no?
And what do you think would be the smart way to deal with such a situation?