\n<\/p>\n
There aren\u2019t a lot of countries Israel\u2019s prime minister can visit without risking arrest. Which makes the red-carpet treatment Benjamin Netanyahu received in Hungary \u2014 Europe\u2019s only proud \u201cilliberal democracy\u201d \u2014 all the more noteworthy.<\/p>\n
Viktor Orban, Hungary\u2019s prime minister, invited Mr. Netanyahu right after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant last November for his country\u2019s alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. And within hours of the Israeli prime minister\u2019s arrival in Hungary<\/a> last week, Mr. Orban announced his country\u2019s withdrawal from the court.<\/p>\n There are several things going on here, analysts say, which tie together the affinities of Mr. Orban, Mr. Netanyahu and President Trump.<\/p>\n Bonding<\/strong>: The International Criminal Court is the most ambitious and idealistic \u2014 if deeply imperfect \u2014 version of an global judicial system to enforce human rights. Most liberals love it. Mr. Orban, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump hate it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Signaling<\/strong>: Mr. Orban is telling the world that Hungary does what it wants: It may be a member of the European Union, but it is not constrained by it. He\u2019s telling China and Russia that Hungary is open for business. And he\u2019s telling his voters at home that it\u2019s Hungary First all the way.<\/p>\n Testing boundaries<\/strong>: At a moment when global institutions are crumbling and a new order has not yet emerged, no one knows what\u2019s allowed and what\u2019s forbidden anymore. <\/p>\n Hungary is not the first country to make exceptions for Israel. The United States and Germany have long done so. Friedrich Merz, Germany\u2019s incoming chancellor, has also ruled out arresting Mr. Netanyahu, even as Germany remains a committed member of the International Criminal Court.<\/p>\n Hungary is also not the first signatory to the Rome Treaty that established the court to ignore it. <\/span>When President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia visited Mongolia last year, it took no action on an I.C.C. warrant against him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But Mr. Orban\u2019s defiance of the court is also about something else: a desire to sideline independent judges, both at home and abroad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cQuite simply, some international institutions have become political bodies,\u201d he told a Hungarian radio program on Friday. \u201cUnfortunately, the International Criminal Court is one of these. It is a political court.\u201d<\/p>\n The power struggles between leaders and judges \u2014 whether international or domestic \u2014 have become a defining political theme in many countries, including Hungary, Israel, Brazil and the United States.<\/p>\n Mr. Orban, in power since 2010, is seen by conservatives worldwide as a pioneer in asserting power over the judiciary. He has packed Hungary\u2019s constitutional court<\/a> with loyalist judges and forced others to resign. He has battled against European Union courts and blasted their \u201cjudicial overreach\u201d when they take Hungary to task for violating E.U. rules.<\/p>\n Mr. Netanyahu, who has denounced bribery and fraud charges against him in Israel as an effort to derail the will of voters, is pushing for his own controversial judicial overhaul. He and his allies have argued that the judiciary has granted itself increased authority<\/a>, and is not representative of the diversity of Israeli society.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Trump, who was convicted on 34 felony counts before being re-elected last year, says that the many legal cases against him were politically motivated. In recent weeks, his administration has defied several court orders, which could eventually lead to a constitutional crisis. And in February, he signed an executive order placing sanctions<\/a> on I.C.C. officials in response the arrest warrant for Mr. Netanyahu.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n All three leaders \u2014 Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Orban and Mr. Trump \u2014 talked on the phone about the court during the Israeli leader\u2019s visit to Hungary. Mr. Netanyahu visited the White House on Monday, and his office said the I.C.C. was again going to be on the agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cIt takes a lawless autocrat like Orban to welcome rather than arrest an accused war criminal like Netanyahu,\u201d said Kenneth Roth, a visiting professor at Princeton and the former executive director of Human Rights Watch. Mr. Trump\u2019s imposition of sanctions on I.C.C. staff, he said, \u201cis of a piece with Orban\u2019s move.\u201d<\/p>\n As Orban is strategically bonding, he is also strategically signaling to allies, investors and voters that Hungary will not be constrained by international rules and norms. It\u2019s a form of identity building, says one prominent thinker about democracy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cOrban is playing special relations \u2014 special relations with the Russia, special relations with Trump, special relations with the Chinese,\u201d said Ivan Krastev, chairman of the Center for Liberal Strategies<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s trying to create a story of Hungary being the member of the European Union that can do what they want. \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo if somebody wants to invest in a country in the EU, go with Hungary,\u201d Mr. Krastev said. \u201cBecause they can do what they want. They can veto sanctions. They can leave the International Criminal Court. They\u2019re kind of the only free spirit in the E.U.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Mr. Orban has called fellow European leaders \u201cwarmongers\u201d because of their support for Ukraine. He\u2019s openly lobbying for re-establishing relations with Russia after the war. Welcoming Israel\u2019s prime minister in defiance of the international court was another opportunity for him to showcase Hungary\u2019s contrarian sovereignty.<\/p>\n Mr. Krastev sees Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s visit as a precedent \u2014 and perhaps preparation \u2014 for an even more controversial invitation for someone like Mr. Putin down the line.<\/p>\nLeaders vs. the judiciary<\/h2>\n
Hungary First<\/h2>\n