Federal Judge Tried To Strip the President’s Power To Defend Israel – ACLJ Is Fighting Back

A federal judge just handed the enemies of Israel a major win. The ACLJ is filing an important brief in federal court today.

We’ve been in this fight defending Israel since the beginning. When the International Criminal Court (ICC) had the audacity to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – the elected leader of America’s closest ally in the Middle East – President Trump responded with exactly the right tool: targeted sanctions against those who helped make it happen.

One of the key figures he sanctioned was Francesca Albanese, the U.N. official who actively pushed the ICC to go after Netanyahu and has spent years using her platform to attack Israel’s right to defend itself. Those sanctions were lawful, constitutional, and necessary.

Now a Washington, D.C., federal judge has issued a sweeping order gutting them – and the ACLJ just filed a new amicus brief in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to stop it.

The details in this case are important to know. Albanese herself never went to court to fight the sanctions. Instead, her husband and daughter filed a lawsuit – and a federal judge used that lawsuit as an excuse to wipe out an entire presidential foreign policy decision. Consider that – a judge in Washington, D.C., decided that a family’s alleged personal challenges were reasons enough to second-guess the President of the United States on a matter of national security, risking America’s relationship with a key ally. That is not how our system of government is supposed to work. Courts don’t get to override the President’s foreign policy just because someone claims a hardship. If Albanese has a problem with her designation, she can go to court herself – she has simply chosen not to.

Take action with the ACLJ. Sign the petition: Stand with Israel. Defend Israel.

The Stakes for Israel Are Real

Make no mistake: This case is about far more than one U.N. official’s sanctions. If courts can tear down the President’s tools to fight ICC lawfare every time a family member files a lawsuit, the entire sanctions framework collapses. That means the ICC wins. It means foreign tribunals can continue targeting Israel – and American allies – without consequence. It means anti-Israel global actors will know that a sympathetic federal judge is all that stands between them and accountability.

We have been defending Israel in courts and before international tribunals for decades. The stakes are monumental for presidential authority. When the President uses his lawful authority to protect Israel from foreign legal attacks, the ACLJ stands with him – and we will keep standing with him in every courtroom that matters.

One of the most important points in our brief is something every American should understand: The President – not federal judges – is responsible for America’s foreign policy. The Constitution gives that authority to the Executive Branch for good reason. Foreign affairs are complex, fast-moving, and deeply consequential. They require access to intelligence and diplomatic relationships that no courtroom can replicate.

President Trump determined that Albanese’s work with the ICC posed a real threat to American interests and to Israel. This is exactly the kind of judgment the Constitution entrusts to him – not to a district court judge in D.C. The ACLJ’s brief makes clear that the court below overstepped badly, and we are calling on the D.C. Circuit to rein it in.

The bottom line is simple: America’s ability to stand with Israel, to push back against global anti-Israel lawfare, and to protect our allies from rogue international bodies depends on a President who has the tools to act. The ACLJ is fighting to make sure those tools remain intact.

Take action with the ACLJ. Sign the petition: Stand with Israel. Defend Israel.