"They committed war crimes. We told them to stop," the group writes. "They didn’t listen. That pissed us off. So we made the War Criminals Playing Cards."A group of activists have unveiled a deck of “War Criminals” playing cards featuring U.S. and Israeli leaders to protest the conflict in Gaza.
“Today we want the public to easily identify the people responsible for committing, enabling and failing to prevent a genocide in Gaza,” the group states on its website.
The deck is modeled on the set of playing cards used by U.S. troops during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The deck, often referred to as “Most-Wanted Iraqi” playing cards, was developed by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency to help troops identify members of Saddam Hussein’s government. Hussein’s face appeared on the ace of clubs.
The activists’ “War Criminals” deck features U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appear on the ace of spades and ace of hearts, respectively. Former President Barack Obama appears on a joker card. Introducing @warcriminals__ playing cards inspired by the U.S. deck of cards from the 2003 illegal invasion of Iraq, detailing the war criminals and génocidaires of the assault on Gaza in the Israeli and U.S. governments https://t.co/fqKL31KGgW https://t.co/Fj3crFGAxY
— Ashish Prashar (@Ash_Prashar) January 25, 2024
“The ‘War Criminals’ deck contains 54 individuals implicated in the genocide in Gaza,” the site states. “These individuals are bound together by their indiscriminate support for the systematic killing of Palestinian civilians when the world, resoundingly and repeatedly, begged them to stop.”
The card-makers describe themselves as an “anonymous collective [of] regular people with jobs and school and lives.” The group includes a former political press secretary and former advisor to the Middle East Peace Envoy, a senior campaign strategist, a former International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, a creative director and an artist.
The group accuses the figures depicted on the cards of engaging in “collective mass punishment, the targeting of civilians, forced displacement, mass starvation, torture, attacking hospitals and evacuating routes and other atrocities, while boasting they had ‘no red lines’ and they are fighting ‘human animals.’”
“These War Criminals deserve no peace,” they write.
Human rights attorney Noura Erakat noted the apt timing of the deck’s release in an X post.
“Just in time for tomorrow’s cases at the #ICJ & against Biden, Blinken, and Austin in a US federal court,” Erakat wrote. Just in time for tomorrow’a cases at the #ICJ & against Biden, Blinken, and Austin in a US federal court, here is a #WarCriminals Deck of Cards to help you identify accused war criminals out in these streets who should be on trial.
Get your own deck at https://t.co/0yn4TKQrso pic.twitter.com/Inc48w5Oom
— Noura Erakat (@4noura) January 25, 2024
The case, called “Defense for Children International Palestine v Biden,” was brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights, which claims Biden, Blinken and Austin failed “in their legal responsibility to prevent – and also their complicity in – Israel’s unfolding genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,” The Intercept reports.
Opening arguments will be heard in federal court tomorrow, Jan. 26.
The deck of cards, which features artwork from a Palestinian artist, can be purchased for $35. At least 40 percent of the profits will be donated to projects and charities that support Palestinians, in partnership with the advocacy group Adalah Justice Project.
