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A Further Perspective
Goldstone Says Oops!
It’s a little late to undo the damage his mendacious report caused.
On Friday, South African judge Richard Goldstone offered a half-hearted apology for and retraction of his 2009 “Goldstone Report,” a particularly damaging and libelous document accusing Israel of war crimes and “crimes against humanity” during Operation Cast Lead in late 2008.
Goldstone’s “oops,” given in a Washington Post op-ed, blames his jumping to the worst possible — and obviously wrong — conclusions on “Israel’s lack of cooperation with our investigation.” Had any nation but Israel been treated this way, the international community would have rightly castigated Goldstone and his report as propaganda rather than investigation.
As I reported in 2009, the Goldstone Report “(was) not just more of the same from the U.N.: it’s much worse.” It accused Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians as a matter of policy despite this testimony by Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British Forces in Afghanistan:
During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defense Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.
Israel did so while facing an enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population…
The truth is that the IDF took extraordinary measures to give Gaza civilians notice of targeted areas, dropping over 2 million leaflets, and making over 100,000 phone calls. Many missions that could have taken out Hamas military capability were aborted to prevent civilian casualties. During the conflict, the IDF allowed huge amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza. To deliver aid virtually into your enemy’s hands is, to the military tactician, normally quite unthinkable. But the IDF took on those risks.
Goldstone nevertheless released a 575-page report creating a UN-sanctioned moral equivalence between the terrorist murder of civilians by Hamas and Israel’s defensive response based on what Goldstone now calls “potential war crimes” and “possibly crimes against humanity” (emphasis mine.) Israeli columnist Assaf Wohl said that Goldstone “constituted the kosher stamp for this blood libel.”
What should have been a forgiveness-begging mea culpa by Goldstone is instead a weak attempt to blame the victim and justify behavior that a judge in particular should have avoided: “Although the Israeli evidence that has emerged since publication of our report doesn’t negate the tragic loss of civilian life, I regret that our fact-finding mission did not have such evidence explaining the circumstances in which we said civilians in Gaza were targeted, because it probably would have influenced our findings about intentionality and war crimes.”
In other words, Goldstone was Israel’s judge, jury, and co-executioner (along with the Islamofascists in Hamas) because Israel’s unwillingness to prove to him that they were innocent of intentionally targeting civilians. Israel was guilty until proven innocent.
But why should Israel have wasted its time “cooperating” with the UNHRC, an organization which, according to Eye on the UN, has since its founding in 2006 issued 38 “resolutions” condemning Israel, one short of half of all the resolutions ever issued by that body? In 2009, the year during which the Goldstone Report was being “researched” (UN-speak for “justifying pre-determined conclusions without evidence”), members of the UN Human Rights Council included Pakistan, Algeria, Cuba and Saudi Arabia. Israel was on solid ground to assume that nothing it would have said would have made any difference to a group looking for confirmation, not information.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a cabinet meeting on Sunday, responded to Goldstone’s non-apology:
There are very few instances in which those who disseminate libels retract their libel. This happened in the case of the Goldstone Report. Goldstone himself said that all of the things that we have been saying all along are correct — that Israel never intentionally fired at civilians and that our inquiries operated according to the highest international standards. Of course, this is in complete contrast to Hamas, which intentionally attacked and murdered civilians and, naturally, never carried out any sort of inquiry. This leads us to call for the immediate cancellation of the Goldstone Report.
I have asked National Security Council Chairman Yaakov Amidror to convene a special staff meeting of people from the Foreign, Justice and Defense ministries to formulate practical and public diplomacy measures, in order to reverse and minimize the great damage that has been done by this campaign of denigration against the State of Israel. I expect their recommendations in the coming days. We will act on the public diplomacy front, and on other fronts, with the international community and the UN in order to demand the justice that is due to Israel.
Not surprisingly, the Palestinian reaction has been a conspiracy theory-fueled anger. Ynet News reports the Palestinian Intelligence Service chief saying “If Goldstone went back on his word, it was most probably as a result of heavy pressure from Israel, otherwise he would not have done so,” reflecting similar views among Hamas and Fatah spokesmen.
Another anti-Israel website expresses the obvious Arab reaction when it observes that “The Washington Post is not the United Nations.” On this point, at least, who can disagree? It’s something Judge Goldstone should have kept in mind before releasing his report; perhaps it too should have been printed in the Washington Post.
About the Author
Ross Kaminsky is a self-employed trader and investor and is a senior fellow of the Heartland Institute. He is the host of The Ross Kaminsky Show on Denver’s NewsRadio 850 KOA at 11 AM on most Sundays. You can reach Ross by e-mail at rossputin(at)rossputin(dot)com.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (21) | Leave a comment
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martin j smith| 4.5.11 @ 7:49AM
Goldstone is a phony a-moral fill in the blanks. and he reflects exactly what the United Nations is. An organization that should not be supported by one US penny.
Occam's Tool| 4.5.11 @ 10:29AM
Goldstone is the perfect example of the Kapo. If he is capable of guilt and shame, perhaps it will drive him mad. I doubt it, though.
Ret. Marine| 4.5.11 @ 8:33AM
Anyone and every one who understands, and has been paying attention to the conflict over a non-existent "palestine" knew full well the goldstone report was political in nature and dishonest at best. This leaves those of who support Israel through prayer and contributions of moral support with the truth we knew all along. Yeah big surprise, the UN as usual, lied from the get go but, what does one expect from this pit of vipers? Those of us who understand islam is the beast the good book talks about also understand muslims in general are evil in their intentions, actions and motives-period. And to think we the People are largely responsible for the operational cost to this evil intentioned group of one world order vipers and satanist, it makes this Patriot, and bitter clinger to his bible and guns sick to my stomach for being lumped in with this pit of vipers calling themselves United in any fashion or form, let alone the word Nations.
Occam's Tool| 4.5.11 @ 10:29AM
Thank you, sir.
Hillel| 4.5.11 @ 8:58AM
While Islam is not my cup of tea,(tea and coffee were brought to the world by Mostems) Moslems are not evil people. We should remember that even as they try our patients.
cwbois| 4.5.11 @ 9:21AM
Yah and neither were members of the Nazi party I guess.
Ross Kaminsky | 4.5.11 @ 11:04AM
I'm looking for a funny/incisive response to "try our patients".
Here's a web site about Islam, the Religion of Peace:
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
Mr ED| 4.5.11 @ 9:50AM
The only way the Goldstone slander is "undone" is for the MSM to focus the spotlight on the whole mess - The process, the players, the false conclusions and how those false conclusions were allowed to become "fact" in spite of reams of evidence to the contrary. Of course, those things will never happen because they would indict those doing the presumed investigation and their complicity in the whole blood libel. Once again, the media - their biases, their lies, their adamant refusal to report anything other than "facts" that fit the desired script - IS the story.
The MSM will have to be brought to heel like the lying curs they are. That is the unpleasant truth and pretending otherwise will only delay the inevitable and make things worse still.
Occam's Tool| 4.5.11 @ 4:29PM
In happy news, Israel has captured yet another HAMAS scumbag, and hopefully are Casino Royaling him right now:
"Yesterday, Israel unsealed an indictment against Abu Sisi, and I [Debbie Schlussel] was proven correct. Not only is he a TOP HAMAS operative, he’s the “Rocket Godfather.” Yes, Abu Sisi is in charge of developing and upgrading HAMAS missiles and directing the rocket attacks against innocent Israeli civilians. And not only that, but he is one of the top officials of HAMAS’ military wing, the brains behind the terrorist organization’s plans and attacks on Israelis and others. His hand stretches from Syria to Mecca. Abu Sisi founded and developed HAMAS’ military academy and also knows where kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit is being held, which is the main reason he was captured. "
martin j smith| 4.5.11 @ 11:16AM
Mr Ed you are right. You know what will be needed ? An almost total boycott ( you did hear me ) of TV by enough people ( yes just as we can be addicted to credit cards we ARE ADDICTED TO TV ) JUST SAY NON!!!!!!!!!! AND HERE IS THE "KICKER": EVEN ON SUPERBOWL SUNDAY-=-THIS POINT BRINGS US BACK TO OUR PRIORITIES; our fix or our nation. WHAT IS THE MORE IMPORTANT ?
ABNCP| 4.5.11 @ 5:39PM
When will a United States government have the courage to combat the nest of barbarism in New York and do what any person with the brains that God gave an earthworm would do. Cut back our financial contrabutions, put in another U.S. Ambassador like Bolton, start an international P/R campaign to give the lie to most of the rulings coming out of that cess pit and began our pull out from that insane destrucutive organization. The small amount of good done by the United Nations cannot ever make up for the evil done there.
jstwndring| 4.5.11 @ 5:54PM
Again, the 'Reply' button is gone, but, Ret. Marine, your are correct about the fantasy that is "Palestine". Palestinians are not a legitimate race of people. They have no historical culture to point to as Palestinians. They have no historical art, trade, architecture, pre-Islam religious beliefs, historical political documentation--nothing that unites them culturally, as Palestinians. They are a collection of people from the surrounding muslim nations. They are, in reality, a political movement whose intention is the destruction of the Jewish people. So, the word Palestinian really means, Syrian, Jordanian, Egyption, Saudi, Iraqi, Persian, etc.. It really means people who don't belong there, or, enemies of Israel.
Tina B| 4.5.11 @ 6:14PM
In helping my daughter with a poli-sci report several years ago, on the "Israeli - Arab conflict," I discovered that Palestine was never a nation. It appears to come from a bastardization of the word Philistines, the ancient tribe that fought with the Jews millenia ago. How appropriate.
How ignorant we all are to be calling this huge array of people by this name, and giving them the idea that they deserve any territory at all. How absurd it is for American politicians to tell Israel to give up ANY land to this non-nation group of Israel haters. Is the USA willing to give up land to establish a homeland for migrants who arrive here and demand it?? Insane.
The people who are not Jews who have migrated to Israeli lands after Israel became a nation have no right to demand anything. Wake the f--- up, America. Stop dealing with these freeloaders who love living in an Israeli democracy, instead of their own impoverished and ignorant homelands.
No one else in the mideast wants to claim the "Palestinians", so they demand land in Israel. It would be funny if it wasn't so ridiculously damaging to an entire nation of people. America needs to defend this mideast democracy, our friend Israel, and not their sworn enemies.
tdiinva| 4.5.11 @ 8:45PM
Goldstone is not as bad as George Soros. At least he regrets selling out his brothers and sisters
Yosemeti Sam| 4.5.11 @ 10:49PM
Don't you just love the historical juxtapose - Israel being blood-libeled while up until 3/2/11 Libya was sitting pretty in the UN Human Rights Council.
UN - United Nut-jobs!
Dee See| 4.6.11 @ 5:55AM
AS David Rockefeller calls openly for
rapid depopulation (extermination)
AS Fuskishima continues to unfold,
across our west coast and the world
AS Yahoo News is, at this moment, reporting a
'mysterious and sudden' disappearance
of ozone layer (BTW a signature of HAARP
tech discharge)
AS our sources on the ground here in California
report radiation monitors being systematically
shut off by government for 'readjusting'
AS other sources inform us they are witnessing a redoubling
of daily barium/cadmium CHEM-trailing
(REALLY!)
----South African indignation over Isreal
gets top billing in American Spectator?????
HUH-----------------------------------------------?
texasron| 4.6.11 @ 4:15PM
The issue bigger than the report is the fact that the US funds the UN to the extent it does. We need to reduce funding to the UN and demand that they leave our shores. Saudi Arabia or Somalia are two possible sites.
shipley130| 4.11.11 @ 2:13PM
A know-it all know-nothing at the UN. How shocking.
Christian Louboutin | 6.23.11 @ 5:35AM
Israel did so while facing an enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population…
Creative Recreation | 8.10.11 @ 10:51PM
is good