The Goldstone Turn About

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There is no reason to rub one's hands with glee at Judge Richard Goldstone's turn about on his report for the anti-Israel UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC). We must remember that Israel is also at fault for the conclusions of the biased commission. This was mentioned when the report's conclusions first came out.

I am no legal expert nor do I claim to be a lawyer. Despite this, it is obvious that a legal report, judgment or conclusion can only be based on evidence that is available and has nothing to do with what is right or wrong morally but based on revelations by witnesses. The facts may be true or false. It was important for Israel to allow the UNHRC to interview the Israelis who had suffered from Qassam missile fire into Sderot and other areas in the south of Israel. Their evidence or witness reports would have been documented and proof of Hamas crimes against Israeli victims would have been more difficult to deny. One must also bear in mind the Hamas mantra of the desire to demoralize Israel and fantasize on its destruction. Hamas refusal to enter any form of negotiation with Israel because of its failure to recognize Israel’s right to exist must never be forgotten or pushed into the background. As far as Hamas and its lackeys are concerned Israel’s 1948 borders (or pre-June 1967 borders for that matter) are still occupied territory. It has nothing to do with Israel’s withdrawal to the pre-June 1967 borders. They will never cease (unfortunately they have not given any indication to the contrary so far) their violence against Israel until a Palestinian state is established in the place of Israel, hence their provocations.

By not allowing the Goldstone Commission to obtain evidence from the Israeli victims of the Qassam missile attacks, Israel had played into the willing hands of Hamas resulting in Goldstone being manipulated by Hamas witnesses and the UNHRC in receiving evidence which was false or at best half true.

If one reads the Washington Post op-ed, written by Judge Goldstone, the lack of evidence from Israel gave rise to the inaccurate conclusions of the Goldstone Report which was biased against Israel. Israel had therefore shot itself in the foot.

Judge Goldstone, by his own admittance, stated in his op-ed that had Israel given the information that he knows now, the report would have been different.

The fact that Judge Goldstone is Jewish or that he is a Zionist and therefore pro-Israel is irrelevant when it comes to making legal decisions or drawing conclusions. The one has nothing to do with the other when it comes to evidence which may be unpleasant to both sides. Anybody who has been involved in a court case is very aware of the way lawyers and judges function. One may be convinced of the correctness of one's case only to have it overturned by a technical legality based on new evidence that has become known and the judge's interpretation of the evidence and the legality of its acceptance before legal judgment is made.

Perhaps it would have been prudent for Judge Goldstone not to agree to lead the UNHRC which by his own admittance is biased towards Israel.

I do remember Judge Goldstone saying in an interview just after the report came out, that the UNHRC gave him the freedom to draw up the protocol for the commission and he could not refuse to be the head of a commission for which he wrote the protocol of the enquiry of Operation Cast Lead of 2008-2009 in Gaza. Perhaps this could give us an indication that he was manipulated by the UNHRC. The personal price that he paid for this was immense. He was condemned by Israel and the Jewish Community for his findings. There is no doubt that he was also manipulated by Hamas as well. The credibility of Hamas and their lackeys are questionable at all times and Israel must be apportioned the blame for omission of evidence to the contrary.

Perhaps something positive did come out of this report. It resulted in Israel investigating IDF excesses of force against innocent Palestinian civilians and those soldiers who were held responsible were brought to justice. This may not have occurred had there been no Goldstein Report. Hamas never undertook organizing a commission of inquiry into human crimes that they had committed against their own people and Israel as the Goldstone Report had requested.

During the IDF operations against the Hamas terrorists ("militants" as Hamas sympathizers call them) had used innocent Palestinian people as human shields and hid behind them in order to increase Palestinian casualties and fatalities. They did this in order to prove to the world that Israel, whom they refuse to recognize, had killed Palestinians on purpose. Judge Richard Goldstone had refuted this in contrast to what was claimed by the Goldstone Report.

In retrospect, had Judge Goldstone refused to head this commission on the grounds that it would not be prudent because of his sympathies for Israel as he claims, the one sided findings would not have backfired on him personally especially as evidence of Israeli victims harmed by Qassam missiles prior to Operation Cast Lead was withheld from the Goldstone Report.

Even to this day there is sporadic firing of Grad missiles into southern Israel by Hamas and Israel is retaliating. Indications are that Iran is taking advantage of the unstable situation in the Middle East because of the Arab uprisings and the availability of the tunnels in the Gaza strip which are unguarded.

The provocations of the extremist Islamic groups in Gaza goading Israel to retaliate

is a foolhardy action of brinkmanship, which will increase Palestinian casualties and suffering.

  

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