eChurch Blog

As this disgraceful farce is all based on a corrupt and biased UN report, please see previous posts relating to the report:-

Last week, the UN Human Rights Council published the findings of its investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the Gaza war. Headed by South African Judge Richard Goldstone, the four-person team concluded that there was strong evidence that war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity, had been committed by both Israel and Hamas.

So now we can see how Richard Goldstone thinks he has preserved his judicial reputation while perpetrating a blood libel against Israel.

Major Error in UN Goldstone Report Calls into Question Work’s Credibility

In the wake of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza at the turn of this year, the UN’s satirically named ‘Human Rights Council’ set up what purported to be an objective, fact-finding commission of inquiry under Richard Goldstone

Yesterday the United Nations’ fact-finding mission into the three weeks of fighting in the Gaza Strip published its scathing report, harshly condemning Israel for its “disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population

The UN Human Rights Council’s report into the Gaza conflict is a shamefully biased document – Ron Prosor the Israeli Ambassador to the UK

LONDON (JTA) — A London judge rejected a call to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Barak is in Britain, where the lawsuit for an international arrest warrant was filed Tuesday.

Deputy District Judge Daphne Wickham said allegations of war crimes had been well documented, but added that ”I am satisfied that under customary international law, Mr. Barak has immunity from prosecution as he would not be able to perform his functions efficiently if he were the subject of criminal proceedings in this jurisdiction.”

A British attorney had filed the lawsuit against Barak on behalf of several Palestinian families, who were victims of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, on suspicion of committing war crimes.

Barak, in the country to speak at the British Labor Party’s annual conference at an event for the Labor Friends of Israel lobby, was due to meet Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday and Foreign Secretary David Miliband the next day. The British Foreign office spokesman confirmed the meetings, saying the leaders were to discuss “the Middle East peace process, Gaza and Iran.”

The suit was filed in relation to war crimes committed during Israel’s Gaza military offensive last winter, which Barak oversaw as defense minister. The suit was filed under the 1988 Criminal Justice Act, which gives courts in England and Wales universal jurisdiction in war crimes cases.

The accusations are based in part on the Goldstone commission’s report to the United Nations, which accused Israel of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.

Attorney Michel Massiah, who filed the suit, told Al-Jazeera Tuesday that “There are allegations of war crimes, there are families seeking redress and because these families are seeking redress, they have asked the advice of lawyers in Palestine who have asked the advice of lawyers in the United Kingdom.”

“The request for an arrest warrant for the defense minister is the continuation of a campaign to dehumanize and delegitimize the State of Israel,” said Ron Prosor, Israeli ambassador to Britain. “The Embassy of Israel in the UK is working together with the British government to have this unsubstantiated motion dismissed. We strive to protect the officials of the defense establishment and IDF officers. As they protect us, it is now our duty to protect them.”

Though Israeli government legal sources recommended he leave Britain immediately, Barak decided not to change his schedule, according to Ynet.

EDITOR

I have just come across this piece from Phillis Chesler at Pajamas Media

Israeli Minister Barak Escapes Arrest in England

British Lawyers Try to Have Israel’s Minister of Defense Arrested as a War Criminal

Really, guys, you can’t be serious.

I am afraid they are maliciously, purposively serious. The noose continues to tighten around the collective Jewish neck, just as I feared it would.

The United Nations just listened to Qaddafi speak — Amadinejad too: they honored these terrorists, monsters, menaces to decent people everywhere, beginning with their own people. The monsters came, they left, and neither assassin nor legal eagle sent them on a one-way trip to Hell or to the Hague.

But British lawyers, acting on behalf of 16 Palestinians, just tried to have Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak arrested for his alleged “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” in Gaza — partly based on their interpretation of the infamous Goldstone Report. How Goldstone could have lent his good name to this treacherous, ignoble document is slightly above my pay grade; only God can judge him now.

Earlier today, Anne Bayefsky referred to the Goldstone Report as a blood libel, quite equivalent to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. I totally agree with her.

Tayab Ali, who is representing the Palestinian groups, filed legal papers with London’s City of Westminster Magistrates Court. Ali accuses Minister Barak of “violating the Geneva conventions” as well. Let me emphasize: This lawsuit was brought by an individual, and not by the British government.

In fact, according to Ynet, a Defense Ministry source said the petition was denied following a recommendation by the British Foreign Office. Justice Daphne Wickham rejected the claim altogether, saying that while the papers filed with the court seemed “serious,” under “international law Barak has diplomatic immunity and therefore cannot be prosecuted.”

For now, the British government is protecting Minister Barak. But what about an Israeli civilian-soldier who is not a diplomat? What if an Israeli soldier or ex-soldier is traveling in Europe, Asia, or Africa: What then? Will governments protect ordinary Israelis from becoming prey?

Please recall: The Palestinians leadership launched the al-Aqsa Intifada in the fall of 2000. It continues to this day. The Palestinians have mainly targeted Israeli civilians with bombs and rockets. Lethal anti-Israeli propaganda, boycotts, demonstrations by human rights groups, academics, pro-Palestinian Muslim, Christian, and Jewish groups soon followed, all of which condemned Israel for defending herself and which portrayed the Palestinian aggressors as “victims.”

Please also recall: In 2005, “human rights groups criticised British authorities for failing to arrest Doron Almog, an Israeli general for whom an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes had been issued when his aircraft landed in London. Almog stayed on the plane at Heathrow after being informed that he could face arrest and was allowed to return to Israel.”

Israel, the historic and religious homeland of the Jewish people, was originally conceived of as the solution to the ceaseless persecution of Jews in both Christian and Muslim lands. Now, since anti-Zionism is the new anti-Semitism, the existence of Israel, especially it’s attempt to defend its people, is being used against both Israel and against Jews everywhere.

Obviously, even an Israeli diplomat has diplomatic immunity. But, to repeat myself: What about any other IDF soldier on leave or in the reserves who happens to visit England and who does not have any diplomatic immunity? If this is not dealt with, then Israelis will be walled up into a new kind of ghetto. Come out—but risk being arrested as an international war criminal.

The rough beast is back, slouching, slavering for Jewish blood. Technology allows us all to see it all. Contrast the carefully reasoned, world-class presentation by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyanu at the UN with the rantings and ravings of Qaddafi and Amadinejad there. The world has a clear choice to make. Good versus Evil. The Truth versus Big Lies. The government of sane men versus those of madmen who literally wish to destroy the world.

Apathy is dangerous, appeasement is not an option; even as I write, Iran is one day closer to nuclear weaponry.

God, (the IDF too), if you’re listening: The world needs a miracle.

From Christian Concern for our Nation

Equality Bill – Threat to Christian Groups Nationwide for Funding of Christian Projects

Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in the government’s Equality Bill is to be extended to cover age, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and gender reassignment.

CCFON objects in principle to the PSED extending to sexual orientation, religion or belief and gender reassignment, noting the threat to Christian Groups who will face a stark choice between eliminating the Christian element of their projects or services and being shut down for lack of vital public sector funding.

Under the proposed provisions public bodies such as local authorities, schools and health bodies will be able as part of their core business, to promote equality. As is so often the case, what is presented as tolerance and inclusiveness will in reality have the effect of shutting Christian groups out of publicly funded services.

The Government Equalities Office is holding a consultation, ending on the 30th of September.

Please send in your views to this GEO consultation even if you do not answer all or any of the questions.

Send responses by the 30th of September to: specificduties@geo.gsi.gov.uk

Here are some suggested comments that you may want to use or adapt:

I oppose the Public Sector Equality Duty extending to sexual orientation, gender reassignment and religion or belief; all should be removed. In practice this has led and will very likely lead to Christian rights being trumped where these are incompatible with other equality duties.

I oppose the Public Sector Equality duty and equality factors extending to the way that public bodies award large contracts.

The provisions could have the effect of excluding Christian suppliers out of the market which undermines diversity and equality.

I am alarmed that the Government is aiming for culture change and promotion of equality for public body core business. Religious organisations in particular should not have to promote other religions or sexual orientations against their beliefs and they shouldn’t be forced to change what they are or betray core beliefs in order to be considered for tenders.

I am concerned about all inclusive equality criteria will have the effect of discriminating against religious staff or religious service providers.

Christian individuals and businesses are already suffering barriers to potential funding because of all inclusive equality criteria. The proposals here will make this worse.

Local Christian organisations should not have to take the Christian or Church element out of their projects in order to be eligible for funding.

Christians are council taxpayers and so are entitled to an equal chance of getting funding for projects.

A national equality standard will lead to an unfair pre-selection of only suppliers for large-scale money contracts whose equality practices are in line with the all-inclusive politically correct one-way only approach to equality. This will be prejudicial to Christian suppliers.

Public bodies should not promote equality but should look at equality of opportunity.

The focus on public services should not be solely on service users but should take account of the effect of equality policies on religious staff and those religious organisations who provide services.

To see our full consultation response (with answers to all questions) please click here.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) and Labour Humanists have held their their ‘Second Annual “No Prayer” Breakfast’ at the Labour Party Autumn conference in Brighton. BHA and Labour Humanists were delighted to welcome BHA Distinguished Supporter Professor A C Grayling, Lord (Gus) Macdonald, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG), and Kelvin Hopkins MP as speakers at the meeting, which was chaired by Andrew Copson, BHA Director of Education and Public Affairs.

Lord Macdonald spoke about the current situtation for humanists in Parliament, including the success of the APPHG which has well over 100 members from across all parties and in both Houses. Over the past year, humanists in Parliament have worked on issues as diverse as faith schools and the Census, to persecution against non-religious people and continuing discrimination against humanists in broadcasting.

Kelvin Hopkins MP, Vice Chair of the APPHG, spoke about how Humanism is now really on the map, as more and more people come together with shared values that are humane, rational and optimistic. He emphasised the need for continuing education campaigning, and expressed his belief that many of the current trends are in favour of those who have a humanistic ambition for society.

A C Grayling reflected that much of the increased noise made by religious lobby groups is ascribable to the fact that their actual membership is decreasing. He argued that religious groups should be treated just as other civil scoiety groups with no extra privileges and that they shoudl realise that is what they are. He also emphasised the need for humanists to promote the humanist vision of society, where individual flourishing and wellbeing is protected, promoted and celebrated.

With contributions and questions from the floor, discussion between panellists and delegates than ranged over subjects as various as the origin of the maypole, how humanists should raise their children, the pagan origins of Easter and Christmas, and faith schools.

Andrew Copson thanked all the speakers and delegates for taking part and looked forward to welcoming everyone back in 2010 for the third “no prayer” breakfast.

PATHETIC

From Catholic Culture

Keeping a focus on the priesthood during this Year for Priests, the Vatican has announced that the theme for next year’s World Day for Social Communications will be: “The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World.” The message will call attention to the many ways in which priests can use modern means of electronic communication to further their apostolic mission.

The Pope’s message for the World Day of Social Communications is released each year on January 24: the feast of St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of journalists. This year’s papal message was directed more generally to the use of new technologies in the service of the Gospel.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Theme for 2010 World Day of Social Communications (VIS)

From Biased BBC

For years, the respected Climate Audit site has been warning that the famous “Hockey Stick” – a graph based on tree ring proxies used by the IPCC and Al Gore to “prove” their AGW propaganda – is inaccurate. Over the past few days, he has published conclusive evidence that it it is. The compiler simply took the most dramatic tree ring data and ignored the rest. The true picture is that surface temperatures have actually gone down. This was scientific fraud on a massive scale, and you can read about it here or here. The “hockey stick” graph was pivotal in the attempts to persuade the public to panic about AGW.

Chances of reading about this on the BBC? Absolutely nil. Today’s lead climate story is the Met Office warning that temperatures are going to rise by 4C by 2050. That, from a body that cannot even predict what will happen five days away.

By Kathleen Gilbert

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – President Obama has included homosexual couples raising children in a list of “American families” in a recent proclamation declaring Monday National Family Day.

“Whether children are raised by two parents, a single parent, grandparents, a same-sex couple, or a guardian,” said Obama in the proclamation, “families encourage us to do our best and enable us to accomplish great things.”

The president went on to encourage participation in Family Day by sharing an evening meal as a family unit.  “A strong nation is made up of strong families, and on this Family Day, we rededicate ourselves to ensuring that every American family has the chance to build a better, healthier future for themselves and their children,” he said.

The family day proclamation is in keeping with Obama’s oft-professed support for the homosexualist agenda.

When Obama proclaimed June “LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Pride Month,” he reiterated that he supports several issues on the homosexual docket, including homosexual hate crime legislation, homosexual “affirmative action” in the workplace, allowing open homosexuals in the military, and adoption to homosexual couples.

During the same month, Obama signed a presidential memorandum extending spousal benefits to homosexual partners and other unmarried partners of federal employees.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Obama to Give Benefits to Homosexual Partners of Federal Employees
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061704.html

Obama’s Homosexual “Safe School Czar” Tells God “Screw You, Buddy” in Memoir
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/sep/09092409.html

Obama’s “Safe Schools” Czar Dreamed of “Promoting Homosexuality” to Schoolchildren
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061113.html

Obama’s Secretary of Education Pick Proposed Homosexual High School
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08121709.html

From Aid To The Church in Need

By John Pontifex

CHRISTIANS in Iraq are beginning to flee the only place where they thought they were safe – their ancient homelands in the Nineveh plains.

Reports have come in from clergy in the north of the country that in the past few months, a slow but steady emigration has got under-way from the villages and towns close to Mosul city, which trace their heritage back to the earliest Christian centuries.

It comes after warnings of another blow to the Church expected in the immediate run-up to the January 2010 general elections.

With government ministers publicly expecting a surge in violence as people prepare to go to the polls, Church leaders fear that a new security crisis could spark another mass exodus of Christians, which in some areas may mean the departure of the last remaining faithful.

In an interview with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, leading Iraqi priest Fr Bashar Warda made clear that Christians in the Nineveh region are now beginning to feel threatened by the kind of security problems which have blighted the lives of people in so many other parts of the country.

Speaking from northern Iraq today (Monday, 28th September), Fr Warda told the charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians: “I am sad to say that the emigration of Christian families that we have seen in places like Mosul and Baghdad has now begun to affect the Nineveh area.

“We are not seeing – at least not yet – a large emigration from places like Alqosh and other [Nineveh] villages but it is definitely happening.”

Fr Warda said he could not give precise estimates of the number leaving the region but he said that a number of exclusively Christian villages have each been losing 30 or 40 faithful every month, sometimes more.

The news has added significance because the many almost completely Christian villages in the region had become a refuge for faithful under threat in other parts of the region.

When thousands of Christians fled for their lives following a spate of killings and anti-Christian propaganda in Mosul about a year ago, many took refuge in the Nineveh plains.

Fr Warda, who is rector of St Peter’s Major Seminary in Ankawa, outside Erbil, the provincial capital of the Kurdish north of Iraq, went on to say that the emigration from Nineveh is expected to speed up after a popular doctor was kidnapped at her home in Bartala, one of the most important towns in the region.

Dr Mahasin Bashir was freed yesterday (Sunday, 27th September) from the town of Baashiqa, about 10 miles from her home in Bartala.

The abduction of the gynaecologist has, according to Fr Bashar, “sent major shockwaves” across the region, which until recently has been largely free from kidnappings, explosions and other incidents affecting other parts of the country.

Concerns that the violence has spread to Nineveh will be a challenge to many Iraqi observers who report that terrorists linked to radical political movements have deliberately kept the region safe to encourage Christians to stay there in a bid to create a so-called safe haven for the faithful.

Christians in Iraq, who numbered 1.4 million at the last census in 1987, are now down to less than 400,000 according to latest estimates.

At least 800,000 Christians – proportionately far higher than other religious groups – have fled the country since the security-breakdown of the immediate post-Saddam years.

Fr Warda went on warn that a sudden escalation in violence in the run-up to the general elections due on 30th January 2010 elections may prove catastrophic for the future survival of the Church with yet more Christians leaving the country.

He said: “Of course it would be dangerous to speculate but if the violence becomes worse, it will seriously endanger our situation.

“It is clear that whenever a problem suddenly gets worse, the first solution the Christians look for is emigration.”

From OneNewsNow

A well-known Christian author and evangelist says atheists are up in arms over a planned book giveaway at universities nationwide this November.

Ray Comfort is co-host of the weekly television show The Way of the Master. He discovered that Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of the Species is public domain, so he has printed a special edition to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the book’s publication. The special edition includes a 50-page introduction, in which Comfort debunks the theory of evolution and points people to Christ. He and a host of volunteers will give away at least 100,000 copies of the book at college campuses nationwide. (See earlier article)

Comfort says he has received angry emails and letters from atheists concerning the giveaway.

“If you go online and type in Ray Comfort and Darwin’s Origin of the Species, you’ll find the atheists are running around like a hornet’s nest has been kicked. They really don’t know what to do about it,” Comfort notes. “They’re saying, ‘This is legal, we can’t stop it; let’s try to have a book burning. What can we do, write to Richard Dawkins?’ And it’s very interesting. And why are they threatened?  I mean if I’m the idiot that they say I am, then it’s good that I’m putting down what I believe in an introduction. Why should they feel at all threatened?”

Portions of many of the giveaways will be videotaped for a showing on The Way of the Master television show.

JERUSALEM (JTA) – Palestinians rioted in eastern Jerusalem over Yom Kippur.

Palestinians threw rocks and firebombs as well as garbage at police in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Isawiya on Sunday night. In addition, at least two firebombs were hurled at Jewish homes in Silwan on Monday.

Also on Monday, Arab cars were stoned by Jews as they drove on Jerusalem’s Derech Hebron.

The unrest followed an incident Sunday morning when at least150 Palestinians surrounded and threw stones at 15 Jews visiting the Temple Mount.

Israeli police fired stun grenades and tear gas at the attackers during the incident, which occurred on the eve of Yom Kippur. At least nine police and 15 Palestinian attackers reportedly were injured. Police also arrested eight Palestinian youth who they say attacked them.

The Palestinians reportedly began the riot on the Temple Mount because they heard that it was being invaded by Jewish “settlers.”

“At a time when President Obama is trying to bridge the divide between Palestinians and Israelis, and to get negotiations back on track, Israel is deliberately escalating tensions in Jerusalem,” chief Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erakat said Sunday night

“We’ve seen this before, and we know what the consequences are,” he added, conjuring up images of  Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount in 2000, which is said to have sparked the second Palestinian uprising, known as the al-Aksa intifada.

The Temple Mount, which houses two Muslim mosques — al-Aksa and the Dome of the Rock — overlooks the Western Wall, where prayers continued undisturbed Sunday.

Following the incident, the Temple Mount was closed to Jewish visitors, though not to Palestinians. Several Palestinian stone-throwing incidents also were reported in the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday following the attack.

Hamas reportedly called on the Palestinians to rise up against Israel as a result of the incident.

On Saturday night, a closure was imposed on the West Bank until after the Yom Kippur holiday on Monday at midnight.

Previous related posts

Last week, the UN Human Rights Council published the findings of its investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the Gaza war. Headed by South African Judge Richard Goldstone, the four-person team concluded that there was strong evidence that war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity, had been committed by both Israel and Hamas.

So now we can see how Richard Goldstone thinks he has preserved his judicial reputation while perpetrating a blood libel against Israel.

Major Error in UN Goldstone Report Calls into Question Work’s Credibility

In the wake of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza at the turn of this year, the UN’s satirically named ‘Human Rights Council’ set up what purported to be an objective, fact-finding commission of inquiry under Richard Goldstone

Yesterday the United Nations’ fact-finding mission into the three weeks of fighting in the Gaza Strip published its scathing report, harshly condemning Israel for its “disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population

Ron Proser – Independent

A farcical attempt to paint Israel black

In the history of international organisations it is hard to conceive of an institution less fit for purpose than the absurdly titled UN Human Rights Council.

Since its inception in 2006, the UNHRC has included such champions of liberal values as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Cuba. There is no doubting the comic value of such membership. Analogies spring to mind of Jack the Ripper leading a disciplinary inquiry at Scotland Yard, or Dr Harold Shipman chairing a panel discussion on medical care for the elderly. Yet for Israel, on the receiving end of this surreal hypocrisy, it is no laughing matter.

The latest example of its hypocrisy is the 575-page Goldstone report into the Gaza conflict at the beginning of this year. Israel, a democracy with an unquestionably free press and meticulously independent judiciary, faces a threat from terrorism unique in its intensity. Yet its obligations to defend its citizens from terror are being scrutinised, delegitimised and condemned by states in which the routine price of dissent is imprisonment without trial, torture or execution.

It is impossible to escape the obsession of the Human Rights Council (and I chuckle every time I write its name) with Israel. In three years, it has issued 25 resolutions against individual states: 20 of them targeted Israel. Basic maths suggests that Israel, a tiny democracy permanently threatened by dictatorships and terrorists, is guilty of 80 per cent of the world’s human rights offences. This is ridiculous, as is a human rights body with member states that still view public beheadings as a wholesome leisure activity.

The UNHRC’s glaring spotlight on Israel blinds it to its official purpose: it is oblivious to the one million displaced people in Somalia, one million displaced in Pakistan or the 300,000 Tamil civilians currently languishing in Sri Lanka. In Darfur Sudan is responsible for at least 400,000 deaths. Yet the council has never condemned the Sudanese Government, and in fact praised it for its “co-operation”.

The UNHRC also remains silent over the systematic rape and torture of pro-democracy activists protesting against the stolen election in Iran. That’s unsurprising. Last week, President Ahmadinejad once again spewed out an anti-Semitic rant at the UN General Assembly. But in April he was the keynote speaker of the UNHRC in Geneva. As the UN passes Mr Ahmadinejad the microphone, his regime recently silenced the leader of the Iranian bus workers’ union by quite literally slashing his tongue.

The Goldstone report’s lack of credibility has not gone unnoticed in all quarters. Canada, Japan and the EU all refused to support Justice Richard Goldstone’s mission from the start. Even Switzerland, which has often lavished red-carpet treatment on tyrants, acknowledged that the anti-Israel bigotry of Goldstone’s team made it unsupportable. Mary Robinson, the former Irish President and a fierce critic of Israel, described Goldstone’s mandate as “guided not by human rights but by politics”.

It is no surprise, therefore, that the report wilfully ignores the context of Operation Cast Lead. Israeli civilians were battered for eight years by thousands of missiles from Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, hoping the missiles would stop. Instead, the attacks increased, escalating further when Hamas seized power in a brutal coup in 2007. With a million Israelis under fire, and Hamas’s range increasing, Israel did what any democratic state would do. It defended its citizens.

Israel did its utmost to direct Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way. But the report overlooks the Israeli Army’s warning leaflets, text messages and daily humanitarian pauses in the fighting.

Most shamefully of all, the UNHRC has whitewashed the illegal tactics of Hamas. Hamas used mosques as arsenals, playgrounds as rocket launch pads and hospitals as battle command centres. Despite a wealth of video and eyewitness evidence, Goldstone failed to condemn these crimes. Ludicrously, Goldstone defines members of Hamas’s police force as “civilians”, despite their role in implementing and enforcing Hamas’s bloody takeover of Gaza.

The Goldstone report’s assertion that the Israeli courts cannot be trusted is as dishonest as it is insulting. Israel’s legal system holds its army to account at least as thoroughly as any in the free world. Israeli courts have scrutinised previous military operations, and mistakes or wrongdoing have been punished at the highest levels. Legal investigations into the war in Gaza are already under way. Difficult issues, including the use of white phosphorus, as reported by The Times, will not be ignored. But Israel does not need lectures in transparent, democratic legal process from a report mandated by dictatorships.

This report undermines the challenges faced anywhere in the world where accountable armies of democracies confront unaccountable terrorists shielding behind civilians. Nato forces in Afghanistan face a similar problem. On this occasion, it is Israel that has been singled out. But British soldiers on the front line against terror in Afghanistan might also find themselves pursued by a deranged Gaddafi, an unhinged Ahmadinejad or their friends at the UN Human Rights Council.

The UNHRC will meet in Geneva today to congratulate itself on its latest triumph in hypocrisy. For the world’s worst dictators and terrorists, the UNHRC is nothing but a fancy-dress party with a judicial theme. Sadly, on this occasion Richard Goldstone was willing to lend them his costume.

Ron Prosor is the Israeli Ambassador to the UK