The Goldstone Report: A Study in Duplicity – Much has been written about the 575-page anti-Israel tirade known as the Goldstone Report which charges that Israel intentionally targeted Palestinian civilians and likely committed “crimes against humanity.”
I’m glad to say that folks are coming out fighting against the hopelessly biased ‘Goldstone Report’.
CAMERA have an excellent ‘Falsehood Report’ which is well worth a look:-
Much has been written about the 575-page anti-Israel tirade known as the Goldstone Report (formally known as the report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict), which charges that Israel intentionally targeted Palestinian civilians and likely committed “crimes against humanity.”
The UN investigation has been widely faulted for its lack of objectivity, duplicitous methodology and biased mandate predetermining its conclusions. (Following the article are links to an accumulating body of material on the subject.)
Falsehood List
The Report often exonerates Palestinian terror groups by claiming that “The Mission found no evidence” supporting particular allegations about their misconduct. In many cases, where there is indeed clear evidence supporting the allegations, such claims by the Goldstone Commission are simply not credible.
Also highly significant are false assertions in Palestnian testimony given to the commissioners, much of which was anecdotal evidence by residents of the Gaza Strip. The Commission’s determination that such evidence was “credible and reliable” is actually the reverse of the case; the testimony was often clearly unreliable.
The Report also acknowledged that “those interviewed in Gaza appeared reluctant to speak about the presence of or conduct of hostilities by the Palestinian armed groups,” possibly due to “fear of reprisals.” (Perhaps the Mission should have explicitly asked the witnesses whether they feared Hamas might use their testimony against them. One Palestinian told Der Spiegel during a discussion about the war that “anyone who stands up to [Hamas] is killed.”) The Report’s acknowledgment that Palestinian testimony might be influenced by fear did not, however, prevent Goldstone from accepting most of the testimony as fact.
Professor Barry Rubin has been citing Israel’s response on his excellent Blog:-
Israel’s Response to the Goldstone Report: Exposing a Politically Motivated Fraud
If you’ve been following the Goldstone Report controversy, you might be interested in the response done by Israel to specific points raised by the report.
The Goldstone report bashes Israel regarding the Gaza war for alleged crimes and misdeeds based solely on the unchallenged testimony of almost totally pro-Hamas and universally anti-Israel Palestinians who live under an Islamist dictatorial regime. On close examination, a very large number of the accusations dissolve into nothingness.
Judge Goldstone keeps repeating in interviews–and the media lets him get away with it–that nobody has challenged the substance of his report. This is blatantly untrue as this response shows. He and the commission have not even attempted to respond to any part of these critiques.
Equally, much of the Western media has not reported on any of these detailed critiques, for example the demolition of the number of civilian casualties claimed, achieved by reclassifying Hamas gunmen as civilians.
Meanwhile, the report passed the UN Human Rights Council and is now being discussed in general debate. At some point, the UN will try to pass some sort of anti-Israel resolution–with or without material sanctions–and the United States and Europeans will have to decide how to vote or veto. The report will also be used in the coming years repeatedly to portray Israel as an evil and illegitimate state that should not be allowed to exist.
There are also broader implications, as the response shows. If the concepts used in the report are adopted, democratic countries facing terrorist attacks will be unable to respond without international political and perhaps legal condemnation. For example, the U.S. attack into Afghanistan after September 11 would be subjected to war crimes’ charges.
Here’s a sample from part of the response:
Selection of Incidents
I think what disgusts me most is that folks have been using the Goldstone Report to justify boycotting Israel, even here in the UK, most notable the TUC!
Related Recent Posts:-
TUC votes for ‘targeted boycott’ of Israeli goods
Major Error in UN Goldstone Report Calls into Question Work’s Credibility