Goldstone Report Is a Barrier to Peace

There are many things wrong with the Goldstone report, which accuses Israel of deliberately targeting civilians in order to punish the people of Gaza. First, its primary conclusions are entirely false as a matter of demonstrable fact. Second, it defames one of the most moral military forces in the world, along with one of the most responsive legal systems and one of the freest nations in the world when it comes to dissent. Third, it destroys the credibility of "international human rights" and proves that this honorable concept has been hijacked for political purposes directed primarily against one nation -- Israel.

But fourth, and most important, it has set back prospects of peace by making it far more difficult for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank. When Israel was considering its withdrawal from Gaza, some critics predicted that the transfer of Israeli troops out of this dangerous area would encourage terrorists to fire rockets at Israeli civilians who live in close proximity to the Gaza Strip. Those who favored the withdrawal argued that if Palestinian terrorists were to fire rockets from the unoccupied Gaza, Israel would have a perfect right to do whatever it took militarily to stop its civilians from being targeted by enemy rockets. They pointed out that every country has the right to self defense under the United Nations Charter and under the rules of international law. (I favored the withdrawal, as did many liberal supporters of Israel and believed that Israel had the military capacity to respond to any rocket attacks.)

As soon as the Israeli army left the Gaza Strip, Hamas decided to launch rocket attacks on Israeli civilian targets. The Hamas website proudly proclaimed, "The Zionist Army is afraid that the Palestinians will increase the range of the new rockets, placing the towns and villages in the [Zionist] entity in danger." These Hamas rocket attacks increased over the years until more than a million Israelis were within range. Thousands were traumatized, dozens were injured and several were killed by the thousands of anti-personnel rockets that targeted children, women and other civilians. As candidate Barack Obama said when he went to visit Sderot, the town most devastated by these unprovoked Hamas war crimes:

"The first job of any nation state is to protect its citizens. And so I can assure you that if...If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israeli to do the same thing."

Israel protested these rocket attacks to the United Nations, but to no avail. They increased in frequency and range.

The citizens of Israel, especially those in range of the attacks, demanded that their army protect them and not wait until a rocket hit a school bus filled with children or a nursery. Since most of the rockets were fired while children were on route to or just beginning their classes, the risk of a cataclysmic tragedy were considerable. Finally after enduring years of rocket attacks, Israel decided to undertake military action to stop them.

Just before the hostilities began, Israel offered a carrot and a stick: it reopened a checkpoint to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. It had closed the point of entry after the checkpoint had been targeted by Gazan rockets. (On several prior occasions, Hamas rockets had targeted Israel points of entry through which aid had been provided. It was as if Hams was deliberately trying to manufacture a humanitarian crisis. Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, also issued a stern, final warning to Hamas that unless it stopped the rockets, there would be a full-scale military response.

This is the way Reuters reported it:

"Israel reopened border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Friday, a day after Prime Minister warned militants there to stop firing rockets or they would pay a heavy price. Despite the movement of relief supplies, militants fired about a dozen rockets and mortar shafts from Gaza at Israel on Friday. One accidentally struck a house in Gaza, killing two Palestinian sisters, ages 5 and 13. [T]he deliveries could ease the tensions that might have led to a military action to end the rocket attacks. Palestinian workers at the crossings said fuel had arrive for Gaza's main power plant and about a hundred trucks loaded with grain, humanitarian aid and other good were expected during the day."

Finally in desperation Israel launched an attack designed to stop the rockets. It succeeded in large part though some rocket attacks have continued. Because Hamas fired its rockets from behind human shields, it was inevitable that there would be civilian casualties, despite Israeli efforts to reduce them by making hundreds of thousands of phone calls and leaflet drops warning civilians to stay out of the streets.

Goldstone's one-sided condemnation on Israel will make it far more difficult for Israeli leaders to persuade their citizens to remove their soldiers from the West Bank. Rockets fired from the West Bank would endanger far more Israeli civilians and threaten to close the Ben Gurion Airport. Israel now knows that if it were to try to defend itself against such rockets, it would once again be condemned by the United Nations. It will now be far more difficult for Israelis who oppose a continued presence of Israeli troops on the West Bank to persuade a majority of Israelis that the army can protect them even if they leave the West Bank, without incurring the wrath of the international community.

The effect, if not the intent, of the Goldstone report will be to keep Israeli troops in the West Bank longer. President Obama was right when he said that "the first job of any nation is to protect its citizens." The Goldstone report has made it virtually impossible for the Israeli army to protect its citizens against rocket attacks from territory that is no longer militarily occupied. It encourages Israel's enemies to provoke Israeli self-defense measures, which they know will produce condemnation of the Jewish state. This is a great tragedy, for Israelis, for Palestinians and for all who favor a two-state solution and an end to the occupation.

 

 

Comments

[whypassword]

There is little that one can expect in terms of fairness from an article that begins with "There are many things wrong with the Goldstone report ..."
A lot of people who have posted comments here have already voiced most of my concerns regarding an article like this.
The silence of mainstream US media on the Goldstone report is not surprising.
Neither is it surprising is that people like Dershowitz continue being given so much space to voice their opinions despite being exposed as frauds.

[Goefel]

I can't even read this nonsense any longer. One of the strongest military countries in the world can't accept the report from a Jewish diplomat in the UN that says Israel needs to stop the systematic punishment of the indigenous inhabitants. Your arguments have been completely pushed it to the limit, and they have no merit to normal societal views.
Is it possible to you that Goldstone is helping Israel to get set on the right path for its future?

This excerpt is telling:
"Finally in desperation Israel launched an attack designed to stop the rockets. It succeeded in large part though some rocket attacks have continued. Because Hamas fired its rockets from behind human shields, it was inevitable that there would be civilian casualties, despite Israeli efforts to reduce them by making hundreds of thousands of phone calls and leaflet drops warning civilians to stay out of the streets."

...One word of advice. NO one BELIEVES this any longer. But go ahead and make your case. It's only hurting Israels defenders who appear more like defendants of international criminal acts than honest defenders of a pragmatic homeland for Jews.

[shalala]

The truth is not a barrier to peace. Apologizing for all of Israelis actions is. Even the most loving parent offers his child honest criticism. The "most moral" army has been corrupted and must deal with the reality of it's actions. No need for another Sabra and Shatila or Gaza. Never again.

[eileenflemingWAWA]

Oh Alan!

How about the Israeli Govt. SECURE the health of their employees at the leaking Dimona WMD Faciltiy?

How about READING The GOLDSTONE Report?

How about goggling and THINKING upon a few of these articles?

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the OPT, Richard Falk’s article: Why the Goldstone Report Matters

UN Press Release (15 September): UN Fact Finding Mission finds strong evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Gaza conflict; calls for end to impunity (Goldstone Report)

Ten Israeli human rights organisations to the Government: Don’t silence Breaking the Silence

Aluf Benn: In wake of UN Gaza probe, how can Israel go to war again?

Amira Hass: The one thing worse than denying the Gaza report

Judge Richard Goldstone: Justice in Gaza (New York Times, Sept. 17 2009)

Gush Shalom ad in Haaretz: September 18, 2009

Paper by Prof. John Dugard: The results of investigations of Israeli conduct during the war in Gaza

Prof. Dugard in Huffington Post, August 2009: Two States or Apartheid?

Antony Lerman: Judge Goldstone and the pollution of argument

Submission of Human Rights Organizations based in Israel to Goldstone Inquiry

Amnesty International: 15 September 2009: Israel-Gaza: Implementation of UN Fact finding mission recommendations crucial for justice

Daniel Levy on Goldstone in The Guardian: Israel Must Now Heal Itself

Eileen Fleming, Author, Founder of wearewideawake.org/
Producer "30 Minutes With Vanunu" and "13 Minutes with Vanunu"

[DC]

"Finally in desperation Israel launched an attack designed to stop the rockets...­." The attack was designed for revenge and destruction. LIke the attacks in South Africa on densely populated areas of blacks South Africans to get back at them, teach a lesson, stop the attacks...­.after there would be an act of violence in protest.

The rockets could have been stopped long before. Just end the blockade and embargo.

While the blockage was not a justification for the rockets, they could have been stopped with peaceful means without the massive destruction of a living area and murder of so many innocents.

[DC]

I was lost with the first use of the mindless meme, "one of the most moral military forces in the world,..."

[TruthHurts2]

OK. Let's try the "facts":

1. The Israel invasion into Gaza caused over 1,000 civilian deaths. Israel claims that Hamas was using civilians as "shields" but they do not dispute that there were civilian casualties by Israeli hands.

2. The Israel invasion was precipitated by Hamas "bombings" over several years into southern Israel. The TOTAL fatalities attributed to these reocuring offenses are reported as less than 15.

3. Reports estimate that Israel's casualties as a result of the invasion were less than 10 dead. (That would be a 100-1 casualty rate for Palestine vs Israeli losses).

4. I was not a math major but, COMMON SENSE tells me that when Israel loses LESS people than the NYC murder average for 1 MONTH (Hamas bombs AND Israeli casualties from invasion).­....while the other side loses MORE people than NYC murder average for 2 YEARS....i­t's pretty tough to win the "immoral equivalence" argument.

In the Universal Law of Unintended Consequences, Israel seems to have fallen prey to the idea of Victim-exclusivity. Israeli supporters simply can't see that there can be any "victim" other than Israel, since the Jews were victims of the largest atrocity in world history...­..If the Goldstone report is "one sided", it's because Israel was the clear aggressor. Only an attorney would reason that "prior notice" is legitimate mitigation for an invasion.

[DeniseA]

There is absolutely no excuse the Hamas rockets.
I suppose israel could have had more deaths if they hadn't built bomb shelters for their people.
Hamas should not be firing rockets at a nation with a stronger military.
What did the rockets do for Hamas and the Gazan civilians?
Gaza's worst enemy is Hamas, not Israel.

Just because Israel "only" lost less than 15 people they shouldn't try to protect their citizens?
Israel takes better care of her citizens than Hamas does of the Gazans.

[phute]

Denise A -neither is there any justification for collective punishment over the act of the few or responding disproportionately.

[shalala]

only 3 of the 10 Israelis were killed due to Hamas rockets. A significant amount were killed due to "friendly fire"

[Fein]

Uri Avnery, the Israeli war hero has posted an excellent rebuttal to the inevitable right wing assault on
Israel's official investigation of the Gaza slaughter.

Sliming Goldstone and His Report

By URI AVNERY

Is there no limit to the wiles of those dastardly anti-Semites?

http://www.counterpunch.org/avnery09212009.html

[shotei]

Israeli war hero? Oh boy.
War heroes are actually those who have fought FOR the country, not turned hysterically against it.

[writerjohnny]

It should be embarrassing to you that the biography of Uri Avnery is easily accessible on the internet. You know, the thing you use to make worthless comments about other humans who have contributed far more to the world and their country than you could ever hope to. Your most glaring error is your intimation that Mr. Avnery DIDN'T fight for his country. He did and was wounded in action twice. I won't list all his contributions or actual facts regarding his commitment to making his country and his world a better place but maybe you should take 5 minutes out of your busy day to do some research about someone you insulted in a public venue without proof or reason.

[phute]

Why what's so special about you shotei that you can deride Avnery?
One thing's for sure - you'll never match his eloquence.
He's way too classy for you.

[Macready]

israel knew it had to give back the land they "acquired" after the 1967 war . . . . in the past 40 years or so israel has been illegally appropriating more Palestinian land . . . I don't see the problem . . it is not israel's land . . . they are in violation of international law . . end of story . . . the sad saga is that it has gone on for so long . . . and caused years of suffering to the Palestinian people

[shotei]

Ever heard of "ends don't justify the means". This is one of the moral basis of modern thought and morals. Killing civilians intentionally is a crime regardless of the purpose. You are only rationalizing the killing of innocent people.

[shotei]

Brilliant article. Obviously, in a few minutes, this page will be full of hatred for Israel and angry calls at Mr. Dershowitz' biased view and connections to the evil Israeli Lobby.
I want to challenge anyone here to confront the facts Mr. Dershowitz has written here, not himself or the Lobby or evil Israel. Please note something that is factually or logically wrong in his argument. My guess is nobody here can do it, simply because it is the logical truth.
Israel withdraws from Gaza. Hamas refused to recognize Israel and started shooting rockets. Israel closes the borders. Rockets continue. Israel reacts. The world condemns Israel.
Hamas has made a Palestinian State an ever more distant idea.
Brilliant work, Mr. Dershowitz.

[biwee]

Irrelevant. Israel has lost the support and trust of the majority of Americans
with its continued killing of innocents. like the Gazan women and children
waving white flags, only to be shot to death by the IDF.

[Macready]

agree with you israel has lost the support and trust of not only Americans but most of the citizens of the world . . .israel has and is still sowing the seeds of its own destruction . . . and is breeding a new kind of anti-Semitism . . .

the attack on Goldstone is unwarranted . . . it's just that the israelis cannot and will not accept responsibility for their actions . . . they are blinded by the myths of zionism and in order to trumpet that keep invoking the holocaust which is insulting to all those who were victims of the holocaust both Jews and non-Jews

[phute]

Brilliant - wow - may I commend you for being able to wade through the gloopy, murky mess.