On my recent lecture tour in South Africa the subject of Judge Richard Goldstone came up quite a lot. Whether it was the dinner in Johannesburg at the home of Chabad head Rabbi David Masinter where acquaintances of the judge were in attendance, or at Sea Point Synagogue, South Africa's largest, where I lectured and whose Rabbi, Dovid Weinberg, had officiated at Goldstone's grandson's Bar Mitzvah in Johannesburg, or my speech for Chabad of Cape Town and later in Pretoria, the man whom the media describes as a 'respected international jurist' and who had falsely accused Israel of war crimes was never far from anyone's lips.
South Africans are among the world's proudest Jews and most ardent Zionists. So it was understandable that they would detest Goldstone, viewing him as a traitor to his people, a man who engaged in a blood libel against the Jewish state in order to enhance his standing at the United Nations.
I have personally never agreed with this assessment of Goldstone, seeing him instead as one of Lenin's 'useful idiots,' a man so full of his own pomposity and self-righteousness as to be utterly blind to simple notions of right and wrong. Like Jimmy Carter before him, Goldstone is one of those well-meaning ignoramuses whose view of morality is that whichever is the party without tanks and an air force must be the party who is just. This knee-jerk reaction to always champion the underdog, notwithstanding their evil actions explains the shockingly obvious statement in Goldstone's recent Washington Post apology to Israel in which he wrote, "In the end, asking Hamas to investigate [its own crimes] may have been a mistaken enterprise." It took a famous judge three years to come to the conclusion that asking a terrorist organization hell-bent on exterminating Israel to impartially report its own atrocities was not his brightest idea.
But Goldstone's Einsteinian moment is not over yet. In disavowing his earlier contention that Israel had intentionally targeted civilians in Gaza, Goldstone offers a classic lesson in how not to apologize. It turns out that the damage to Israel's global reputation by Goldstone's slanderous report was not his but Israel's fault: "Israel's lack of cooperation with our investigation meant that we were not able to corroborate how many Gazans killed were civilians and how many were combatants." So Goldstone condemned Israel as a regime that directs its missiles intentionally at children because he did not have enough information from Israel to establish otherwise. And yet, just a few lines later Goldstone writes that the UN Humans Rights Council, which commissioned his report, has a "history of bias against Israel [that] cannot be doubted." So even Goldstone admits that Israel was being asked to cooperate with an investigation commissioned by an authority inherently prejudiced against it, which explains why Israel rightly refused to participate.
It's clear that with his most recent ramblings the description 'respected international jurist' will never again be appended to Goldstone, whose tattered reputation strikes this writer as sad but just karma.
Much more troubling, however, are the comments attributed to Samantha Power, the rising star of the Obama Administration who is being discussed as a replacement for Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. I am a huge fan of Power's 2002 book A Problem from Hell, detailing how America refused to intervene to stop repeated genocides in the twentieth century. I have repeatedly extolled the Pulitzer-prize winning book in lectures and columns and believe it should be required reading by every American High School student. I was also not surprised to read that it was Power who was instrumental in persuading an always reluctant President Obama to intervene in Libya to stop Gaddafi from slaughtering his people.
It was therefore with considerable sadness that I learned of Power's troubling statements on Israel, comments that require her immediate clarification lest she compromise her own moral credibility. American Thinker and other publications have reported that Power said that the United States should send in a massive military force to protect the Palestinians from Israel. And that she maligned the American pro-Israel lobby with her advocacy of "alienating a domestic constituency of tremendous political and financial import [the pro-Israel lobby] and... sacrificing...billions of dollars, not in servicing Israel's military, but actually investing in the state of Palestine." Is Power really arguing for greatly reducing or eliminating American military aid to Israel and channeling it instead to the Palestinians who have repeatedly used foreign aid to foster hatred of Jews in schools, line the pockets of corrupt officials, and promote terrorism?
There is more, with Power seemingly criticizing the New York Times in 2003 for being insufficiently critical of Israel after it attacked terrorist-saturated Jenin. Of Israel's presence in Lebanon, Power wrote in her book, Chasing the Flame, that what sparked Israel's invasion of Lebanon was "dispossessed Palestinians and Israeli insecurity," where in truth Israel invaded Lebanon to stop the incessant stream of rocket attacks that terrorized its northern cities. The phrase 'Israeli insecurity' implies that Israel is paranoid rather than reflecting the reality of a Lebanon dominated by Hezbollah, whose genocidal aim is the destruction of Israel.
I spent the last day of my African trip in Dakar, Senegal, where I visited Goree Island, the point of no return from which 14 million African slaves were sent to a life of hell in servitude. Presidents Clinton and Bush visited the island to acknowledge the American sin of slavery. (President Obama, with his strange reluctance to denounce great evils, has yet to visit.) Samantha Power is one of the few people with the president's ear who can be relied on to influence him to overcome his inexplicable recalcitrance to broadcast American resolve abroad to stop the slaughter of innocents. It behooves her to immediately explain her issues with Israel, a nation whose principal purpose in having an army is in stopping yet another genocide of a people who lost half their number in the first one.
Shmuley Boteach, "America's Rabbi," is the international best-selling author of 25 books, most recently 'Honoring the Child Spirit' and 'Renewal: A Guide to the Values-Filled Life.' Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.
Follow Rabbi Shmuley Boteach on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RabbiShmuley
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/06/goldstone-report-unanswered-questions-editorial
"Goals
Hamas's 1988 charter calls for the replacement of Israel and the Palestinian Territories with an Islamic Palestinian state. After the elections in 2006, Hamas co-founder Mahmoud Al-Zahar did not rule out the possibility of accepting a "temporary two-state solution", and stated that he dreamed "of hanging a huge map of the world on the wall at my Gaza home which does not show Israel on it."[58] Xinhua reports that Al-Zahar "did not rule out the possibility of having Jews, Muslims and Christians living under the sovereignty of an Islamic state."
That's nice? Unfortunately, Jews and Christians would not be allowed to practice their Religions. But while some are crying about how badly Israel treats the Palestinians, (Who still continue to kill Jewish people, enmasse, for crying out loud) maybe they could condemn the Arab countries centuries old treatment of their Jewish populations?
"Jews and Christians would not be allowed to practice their Religions." ?
Here is what the three leaders of the Christian Church in Palestine said during their recent visit to Ireland:
"We need only one thing, to be protected by the world against the crimes of Israel," was their central message. ...
...."As for the church, Christianity in the region has been destroyed not by Muslims but by Israel. Israel destroyed the church of Palestine and the church of Jerusalem beginning in 1948. It, not Muslims, has sent Christians in the region into a diaspora.”
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16503”
"map of the world .... which does not show Israel "
Ever seen a map of Eretz Israel, the aim of Zionism as stated by Menachim Begin and which polls indicate is still aspired to by a majority in Israel?
Ever read this bit of the misnamed "Hamas Charter" ?
"As to those who have not borne arms against you on account of religion, nor turned you out of your dwellings, Allah forbiddeth you not to deal kindly with them, and to behave justly towards them; for Allah loveth those who act justly."
Please read a little History of the middle ages when Moslems twice liberated the Jews of Palestine, rescued the Jews of Spain and set them free to practice Judaism. Problems between these two religions arose in the Twentieth century.
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You are the one who is in need reading a little history. Or maybe a lot...
http://www.mideastweb.org/hamas.htm
In a sermon aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa television, cleric Yunis Al Astal stated, "Today, Rome is the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital, which has declared its hostility to Islam, and has planted the brothers of apes and pigs in Palestine in order to prevent the reawakening of Islam.
"I believe that our children, or our grandchildren, will inherit our jihad and our sacrifices, and, Allah willing, the commanders of the conquest will come from among them"
He maintained that Rome would become, ""an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread though Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, even Eastern Europe." Ref- Fox 14 Apr. 2008
Hamas has repeatedly refused international community demands to recognize the right of Israel to exist, abrogate its charter and abide by the previous commitments of the Palestinian Authority
"I have always been told throughout my youth of the fanaticism of the Mohammedans, and especially that story of the destruction of the library at Alexandria. Well, I believed all these stories, but when I came to look into the history of the times concerned, I had a great many shocks. In the first place, I discovered that the library of Alexandria was destroyed a great many times, and the first time was by Julius Caesar. But the last time was supposed to have been by the Mohammedans, and for this I found no justification whatsoever. Nor did I find that the Mohammedans were fanatical. The contests between Catholics, Nestorians, and Monophysites were bitter and persecuting to the last degree. But the Mohammedans, when they conquered Christian countries, allowed the Christians to be perfectly free..... they, in the earlier centuries of their power, represented free thought and tolerance to a degree that the Christians did not emulate until quite recent times."
Bertrand Russell (Eng. philosopher, mathematician, 1872-1970): "Reading History As It Is Never Written" [1959]
Hm. Principal purpose has always looked like occupying, stealing and grabbing as much Palestinian land as possible, while reinventing history and holding international justice in contempt.
http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_israel_land.php
"What about land? Does Israel discriminate against Arabs owning land?
While often repeated, the assertion that Arabs cannot obtain land in Israel is based on misconception, error and outright invention. In fact, most of the land in Israel is government-owned, and it is equally available to all Israelis, whether Jewish or Arab."
On the other hand....
Contrast with Arab Policies
"This law, or equivalent, continued in effect under the Palestinian Authority (PA). By 1997, 172 people had been sentenced to death under this law, although “only” about 10 have been executed. The law is invalid under the Oslo II agreement and is one of the many violations of the Oslo peace process agreements by the PA. Palestinian land dealers in PA controlled areas have been murdered as “collaborators”, a practice that was publically condoned by Yasser Arafat."
"In 1995, following the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, the Jordanian Parliament repealed the 1973 law and replaced it with milder statutes that still effectively bar Israelis from purchasing or leasing land in Jordan."
Quite a contrast don't you think?
http://lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com/news/2010/03/palestinians-made-the-desert-bloom.html
I can see no such allegation in the piece.
It's recognized as such by all other free democracies on the planet.
Daniel Blatman, Haaretz
(Prof. Blatman is a Holocaust researcher and head of the Institute for Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.)
Are you saying, dont reference anything printed in Haaretz? If so please give me a list of your approved referencing sources along with a policy framework for referencing that I may consult so as to win your favour - as that - and not a reasoned and well informed debate is my one and only goal.
The responses made by South Africa to human rights abuses emanating from the removal policies and apartheid policies respectively, shed light on what Israeli society must necessarily go through before one can speak of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East and an end to its apartheid policies."
Nelson Mandella.
Come on, four fans...don't people do any research anymore? This thing has been debunked for years now!
"Um, you are aware that that letter was not actually written by Mandela (whose name is spelled wrong on the website that posted the letter and whose spelling you copied). It was written by Arjan El Fassed, who had no intention for his mock letter from Mandela to be taken as an actually letter from him.
Come on, six fans...don't people do any research anymore? This thing has been debunked for years now!"
Sigh!!!
"Albert Einstein and other prominent Jews wrote a letter to the New York Times, December 4, 1948, denouncing Menachem Begin, a future prime minister of Israel who is highly regarded by many contemporary Israelis, as a FASCIST. They wrote:
"Among the most disturbing political phenomena of our times is the emergence in the newly created state of Israel of the "Freedom Party" (Tnuat Haherut), a political party closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal, to the NAZI and FASCIST parties. It was formed out of the membership and following of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, a TERRORIST, right-wing, chauvinist organization in Palestine.
The current visit of Menachem Begin, leader of this ("Freedom") party, to the United States is obviously calculated to give the impression of American support for his party in the coming Israeli elections, and to cement political ties with conservative Zionist elements in the United States."
I DO know that the founders of the Palestinian anti-Israel movement (which began in the 20's, long before 1948 and all of the supposed "crimes" against the Palestinians), including the grand mufti of Jerusalem, were ACTUAL Nazis who fought for Hitler, this is historical record and indisputable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Amin_al-Husayni
Do you condemn the Palestinian movement on the same principles? I would think you would be supportive of fascism considering that fascism and sharia are inseparable political ideals.
As to the Mufti: 'Hannah Arendt, who attended the complete Eichmann trial, concluded in her book Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil that, "The trial revealed only that all rumours about Eichmann's connection with Haj Amin el Husseini, the former Mufti of Jerusalem, were unfounded." Rafael Medoff concludes that "actually there is no evidence that the Mufti's presence was a factor at all; the Wisliceny hearsay is not merely uncorroborated, but conflicts with everything else that is known about the origins of the Final Solution." Bernard Lewis also called Wisliceny's testimony into doubt: "There is no independent documentary confirmation of Wisliceny's statements, and it seems unlikely that the Nazis needed any such additional encouragement from the outside.'
Not trying to say he was a sweetheart--what religious leader is?--but painting the Palestinians with the Nazi brush is really going too far!
And please Einstein was a theoretical physicist not a world affair maven...... It is like Gore claiming to invent the Internet……..
Talk about ignorance! Pretty much indicates your knuckle-walker, birther character. That''s all you have: made-up 'facts' and talking points to endlessly bleat.
1 - Everyone witnessed the lynching of Goldstone by the Israel supporters, including attempts to prevent the Bar Mitzvah of his grandson after the report was published. Given that, the op-ed published in WP has little credibility since he might've written it under extreme duress.
2 - The op-ed said "might have influenced" the 'intentionality' of the killings and 'war crimes', operative word being MIGHT HAVE. In addition, this being based on an 'investigation by IDF', with such investigations having a poor track record to date, further diminishes the value of the opinion.
Bottom line, I think once again Israel supporters are making way too much of this whole thing. Let it rest.
I say BRAVO . . it's more than time America aided the Palestinians . . . .they need and deserve all the help we can give them . . .
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=375159
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=375020
The first bomb dropped in Israel's unspeakably cruel assault on a basically defenseless Gaza, was to blow up a ceremony where cadets were being sworn in a policemen, killing young men and members of a band playing at their induction. Guess that was a "military" target. (see, http://stop30billion-seattle.org/warcrime.htm), just like the UN school and storage buildings that Israel, um, "accidently" bombed, killing and maiming children. Or maybe it was the farm and livestock operations blown up throughout Gaza, that presented legitimate military targets.
and by the way --- did you count the number of Qassam rockets launched agianst Israel, or that was just a defensive action by Hamas........ and NO, Israel didnot attack the UN school, but the Hamas combatants that hide next to it....... get your fairytale straighten....LoL
this paragraph once again proves how goldstone was right from the beginning but penned the op-en under pressure from folks like rabbi, dershowitz (who also called him 'stupid': classy)...
closing thought seems like Samantha power is advocating a sane foreign policy...no point in arming an apartheid...where is the 'problem' here?