hotline header

An e-newsletter delivering updates and analysis on current issues about Israel and the Middle East conflict

April 12, 2011

Richard Goldstone Admits the Goldstone Report Was Wrong about Israel's Alleged War Crimes . . . But How Can Israel Recover from this Unfair Attack on Its Reputation?

Dear Friend of Israel, Friend of FLAME:

Forgive me, but I'm steaming mad about the raw deal Israel has again received from the U.N. and anti-Zionist groups, including NGOs (non-governmental organizations) like the notoriously anti-Israel Human Rights Watch. Let me provide some background before I vent further:

The U.N.-sponsored Goldstone Report, which accused Israel of purposefully targeting Palestinian civilians---a war crime---during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2008, dealt the Jewish state a devastating public relations blow. The document, which was protested loudly by Israel, FLAME and most pro-Israel organizations, nonetheless gave Israel's enemies powerful ammunition for delegitimizing Israel.

The report's author, the distinguished South African judge, Richard Goldstone, claims that Israel did not sufficiently cooperate with his research team when they were preparing the report, nor had Israel sufficiently investigated the allegations.

In fact, Israel did provide Goldstone and the world copious explanations for civilians being injured during the fighting---mainly that Hamas militants were firing and hiding in their midst. And Israel did mount investigations---into more than 400 incidents---the results of which finally convinced Goldstone to recant the report's false conclusions.

But the right to say "I told you so" provides little comfort. As Mark Twain noted, a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes. Goldstone's lies have traveled around the world numerous times, inflicting untold damage on Israel's reputation.

This week's FLAME Hotline by the Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin gives you insight into the devious, hypocritical game played by anti-Zionist groups bent on Israel's destruction. Now that the Goldstone Report's lies have been exposed, they simply launch a new set of lies.

Judge Goldstone needs immediately to request formally that the United Nations withdraw his insidious, ill-advised report. (So far he's only published an op-ed on his recantation.) This will not restore Israel's falsely tarnished reputation---we supporters of Israel will have to do that. But a formal retraction---and an apology---would be a good start.

Please take five minutes to review Rubin's incisive---and damning---analysis. Then, do me a favor: If you have personal friends or colleagues who may harbor doubts about Israel's exemplary and honorable conduct during Operation Cast Lead, please forward this brief article to them, so they will understand why it's critical that we continue to speak the truth on Israel's behalf, here in the United States and around the world.

Please remember: We are the soldiers in this PR war, defending Israel from injustice on the world stage. Every time you spread the truth or correct a lie, you're doing a mitzvah (a blessed good deed). Thanks for your support of Israel and your support of FLAME.

Sincerely,

Jim Sinkinson
Director, FLAME

P.S.

If you share our belief that the U.S.-Israel relationship is vitally important and wish to know more about why it makes so much more sense today than ever before, please review FLAME's latest hasbarah (clarifying message): "A Most Stalwart and Reliable Ally: Is Israel indeed America's unsinkable aircraft carrier?." This piece is just now appearing in magazines and newspapers, including college newspapers, with a combined circulation of nearly 5 million people. In addition, it is being sent to every member of the U.S. Congress. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel's behalf is critical, I urge you to support us. Remember: FLAME's powerful ability to influence public opinion comes from individuals like you, one by one. I hope you'll consider giving a donation now, as you're able---with $500, $250, $100, or even $18. (Remember, your donation to FLAME is tax deductible.) To donate online, just go to http://www.factsandlogic.org/make_a_donation.html. Now more than ever we need your support to ensure that Israel gets the support it needs---from the U.S. Congress, from President Obama, and from the American people.

Goldstone's recantation exposes the hypocrisy of anti-Israel 'human rights' organizations
By Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post, April 6, 2011

One benefit of the print edition of The Post (meaning the paper thing that's dropped on your doorstep and not the "online print edition") is that when you thumb through, you spot gems you would never have otherwise seen. A case in point: today: Robert Bernstein, the former head of Human Rights Watch (who has blown the cover on its anti-Israel agenda) writes a letter to the editor:

Richard Goldstone's retraction cut the ground from under war-crime charges against Israel by Human Rights Watch. Although I founded Human Rights Watch and was its chairman for most of its existence, I have openly criticized it because its Gaza reports were seriously flawed. Judge Goldstone now concurs. I hope this puts the matter to rest and that Human Rights Watch makes every effort to undo the harm caused by its flawed reports. It's time to heal and to create an atmosphere conducive to peace negotiations in the Arab-Israel conflict.

But of course, HRW has no such intention.

Gerald Steinberg, the head of NGO Monitor, the Israel-based watchdog group that tracks NGO activity, described the situation to the Jerusalem Post:

NGO Monitor also issued a statement slamming NGOs who contributed and "orchestrated" the conclusions of the Goldstone report, asserting that the "Goldstone Report, published under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council in September 2009, has been used to justify a widespread campaign of demonizing Israel with false accusations of 'war crimes' and demands for BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions)."

According to Gerald Steinberg, "with Goldstone's admission that 'our fact-finding mission had no evidence' and that 'civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy,' the politicized NGOs that supplied these allegations have been exposed again as biased and lacking credibility."

Goldstone was misled by an orchestrated campaign led by powerful NGOs, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, B'Tselem, Breaking the Silence, Adalah, Palestinian Center for Human Rights, and Al Haq. As NGO Monitor demonstrated when the report was released, the so-called "evidence" provided by these groups was at the core of the political war against Israel. Goldstone was taken in by crude manipulation.

Steinberg especially attacked HRW who he said, "has been at the forefront of demonization and distortions since the infamous 2001 Durban conference, and used its influence to promote Goldstone, who was on HRW's board. The leaders of this organization's Middle East division have a long history of involvement in hard-core anti-Israel advocacy. This immoral behavior led HRW's founder, Robert Bernstein, to denounce his own organization, presaging Richard Goldstone's reconsideration."

He further added that "Israeli NGOs funded by European governments and the New Israel Fund have also played a central role in advancing the one-sided agenda of repressive regimes at the UN Human Rights Council. They have continued to lobby at the US Congress, European Parliament, and the Knesset. Goldstone's Washington Post article has exposed these campaigns as nothing more than anti-Israel propaganda."

HRW hasn't renounced the Goldstone report. To the contrary, HRW's Kenneth Roth claims that "Goldstone has not retreated from the report's allegation that Israel engaged in large-scale attacks in violation of the laws of war." Okay, so the targeting-civilians-making-Israelis-war-criminals part Goldstone got wrong, HRW concedes. But now the target shifts to Israel's "refusal to date to conduct credible investigations into the serious violations of the laws of war that it committed in Gaza." But didn't Goldstone say that it was those very investigations that caused him to reverse his position? You see the game here — lie after lie is tossed out; when one is exposed, another is thrown out to take its place.

Why is this important? It's key to Israel's defense against the delegitimizers. It is not Israel that should be delegitimized, but the fleet of phony human rights groups and their enablers such as J Street who use the gloss of "human rights" to conduct a bad-faith campaign of attack on Israel's right to exist and to defend itself. They simply are not legitimate, unbiased human rights groups. The Goldstone episode, if nothing else, makes that abundantly clear.

Israel is fighting for its survival not only on the battlefield but in the court of public opinion. For those who believe truth matters, it is important to point out the untruths and agenda of Israel's attackers. Those who shrink from acknowledging the falsity of the attacks on Israel either have common aims with the phony human rights groups or have lost the capacity to make moral distinctions. The latter is a much bigger problem for elite intellectuals, and goes well beyond the topic of Israel.

DONATE

How many times have you heard someone lament that Israel doesn’t have good public relations? By supporting FLAME, you help one of the world’s most powerful information efforts to spread the truth about Israel and the Middle East conflict. Please note that because FLAME is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, your donation is tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE FLAME HOTLINE

If you have received this issue of the FLAME HOTLINE from a friend or colleague and you'd like to subscribe, please click here.

Our Ads and Positions | Donate | Our Letters to Editors | Our Acquisition Letters | FLAME’s Purpose | Subscribe to Hotline Alerts | Home

©2011 FLAME. All rights reserved. | Site Credits | Contact Us