The Goldstone Commission is having its desired effect. With these few lines in an AP report, it explains exactly why Richard Goldstone was chosen to head the commission.
Israeli officials across the board have condemned the report, saying their country had little choice but to take harsh action against militants who were terrorizing southern Israel. They also blame Hamas for civilian casualties, saying the Islamic militant group took cover in residential areas during the fighting. However, Goldstone’s strong credentials as a respected South African jurist, his Jewish faith and past support for Israeli causes have made it hard for Israel to dismiss the claims.
Last year, when the UNHRC was looking for someone to head the inquiry into Gaza—the mandate of which was as follows:
“to investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by the occupying Power, Israel, against the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, due to the current aggression,”
it couldn’t get its number one choice to head the commission. Mary Robinson, who is known to be an unfriend to Israel at best, refused, saying the mandate was a foregone conclusion against Israel alone. But Judge Richard Goldstone, eminent jurist from apartheid South Africa, self-proclaimed Zionist, and Jew, did not refuse. When the UNHRC tapped him, they won the lottery. If Israel objected to the report, the UNHRC could point out the facts. Goldstone is Jewish, he’s pro-Israel (even though we haven’t found much more than he and his daughter saying he’s very pro-Israel), and he says he’s a Zionist. These facts allow the UNHRC to counter the anti-Israel card in one fell swoop. The logic goes like this: Since Goldstone is not biased against Israel, how can he submit a report that is biased against Israel? Indeed, that is exactly what the commission’s defenders are saying.
But it’s so much more than that. The media are also doing much of the water-carrying for the UNHRC. The fact that 26 out of 32 UNHRC resolutions concern Israel is never brought up. The fact that the OIC dominates the council is irrelevant. What is relevant is that Richard Goldstone is a Jew who says he is pro-Israel and a Zionist, and therefore, the report cannot be anti-Israel.
And so, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decries the Goldstone Commission’s report, the AP explains that Israel is going to have a hard time disproving the report because Goldstone is Jewish and pro-Israel. When you have Israel’s supporters across the world pointing out the many errors, obfuscations, and outright lies in the report, you get Israel’s detractors pointing out that Goldstone is Jewish and pro-Israel, and therefore, the report can’t be biased.
Look again at the quote above. The AP does not refute Netanyahu’s statements that Hamas used human shields and hid within civilian areas. The AP does not refute Netanyahu’s statement that Hamas was terrorizing Israel. Instead, the AP emphasizes that Richard Goldstone is Jewish, pro-Israel, and a respected judge from apartheid South Africa—and therefore, Israel is going to have a hard time “dismissing” the report. In other words, Goldstone is Jewish and pro-Israel, and therefore the report can’t be biased.
It’s one of the logical fallacies. It’s known as “argument from authority,” and it is utterly vapid and meaningless. But the world is full of people who take what they read in the newspaper at face value, so this meme is going to succeed in its goal. The Goldstone Commission report’s job is to delegitimize Israel in the eyes of the international law crowd. The Palestinians will be pushing for trials at the Hague as hard as they can, and if the Obama administration doesn’t push back hard enough, the trials will happen.
That will be the slippery slope down which Israel must not go. The Arab and Muslim nations are trying to defeat Israel in the international arena, because they cannot defeat her on the battlefield. They are using a strategy that has been used against Jews for thousands of years: They found one of our own to be the figurehead for their anti-Jewish actions. Because if a Jew is speaking out against other Jews, well, then, he can’t possibly be biased. Just ask known Israel-haters Gilad Atzmon or Noam Chomsky. They’re Jewish. They can’t possibly be biased.
Right.
