Goldstone ReportA Defining Moment, Again?

The recent recant of the findings of the Goldstone Report by its main author, Richard Goldstone, Chair of the UN Human Rights Commission’s on the Gaza War in 2008-09, is proof of Israel’s innocence finally being acknowledged by the accuser. The Goldstone Report came from a United Nations human rights group that rushed to judgment and found Israel guilty of intentionally killing civilians before they could be proven innocent. It seems to be the ‘politically correct’ way to act these days towards Israel since the publication of this very same document became a ‘defining moment’ in the delegitimizing of Israel. (Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/reconsidering-the-goldstone-report-on-israel-and-war-crimes/2011/04/01/AFg111JC_story.html)

The essence of Goldstone’s ‘updated report’ is “that Israel’s efforts to follow up on every accusation of illegal conduct of its forces proved that there was no deliberate effort aimed at civilians. By contrast, Israel’s Hamas foes have made no effort to investigate the credible accusations of war crimes that have been leveled at the terrorist group for both deliberately targeting Israeli civilians and their practice of using non-combatants as human shields.” Goldstone also admits: “that the number of Palestinian civilian casualties reported by Israel – which was far below the inflated numbers claimed by so-called human rights groups — was accurate. As it turns out the vast majority of Palestinians who died in the fighting were Hamas fighters, not civilians as his report had charged.”

How will these ‘new findings’ impact world opinion of the State of Israel and those individuals and groups that were quick to condemn them as war criminals? The answer lies in who speaks out in support of the facts, acknowledging the wrong in the report and that it should be rescinded. Will President Obama make a statement, followed by Hillary Clinton and VP Biden? Will President Mahmoud Abbas speak out acknowledging the truth? Will Hamas, Hezbollah or the Muslim Brotherhood? Will there be any Palestinian or Muslim voices?

Will it stop the USGaza Flotilla ‘Audacity of Hope’ from joining a fleet out of Turkey on the 1^st year anniversary of the Flotilla Mavi Marmara? Will J-Street re-evaluate their policies, while CodePink and Free Gaza Movement stop boycotting and organizing flotillas to challenge Israel’s policies? Will the Muslim Students Association stop calling Israel an Apartheid State? Will Israel’s right to exist be accepted by all Arab countries?

I don’t expect that miraculously there will be a cacophony of voices that will be loud enough for the truth to be heard. 

It’s not enough that PM Netanyahu and others have fervently requested that the UN rescind the original Goldstone Report. Goldstone will not rescind and submit any proposal for nullification. He and those who supported the Goldstone Report still feel that Israel has not proven itself enough to even question the lack of accountability and human rights standards Hamas is held to. The only thing this admission does is draw attention to the propaganda and lies against Israel to those people who had doubts about Israel’s integrity. For those with a vested interest in maintaining their vilification of Israel, this will be dismissed and not a defining moment at all.