gaza:
After a two-day debate on a report by former war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone, there were 114 votes in favour, 18 opposed and 44 abstentions. — BBCThe report will now be sent to the UN Security Council, Goldstone recommends referring both sides to the International Criminal Court if they fail to conduct credible investigations into alleged abuses during the Gaza conflict. The US and China are likely to veto such a move.
Israel’s military continues to object to the report while holding its own investigations which Israeli Human Rights group B’Tselem have criticised for focusing on “individual soldiers, not unlawful policies”.
Goldstone report: A Jewish view
Rachel Barenblat (aka ‘Velveteen Rabbi’) reports on a rabbinic conference call she took with the Judge Goldstone last month:
“The Israeli government and the American government have done their best to quash the Goldstone report. Many Jewish organizations have joined them. But that’s by no means the only extant opinion in the Jewish community. It’s important to me that the world know that there are Jews who receive the report in a different way.” — Read her essay for AJE…Earlier in the week, US House of Representatives voted to reject the report [we have to wonder WTF?! it has to do with them]. Goldstone pre-empted this vote with a letter in an attempt to correct the factual errors in H.Res.867.
AJE report, “US House rejects Goldstone report”
Nov 5 — AJE’s Riz Khan show “The Goldstone report dispute”:
Part 1 above, watch part 2 here…South African blowback
Following Judge Goldstone’s report, South African lawyers are looking into claims that South African citizens joined the Israeli army and were fighting in Gaza. Photographic evidence has been found on social networking sites like Facebook. They could be prosecuted for war crimes and under South African law which “bars any citizen from fighting for a foreign force without express government permission.” — read more…
