Criticism from Congress of Goldstone

Some members of Congress have now begun to put out statements criticizing the Goldstone Report.

Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, called the report a "pompous, tendentious, one-sided political diatribe."

"As this diatribe actually carries the imprimatur of a part of the United Nations, there is the sad prospect it may be taken seriously," said Ackerman. "I certainly hope not. The consequences of such an error will be yet another round of offensive and sterile Israel-bashing that will bring peace no closer, produce no international consensus, and, along the way, further sully and cheapen the reputation of the United Nations and the cause of human rights."

Also joining in on the criticism is Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), who teamed up on a statement saying it is "ridiculous" to claim that Israel did not take "appropriate action" to protect civilians.

"When Israel’s population – both in the north and the south – is under attack by terrorists who fire missiles at innocent civilians day and night, they have every right to fight back and put an end to the threat," they said. "This United Nations report was biased against Israel from the very beginning and fails to see the true root of this problem – Hamas terrorists who want to destroy Israel and are willing to risk their own civilian populations – even their own children – to do so."

And from the GOP, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), ranking Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says the UN is "continuing its relentless anti-Israel bias" and that Congress must enact "pending legislation that would leverage our contributions to the UN to produce sweeping, meaningful reform of that body.”

The full releases are after the jump:[[READMORE]]

First, Ackerman:

Congressman Gary L. Ackerman (D – Long Island / Queens), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia issued the following statement concerning the Goldstone report:

“In April 2009, the UN Human Rights Council set up a Commission to condemn Israel. To the surprise of no one, it has done exactly that. But for the grave subject matter, the Goldstone report would be laughable. In the self-righteous fantasyland inhabited by the authors, there’s no such thing as terrorism, there’s no such thing as Hamas, there’s no such thing as legitimate self-defense, and war is like a sporting event or a debate, rather than the most ghastly, destructive, chaotic phenomenon we human beings are capable of creating.

Had the report been submitted by a group of eager law students or the human rights club on a college campus, I would suggest that their efforts had been unfortunately  wasted on the production of a pompous, tendentious, one-sided political diatribe. Notwithstanding all their alleged “facts” there’s very little truth, and for all the so-called “context” they supply, there’s very little wisdom.

As this diatribe actually carries the imprimatur of a part of the United Nations, there is the sad prospect it may be taken seriously. I certainly hope not. The consequences of such an error will be yet another round of offensive and sterile Israel-bashing that will bring peace no closer, produce no international consensus, and, along the way, further sully and cheapen the reputation of the United Nations and the cause of human rights.

Certainly, the United States should do all that it can to ensure as little time as possible is wasted on this distraction from the real work of making peace.”

And then Engel and Berkley:

Nevada Congresswoman Shelley Berkley and New York Congressman Eliot Engel responded today to a United Nations report into possible human rights violations during the Gaza conflict of December 2008 and January 2009.  The report from the “Goldstone Commission” alleges that both sides in the conflict committed human rights abuses.  In response to the findings, Berkley and Engel released the following statement:

“Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas terrorists in Gaza. When Israel’s population – both in the north and the south – is under attack by terrorists who fire missiles at innocent civilians day and night, they have every right to fight back and put an end to the threat.  This United Nations report was biased against Israel from the very beginning and fails to see the true root of this problem – Hamas terrorists who want to destroy Israel and are willing to risk their own civilian populations – even their own children – to do so.

“Israel took every reasonable step to avoid civilian casualties, dropping leaflets, avoiding strikes when civilians were present, and making hundreds of thousands of phone calls urging people to leave unsafe areas. It is ridiculous to claim that Israel did not take appropriate actions to protect civilian populations.”

Finally, Ros-Lehtinen:

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented today on the recent release of a report, authorized by the United Nations Human Rights Council, that accused Israel of “war crimes, as well as possibly crimes against humanity” during Israel’s defensive operations in Gaza this past winter.  Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

“It would appear the UN is continuing its relentless anti-Israel bias, accusing the Jewish state of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“Given that this report’s mandate came from the despot-controlled Human Rights Council, we should not be surprised.

“Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly kicks off another year of anti-U.S., anti-Israel, and anti-freedom activism – transferring its gavel from a defrocked Sandinista to a Qaddafi shill. 

“Congress must demand better by enacting pending legislation that would leverage our contributions to the UN to produce sweeping, meaningful reform of that body.”

Note: The report was released as the United Nations General Assembly began its 64th session under the presidency of Ali Abdessalam Treki, the former foreign minister of Libya. 

Ros-Lehtinen is the author of the United Nations Transparency, Accountability and Reform Act (H.R. 557), which conditions U.S. funding to the UN on the implementation of concrete, sweeping reforms to root out ongoing fraud, corruption, and abuse throughout the UN system.  This bill also seeks to combat anti-Israel, anti-Semitic bias within the UN.  This bill enjoys the support of almost 100 cosponsors.

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