By Josh Basson, , Seattle
Leslie Susser’s insightful front-page column was quite informative (“Implications of Israeli inquiry into Goldstone,” Oct. 30).
Susser rightly points out that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces one of the most acute dilemmas since his return to power last March.
Also, “the key question ignored by the Goldstone committee: how a modern state is supposed to defend its civilians against rockets fired from inside heavily populated urban areas.”
It is interesting to note that House Resolution 867 condemning the Goldstone report as “irredeemably biased” against Israel was overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday (Nov. 3).
The general secretary of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference said his group was the “initiator” of the report that helped push it through the Human Rights Council. Even Justice Goldstone himself, the author of the report, has cast doubts about the fairness of the report and said it would not stand up to legal scrutiny.
The draft resolution at the UN includes only allegations against Israel without a single phrase condemning Hamas.
Not surprisingly, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top officials called the report “one-sided and deeply flawed.” They have also expressed “grave concerns” about the fact-finding mission.
The majority of Americans polled believe that Israel fought a defensive war and that Hamas has primary responsibility for the civilian deaths.
It is sad that the UN human rights community did not seriously stop Hamas from shooting rockets indiscriminately at Israel’s south before Israel’s defensive war was launched.
The Obama administration should do all it can to prevent the UN from passing any resolution unfairly blaming Israel in fighting a defensive war in Gaza.