The European Parliament on March 10 endorsed the findings of the widely criticized Goldstone report, which accuses Israel of “war crimes” and other human rights violations during Israel’s defensive actions in the Gaza Strip, known as Operation Cast Lead, from December 2008 to January 2009. B’nai B’rith has issued the following statement:B’nai B’rith International is deeply disappointed that the European Parliament chose to accept the severely biased Goldstone report as a fair and accurate representation of the events in Gaza last year.
Initiated under a faulty and unjust premise laid out by the United Nations Human Rights Council, the commission members were told to examine Israel’s violations of various laws of war. Investigators began their work on the foundation that Israel was responsible for the conflict.
It is truly a shame the European Parliament was unable to recognize the inherent bias in the report and see the document for what it really is—yet another attempt by some in the international community to discredit and delegitimize Israel by holding the Jewish state to an entirely different set of rules than the rest of the world faces.
The report concluded Israel was mostly responsible for the conflict, while giving scant mention to Hamas terrorism and cynical use of civilians as human shields.
Though encouraging that 43 voters chose to abstain rather than join the unfair vote, the resolution still passed 335 to 287.
We must remember and be encouraged that the United States Congress deemed the report illegitimate.
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