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House condemns Goldstone Report
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Washington--On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed by an overwhelming majority a measure (344-66) to condemn the results of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, declaring them to be "irredeemably biased and unworthy of further dicussion or legitimacy."
The condemnation came as the United Nations General Assembly discussed the document in order to determine whether or not to pass the matter along to the Security Council.
A notable objection to the measure in the House was presented by Dennis Kucinich, whose comments noted the Orwellian nature of condemning the balanced Goldstone report as 'biased,' stating:
"How can we ever expect there to be peace in the middle east if we tacitly approve of violations of international law and human rights, if we look the other way, or if we close our eyes to the heartbreak of people on both sides by white-washing a legitimate investigation."
Perhaps the speakers who condemned the report as 'biased' are not very good with words. Perhaps also they don't understand the word irony.
Or the psychological term, projection.
Without further elaboration as to why the facts contained in the 575 pages are not worthy of further legitimacy, the measure passed by the House can only rightly be seen as a reflexive response to any criticism of Israel's role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It may be argued by some that the testimony provided in the Goldstone report is suspect given that a great deal is first hand or second hand reporting from Palestinian civilians, or that the methods employed by Justice Goldstone leave some desire for further investigation.
However, regardless of the Israeli position, or even the testimony of those interviewed, there are hundreds of dead Palestinian women and children who can testify to the 'precision' of the munitions used by Israel in one of the most densely populated areas on the planet. Their testimony is silent but powerful.
The report, it must be noted, was never intended as a final document; rather, the investigation was undertaken to spur action on the part of both Israel and Hamas to launch their own investigations into the crimes committed within six months. If these investigations are not launched within six months, the report stipulates, then it is recommended that the matter be passed along to the International Criminal Court.
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