JUDGE RICHARD GOLDSTONE & ISRAELI WAR CRIMES

Judge Richard Goldstone was the first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY/Hague Tribunal) which was established by a resolution of the UN Security Council in 1993. He assisted in collecting evidence of genocide in Srebrenica and served as the chief prosecutor of the tribunal until September 1996.

FORMER CHIEF PROESECUTOR OF THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL IS UNDER THE ATTACK FROM ISRAELI ULTRANATIONALISTS

Honorable Jewish Judge
Judge Richard Goldstone, who is of Jewish origin, is under increasing attacks from Israeli ultranationalists who condemn him for authoring the UN Human Rights Council's report, which stated that Israel committed war crimes during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last January. The report also accused Palestinian Hamas of war crimes. As expected, Israel condemned the "Goldstone Report" as 'biased' - a tactict regularly used by the state that is on record for gross violations of human rights in the Middle East.

Simon Wiesenthal Center: A Hate Center?
Portrayed as a place of tolerance, Simon Wiesenthal Center's agenda is highly troubling. They demand human rights for Jewish people, but refuse to acknowledge that Palestinians also have human rights. In their press releases, Palestinian civilians are presented as deserving to die because they were allegedly placed as human shields on the frontlines by Hamas. Simon Wiesenthal Center always comes up with new excuses for Israeli human rights violations in the Middle East.

In their latest press release, they even turned against the Judge Goldstone who they blame for comparing "Israelis to Nazis and other tyrants by accusing Israel of deliberately targeting civilians." Simon Wiesenthal Center has asked its supporters to help Veto Goldstone Report so they can silence Israeli human rights violations and war crimes in Gaza.

Simon Wiesenthal Center demands Palestinians to acknowledge the Holocaust, but at the same time it refuses to acknowledge that Israel committed horrendous war crimes against Palestinian civilians - killing Palestinian women, children and the elderly in the most brutal ways imaginable.

The unquestionable fact is that in the course of never-ending occupation of Gaza and West Bank, Israel has deliberately targeted and killed thousands of Palestinian civilians - mostly defenceless women and children - and yet, Simon Wiesenthal Center has never condemned Israel for these despicable war crimes. What does that tell you about Simon Wiesenthal Center's supposed promotion of tolerance? Isn't the notion of tolerance supposed to be tied to the very notion of human rights and equality? Apparently, not. Simon Wiesenthal Center does not fight for human rights, but for Israeli ultra-nationalist agenda.

Coming to terms with reality
Israel has to come to terms with its own reality. There cannot be peace in the Middle East unless Israel acknowledges and apologizes for numerous massacres of Palestinian women, children, and the elderly, including the enslavement of the Palestinian people for the past 50 years. Palestinians also need to recognize that Holocaust happened in the World War II.

Fact: Judge Goldstone is not "anti-Israel"
Judge Goldstone told the CNN cable news network that as a Jew, he had an obligation to investigate war crimes, such as the ones the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] committed in Gaza. He also made it clear that he is not anti-Israel.

"I have great love for Israel and have worked for many Israeli causes. What saddens me is that Jews, whether inside or outside of Israel, think that because I am a Jew, I should not investigate Israel. However, I believe I have a greater responsibility, as a Jew, to do so. If I have investigated war crimes in other countries, why should Israel be different? That should be welcomed," Goldstone said.

In general, he said, he believed Israel had the wrong idea about his mission. "We didn't question the right [of Israel] to defend itself, we looked at the method," he said. He added that Israel's actions could not be compared to war crimes around the world that have taken place in recent years, such as those committed in Yugoslavia where Serbs committed the Srebrenica genocide.

Daughter defends father
According to Haaretz, "Had Richard Goldstone not served as the head of the UN inquiry into the Gaza war, the accusations against Israel would have been harsher, Goldstone's daughter, Nicole, said in an interview conducted in Hebrew with Army Radio on Wednesday." Nicole Goldstone, who currently lives in Canada, added that "My father took on this job because he thought he is doing the best thing for peace, for everyone, and also for Israel... Israel is more important to me than anything. I'm not there at the moment, but my heart is always there."

International Criminal Court
Judge Goldstone's recommendation: "If, within the set period of six months, the Israeli Government and the Hamas administration have proved unable or unwilling to conduct credible investigations, then the Security Council should refer the situation to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. "

Related:
1. Israeli war crimes in Lebanon: Qana - massacre of children (photos)
2. [external link] Tunnel from Sarajevo to Gaza by Haris Alibasic, Congress of North American Bosniaks