Israel Matzav

The village idiots

However, despite Carter's and Goldstone's extensive backgrounds in problem-solving, when it comes to applying balanced standards to Middle East diplomacy, they are not just self-righteous moralists, but ineffectual politicians. Both men have proven to be naïve, ignorant or, in Carter's case, just plain mean-spirited.

GOLDSTONE SHOULD never have headed up the UN investigation of the Gaza war. It is not that his report is so inaccurate. There are aspects of the inquiry that rightfully take Israel to task - although its accusations that Israel committed war crimes and crimes against humanity are completely out of proportion to the new reality of a country defending itself against a bunch of terrorist thugs who subscribe to the rule of the jungle over the rule of law.

But Goldstone, a Jew, must have known that his Jewishness would be used against the Jewish people. Ironically, Goldstone found himself criticizing the one-sided UN resolution that condemned only Israel - in contradistinction to the findings of the inquiry - when it voted to accept the report and begin the process of sending it to the International Court at The Hague. Did Goldstone not realize that such a distortion of the report would be promulgated by the Arab nations, whose leaders would emphasize that Goldstone is a Jew - and would unabashedly say: "Look what Goldstone the Jew, who authored the report, says about Israel's actions"? His present US speaking tour only exacerbates the situation.

Not to be undone - and not unexpectedly - Jimmy Carter weighed in with his full support of the Goldstone report, especially its criticism of Israel. Carter tells us that Hamas has announced that it has initiated an independent investigation into its actions, just as Goldstone wanted. No one else has heard about Hamas examining itself, particularly since it completely rejects the Goldstone Report's criticism of its conduct during the war. However, Carter, as he wrote in an op-ed piece in the International Herald Tribune, takes Hamas at its word. Even if one were to assume the impossible - that Hamas would investigate itself - does any sane individual truly believe that an objective report would ever emanate from Hamas? This is not just foolhardy, it is pure idiocy.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:51 AM