Israel Matzav

US wakes up to Goldstone reality?

Shavua tov - a good week - to everyone and freilichen (happy) Purim to those of you celebrating tonight, which is just about everyone outside of the Holy City of Jerusalem. We will celebrate Purim tomorrow night, God willing.

Ahead of Friday's UN General Assembly session on the Goldstone Report, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted that the report is problematic for the United States as well.

The US secretary of state told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee in a testimony Thursday that the Obama administration believed the issues raised by the Goldstone Report must be subject to an internal inquiry. She said she believed Israel has the ability and the institutions to do so and that the Jewish state was carrying out its own inquiry.

Clinton warned that the US would not be the only one to be affected if the Goldstone Report sets the international standards, and that nearly any other country will be found responsible in a similar way. "I share the concern," she said.

Meanwhile, more than 100 Congress members have sent a letter to Clinton, urging the Obama administration to keep the Goldstone Report from reaching the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The letter was initiated by Congressman Ron Klein.

...

“We know you share our concerns about an anticipated UN General Assembly resolution that is expected to refer the Goldstone Report to the Security Council, and ultimately to the International Court of Justice,” said the letter. “This is an extremely troubling development that threatens to undermine the renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at a critical time, and is counterproductive to our foreign policy goals.

“We believe that the correct venue for investigating issues related to Operation Cast Lead is not the Security Council or the International Court of Justice, but the world-class Israeli justice system itself," the Congress members wrote.

They also asked Clinton to work to defend the right for self defense of Israel, the US and all free democracies, saying this was a top priority of the American foreign policy.

Unfortunately, Clinton getting it doesn't mean that Obama does. His head is much thicker than hers.

But if the US is held to the same standards as Israel, some of what has gone on recently in Afghanistan could be quite problematic.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:36 PM