Comments (4)Maybe Goldstone Report Has Value
November 13, 2009Rabbi Ellen Lippmann
Special to the Jewish Times
A week ago I was sitting in an office in the Israeli Embassy in Washington, about to hand an embassy official a letter we rabbis of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America had written to President Peres and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel. Founded in 2002, Rabbis for Human Rights - North America (RHR-NA) is an organization of rabbis from all streams of Judaism dedicated to expanding support for the mission and work of RHR in Israel, and to education and advocacy on human rights issues in Israel and in North America.
The letter we were handing over asks Messrs. Peres and Mr. Netanyahu to appoint an independent commission to investigate allegations made about abuses that might have occurred in the conduct of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.
We four rabbis and a lawyer were a little stunned to be having this visit; only a few days before it had seemed we might have to give our letter to the guard at the door. And of course, the Israeli Ambassador had clearly stated that he would not take any part in the J-Street Conference where we were also leading several sessions. So we were surprised and pleased to be sitting in this office, having a real and honest conversation.
The recently issued report by the Goldstone Commission has put an international spotlight on violations of human rights by both Hamas and by the Israel Defense Forces.
We rabbis are all well aware of the controversy surrounding that report, its original charter and the track record towards Israel of the U.N. Human Rights Council that appointed the Goldstone Commission. But as we told the embassy official we met with, the furor over the commission’s existence and Judge Goldstone’s role in leading it has obscured some important recommendations to examine possible human rights abuses.
Here is what else we said:
* We believe that a country like Israel, committed to democracy and human rights, has an obligation to uncover the truth, especially when such serious allegations of human rights abuses have been raised. We also believe that Hamas and the PA have an obligation to conduct an investigation into war crimes alleged to have been committed before, during and after the Gaza conflict. But as leaders in the Jewish community our main concern is how Israel behaves.
* As rabbis of Jewish communities across North America we have taken pride in the many times Israel has taken the moral high ground even when it put the country, its soldiers and its citizens at great risk. We ask that it take the moral high ground again now.
* Earlier independent commissions in Israel have allowed Israel to stake proper claim to its commitment to the values and vision of its founders as espoused in its Declaration of Independence and by its prophets and rabbis through the centuries.
The embassy response was friendly and non-committal. Four days later we learned the letter had been sent on to Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, and to President Peres and Prime Minister Netanyahu. We await their response. More, we await news that they have appointed an independent and impartial commission whose work can begin before the December 28 anniversary of Operation Cast Lead arrives.
At the J-Street Conference, where later the same day I presented our letter and a summary of our visit to the embassy to the 1500 member plenary, I received both strong praise and strong criticism for writing the letter and for referring to recommendations made by the Goldstone Commission. A week later, we have learned that Jeremy Ben Ami, J-Street’s Executive Director, has signed the letter, joining hundreds of rabbis and concerned others from across this country and the world. We hope by next year next year the independent commission report will have been completed and aired.
Ellen Lippmann is founder and rabbi of Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives in Brooklyn and a member of the Executive Committee and board of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America (http://www.rhr-na.org/).