The first thing the Goldstone report failed to understand, as you can see from the above pictures, is the most basic of concepts: there are no winners in war.
Above are pictures of Israel and Gaza, pictures taken before, during and after the war. No one won the war. There was tremendous suffering on all sides - before, during and after the war. The Goldstone report failed, not only because it failed to understand this basic fact, but also because it ignored so much of what came before. Palestinian groups, including Hamas, have been responsible for launching more than 10,000 rockets and mortars at Israeli cities. In November, 2008 alone, over 120 rockets and mortars were fired at Israeli cities, injuring hundreds of people. One woman, a doctor who has treated Israeli and Palestinian patients equally and without discrimmination was called to testify before the Goldstone mission. She spoke of her injuries, after being seriously injured during a missile attack. She was days before her 8th operation to repair the damage.
In the end, her moving testimony was all but ignored, relegated to a mere technical note. She later spoke of her humiliation at the hands of the commission, one determined to produce a report that was all but written before they even started their work.
And thus begins the United Nation's latest travesty of justice.
For those wishing to read the report, you can find the text here: Goldstone Report. The truth of what really happened in Gaza, before and after, however, will not be found in this 575 page report. In this day and age, it is hoped that few people will actually print it, for it is most surely not worth the paper.
Important things Goldstone didn't consider:
History of Rocket Attacks on Israel
Goldstone Mission Suppressed Evidence
Many videos submitted to the Goldstone mission proving that Hamas used Palestininans as human shields
And finally, while Israelis ran for shelter in the protected structures Israel has created for them to deal with thousands of incoming rocket attacks over 8 years, the Hamas leadership hid in bunkers and left their people without protection. Israel did all it could (see Israel's Efforts to Avoid Casualties) and yet still, innocent civilians died on both sides of this conflict. That is war.
What effort did Hamas take to protect its population? Goldstone never says.
What effort did Hamas take to warn Israeli civilians of its plans to attack? Goldstone never acknowledges the truth here either.
The fundamental truth is that Israel did all it could to avoid causing civilian casualties and Hamas did all it could to cause them. Goldstone's mission failed because this simple truth was never acknowledged, never confirmed, never written.
All this report does is offer lip service to years and years of suffering: "The Mission has determined that the rockets and, to a lesser extent, mortars, fired by the Palestinian armed groups are incapable of being directed towards specific military bjectives and were fired into areas where civilian populations are based." Pathetically inaccurate way to describe the 15 seconds a mother has to shield her child; a father has to find shelter for his family.
It is also important to note that others turned down the offer to head the commission, realizing that the mission was flawed from the outset. Mary Robinson, who has never been considered a friend of Israel by any stretch of the imagination, chose honor above "glory" when she refused the job:
"I refused to accept the invitation from the president of the Human Rights Council at the time, Ambassador Martin Uhomoibhi of Nigeria, to lead the investigation following the Human Rights Council's January 12, 2009 resolution. As a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, I felt strongly that the Council's resolution was one-sided and did not permit a balanced approach to determining the situation on the ground....
I was also aware that the UN Human Rights Council had made repeated condemnations of Israel over the past two years but had focused little attention on large-scale violations of human rights in other countries. This pattern of action and inaction by the Council has given greater credence to those who believe the UN’s highest human rights body is inherently anti-Israel."
-- Mary Robinson, is a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland
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