In part I, I have discussed the bare facts of the UN Goldstone report. Here is Justice Richard Goldstone, a respected international jurist accusing both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the January 2009 Gaza war. Historically, whenever anyone criticizes Israel, there is always an outrage and accusations of bias, rationalizing that Israel has a right to defend itself includes a right to commit war crimes. I have emailed Ali Abunimah and asked if he can discuss the report.
Abunimah is a Palestinian American journalist and co-founder of Electronic Intifada, a not-for-profit, independent online publication about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Abunimah is also the author of the book, One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, which bravely proposes to revive the idea of one state shared by Palestinians and Israelis as the only solution remaining.
In this phone discussion, Abunimah discusses the Goldstone report, its impact and the importance of making a case for accountability.
Wazwaz: Is Justice Richard Goldstone someone of high credibility in the international community to lead this fact finding mission? Can we trust his report and his scholarship?
Abunimah: Goldstone is one of the most respected International jurists and he was accused by Israel of political bias, but he identifies himself as a Jewish Zionist, so he himself is a very strong supporter of Israel. So, both from a professional and political perspective Goldstone credentials are impeccable as far as Israel is concerned. Also the report accuses Palestinians of war crimes so this would take away the accusation that he has a political bias.
Wazwaz: The Palestinians have accepted the recommendations to investigate armed Palestinians for war crimes and bring them to justice; Israel responded angrily to the report accusing it of war crimes and refused to follow the recommendations. What about the United States? How has the US responded to the Goldstone report?
Abunimah: Very negatively. The US did not want the investigation to happen in the first place. It has been critical of the mandate given to Goldstone, and once the report came out the US has tried to block the recommendations of the report actually being acted on. When the report came up for a vote in the UN Human Rights Council, the US voted against it and tried to get other countries to vote against it as well. But that is very typical. The US more or less always votes on behalf of Israel. And it does it whether the US thinks it is right or wrong. For example, the US often criticizes Israel for building settlements in the Palestinian territories, but nevertheless the US always vetoes UN resolutions that criticize Israel for building settlements. So just because the US supports Israel, does not mean the United States is not critical of its actions at the same time.
Wazwaz: Given the US support of Israel and the expected block of any action recommended by the Goldstone report from taking place, what can the Goldstone report offer Palestinians?
Abunimah: It is true that the United States can block any action, because under the International criminal court treaty, only member states that signed on to the treaty are subject to the jurisdiction of the International criminal court. And Israel is not a signatory of that treaty precisely because Israel wants to avoid accountability. When a country is not a member of the International court, the international court can still have jurisdiction if the security council of the United Nations refers the matter to the court. So what would have to happen now is that the UN Security Council would have to take the Goldstone report and say to the International Criminal Court, we want you to investigate the allegations in this report and if you find that there is evidence to bring indictment against the people responsible.
Now it is very likely that the US will veto any action like that. But that doesn't mean the Goldstone report goes nowhere because it certainly does have an impact on Israel in terms of public and international pressure that would have a restraining affect on Israel. And in another important arena, suspected Israeli war criminals can still be tried in the courts of other countries. Many European countries have laws that allow people accused of war crimes with other countries to be tried in their courts. So the Goldstone report may enhance efforts to bring Israeli war criminals or others to justice in courts in other countries.
Wazwaz: How can local activists and people on the ground read the Goldstone report? Is there anything at the grassroots level that they can do to enhance the judicial process?
Abunimah: To influence the judicial process, people probably can't do much directly but where they can have a very important impact is in building public support for justice and accountability.
One of the main reasons there is no peace is because there is no accountability. When people are able to spill blood without any accountability, then that just adds to the conflict and injustice. It will be very important for people to demand that the United States as a country and a government uphold its principles in terms of making Israel accountable, making Israel accountable for US Aid because US Aid is being used to commit some of this war crimes in the form of military aid. And to read about and become informed about non violent actions like the Boycott, divestment and Sanctions campaign which the Palestinian people have called for which is modeled on the kind of public and civil society sanctions that we use to help bring pressure to end apartheid in the 1980s.
Wazwaz: What about educational institutions and their responsibility to enhance or support the judicial process and case for accountability? Despite the credible Goldstone report and international support for it, former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert who launched the attack on Gaza, was invited to speak at the University of Chicago. Does this fall under free speech?
Abunimah: Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli Prime Minister who is responsible for launching the attack on Gaza and Israel's war with Lebanon in 2006, in which Israel committed major war crimes that destroyed Lebanon's infrastructure and killing 1200 people, mostly civilians. The University of Chicago had invited him to speak and students were outraged, and they protested and confronted him. They said look if our institutions and our government are not going to stand up to these people, then we are going to confront them with the names of their victims. People said we are going to hold you accountable because no else is doing that. I think people need to do that.
It is not a question of free speech. Olmert is not someone with controversial views that people just don't want to listen to. He is someone who is accused of committing serious war crimes and should not be given a platform and should not be allowed to profit. Olmert is actually being paid speaking fees of $50,000 and $70,000 for each of these appearances. So he is actually profiting for his notoriety while the wounds of his victims are still bleeding literally. They are children who were burned by white phosphorus from his attack on Gaza, whose wounds have not healed 9 months later. So it is simply outrageous that he would be traveling around the United States and profiting, making enormous amounts of money while the mechanisms of international justice are being ignored.
Wazwaz: My final question is - where is the Goldstone report in the judicial process right now and what can we expect going forward?
Abunimah: It just passed the Human Rights Council which made two main recommendations, one was to all concerned parties in UN bodies to act on the recommendations in the report - to really pursue justice and accountability and the second is to send it the UN general assembly for further discussion and debate. It is still a long, long way from us seeing war crimes suspects brought to trial, but nevertheless, there are more steps to go and more opportunities to make the case for accountability. The end of the story is unknown.
Wazwaz: Thank you Ali for this conversation.
Abunimah: Thank you as well.
In the coming days, several organizations in the Twin Cities will be welcoming a couple of speakers to address the latest developments in the Middle East, in particular the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
On October 25th, Noon to 4pm, Location TBD
Dr. Hatem Bazian will discuss Jerusalem in Islamic history. Dr. Bazian is the chairman of the American Muslims for Palestine national board and is a senior lecturer in the departments of Near Eastern and Ethnic Studies, and is an adjunct professor of law at Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.
On Friday, November 6th, 7:00PM, at Walker Methodist Church, 3104 16th Ave. S, Minneapolis
Former Congresswoman and presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney will share her story of entering Gaza to show solidarity and provide humanitarian aid to its besieged people.
We hope to see you at one of these events.