UN Vote on Goldstone 'Depressingly Predictable'

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC condemned the United Nations General Assembly resolution sponsored by Arab states which endorsed the Goldstone Commission report on the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The resolution was supported by 114 states with 44 abstentions and 18 opposing.

"This outcome was depressingly predictable, given that the UN General Assembly has long been established as a forum for anti-Israel agitation," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "We note, of course, that the vote is non-binding. In the event that this matter is referred to the UN Security Council, we urge member states to dismiss the recommendations of the Goldstone Commission, which was grossly prejudiced against Israel from its inception."

AJC praised the 18 countries which voted against the report. "While it is disappointing that the European Union countries did not vote as a bloc, we salute the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia for their courageous stance in rejecting this resolution," said Harris.

"Even in such troubled times, it is heartening to know that Israel has trusted, valued friends, and also that there are those whose consciences are sufficiently troubled to abstain." The other countries voting no included Australia, Canada, Israel, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Panama, Ukraine and the United States.

As U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff declared, the Goldstone Commission's report should remain in the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, which commissioned it. Wolff strongly criticized the report for "its unbalanced focus on Israel" and its "failure to assign appropriate responsibility to Hamas for its decision to base itself and its operations in heavily civilian-populated urban areas."

Both AJC and its Geneva-based affiliate UN Watch have vociferously opposed the Goldstone Commission's recommendations, highlighting its biased mandate, numerous distortions and disturbing indifference to the suffering of Israeli citizens living under the constant bombardment of Hamas rockets.