Partial acquittal

Once widely vilified, Justice Richard Goldstone has been exonerated in the eyes of most Israelis since his Washington Post retraction of much of his investigation into war crimes committed by Israel during Operation Cast Lead, its 2008-2009 war with Gaza. Indeed, the judge has now received an invitation to visit Israel from one of the ...

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Head of the United Nations (UN) fact finding mission on the Gaza Conflict, former South African judge Richard Goldstone listens through an earpiece after delivering a report before the Human Rights Council at the UN office in Geneva on September 29, 2009 after a human rights mission investigating violations committed during the military offensive in late December 2008 and January 2009 in the Gaza Strip. The UN report accused both Israel and the Palestinians of committing "war crimes" in the Gaza Strip, but was particularly critical of what it called Israel's use of disproportionate force in the conflict. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI (Photo credit should read FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Once widely vilified, Justice Richard Goldstone has been exonerated in the eyes of most Israelis since his Washington Post retraction of much of his investigation into war crimes committed by Israel during Operation Cast Lead, its 2008-2009 war with Gaza. Indeed, the judge has now received an invitation to visit Israel from one of the most reactionary members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, Eli Yishai -- who, during Operation Cast Lead, said Gaza should be destroyed.

Once widely vilified, Justice Richard Goldstone has been exonerated in the eyes of most Israelis since his Washington Post retraction of much of his investigation into war crimes committed by Israel during Operation Cast Lead, its 2008-2009 war with Gaza. Indeed, the judge has now received an invitation to visit Israel from one of the most reactionary members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, Eli Yishai — who, during Operation Cast Lead, said Gaza should be destroyed.

But right-wing Israelis are not finished interrogating the supposed perfidy of their accusers. Increasingly, their spotlight is trained on the human rights community, including Israeli organizations that they believe cooperated with the U.N. fact-finding mission headed by Goldstone. But however emboldened the Israeli government may feel, the human rights community should not shirk the confrontation. Indeed, this is an opportunity to reassert the importance of our work, both in the context of the Goldstone process and now, two years later.

Read more.

Uri Zaki is the director of B'Tselem USA.

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