Thank you for writing me to share your concerns about H. Res. 867, the resolution condemning the "Goldstone Report." I was one of 36 members of the House of Representatives to vote against H. Res. 867. The organization J Street is just one of many organizations and prominent individuals who also opposed the resolution. My position on the resolution was based on my own views of the issue.
There are two goals that I strive to meet when Congress makes statements or sets policy concerning the Middle East. I support efforts to provide clarity, honesty and accuracy to the debate about issues that arise in any of the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. More importantly, I look to aid the important effort of achieving a two-state solution to help end the ever-present violence and strife in the region, allowing both Israelis and Palestinians to have greater peace and security in their lives once and for all.
Unfortunately, H. Res. 867 did not achieve either of those goals. One problem is that H. Res. 867 implicitly criticizes the Goldstone Report because of the initial U.N. Human Rights Council resolution authorizing the report. This U.N. resolution wrongly singled out alleged Israeli abuses and ignored the harm caused by Hamas' rocket and mortar attacks on the Israeli people.
However, Justice Richard Goldstone, who oversaw the Goldstone Report, to his credit extended the original mandate for the Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict to include an evaluation of Hamas' rocket attacks on civilians in southern Israel, among other issues. This was pointed out in H. Res. 867. Judge Goldstone is a distinguished jurist with a long record of support for human rights. Most notably, Justice Goldstone was a prominent critic of the abhorrent apartheid regime in South Africa.
Regardless of one's ultimate evaluation of the report, it is important to recognize the changes that Justice Goldstone was able to make to it and evaluate his report on its own merits. Regrettably, the resolution condemning the Goldstone Report was never considered by the appropriate committee in the House and Judge Goldstone was never asked to testify before Congress about it. In the end, with no hearing and public testimony, I believe members of Congress lacked a sufficient basis on which to condemn the report.
I believe that, when Congress turns its attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we should do so in a way that helps broker peace in the region. Unfortunately, this resolution did not do that, and in fact may have contributed to increasing tensions in the region.
For these reasons, I was unable to support H. Res. 867 when it was voted on in the House. I will continue, though, to work with my colleagues to try and secure a better way forward that leads to lasting peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Sincerely,
GEORGE MILLER
Member Of Congress, 7th District
My reply:
Dear Congressman Miller,
Let us begin by acknowledging that you never read the Goldstone Report in its entirety. I did.
Let's also begin by noting that your "distinguished" Goldstone stated in The New York Times that "I accepted [the mandate] because my fellow commissioners are professionals committed to an objective, fact-based investigation." In fact, there was not one person on his committee sympathetic to Israel, and Christine Chinkin had pronounced Israel guilty before seeing any evidence.
Your "distinguished" Goldstone himself was on the board of Human Rights Watch, which had already condemned Israel before he began the Commission.
Your "distinguished" Goldstone has consistently refused to answer questions or provide clarification about the substance of his mission's findings or his methodology.
You claim in your e-mail to me that "Congress lacked a sufficient basis on which to condemn the report", yet the Goldstone Committee was in all respects a "kangaroo court".
Should you wish to read more, I suggest you read Prof. Richard Landes' comprehensive articles concerning Goldstone and his Report in "The Augean Stables": http://www.theaugeanstables.com/category/goldstone-report/
I doubt that you will.
Query: Is it your intention to accept funds from J Street?
Thank you for your prompt reply.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Grossman
Shame on Miller!
ReplyDeleteMiller's opposition to H. Res. 867 was surely the reason purportedly "pro-Israel" J Street is backing him and many others. Who is giving the money to J Street that it wants to give to Miller?
ReplyDeleteExcellent questions and response to Miller, JG. If more folks had the brains to garner the facts and the guts to present those facts to the lying, or at least guilty by omission, government leaders, we might not be in the painful situation in which we find ourselves.
ReplyDeleteKol HaKavod. Chazk Achshav!
Lori Lowenthal Marcus, Z STREET
Miller is talking trash. How many pages of the Goldstone Report discussed Hamas rockets? Almost none. And where was "distinguished jurist" Goldstone during the years that the rockets fell on southern Israel? For that matter, where was Miller, who obviously did not read the report. What we see from Miller is a knee-jerk reflex from the Left.
ReplyDeleteA pity Miller does not trouble himself to examine civilian casualty numbers in Afghanistan caused by his buddy, Obama, which are exponentially higher than those that occurred in Gaza. Miller is a hypocrite.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. At least Miller sent a response, albeit prepared and obviously used in the past. Meanwhile, I would observe that Senator Feingold and the other Congresswomen and Congressmen whom I contacted have not had the decency to reply.
ReplyDeleteJeffrey