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Why Won't Goldstone Answer His Critics?
Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor issues press release criticizing the Goldstone forum, which only allows questions vetted through a moderator.
For Immediate Release
February 10, 2011
Contact: Jason Edelstein, +972-52-861-2129
Why Won’t Goldstone Answer His
Critics?
At UC Davis Today: Judge Goldstone
Again To Answer Vetted Questions Only
JERUSALEM – Continuing his refusal to participate in open debate
and publicly answer critics of the United Nations Human Rights
Council’s Goldstone Report on the 2008/09 Gaza War, Judge Richard
Goldstone will speak today at UC Davis School of Law, and only will
answer pre-approved questions facilitated by the moderator. By
appearing in venues that stifle discussion, Judge Goldstone is not
adhering to academic standards that promote debate and free exchange of
ideas, says NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based research institution.
“The many inaccuracies and unverifiable allegations in The
Goldstone Report have been well documented by scholars across the
political spectrum,” says Anne Herzberg, NGO Monitor legal
advisor. “Judge Goldstone refuses to answer questions about the
Report’s major flaws, including the number of casualties, its reliance
on allegations from political advocacy non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), and the misuse of human rights rhetoric and distortion of
international law. Goldstone only answers pre-screened questions
in order to avoid confronting these critical problems.”
On January 20, Judge Goldstone appeared at Stanford University where vetted
questions were not even posed.
“Judge Goldstone will not debate because he cannot defend his own
report,” Herzberg adds. “It is ironic that academic institutions,
meant to promote the free exchange of ideas, continue to host him in
environments that do the exact opposite. He appears at these venues and
repeats the same fabrications in his report – he must be held
accountable for his allegations.
Read NGO Monitor’s full report on The Goldstone
Report:
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NGO Monitor is a Jerusalem-based research institution that
provides information and analysis, promotes accountability, and
supports discussion, on the activities of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) that claim to promote human rights, particularly
in the Middle East.