Dear friends of Israel:

The Goldstone report on Israel’s military operation in Gaza has caused a great stir. Israel has rejected the report outright because it is lopsided and biased and actually broadcasts the troubling message that international law has no effective response to offer states confronting terrorist threats.

Five years ago the Israelis removed about 8,000 settlers and their soldiers from the Gaza Strip because they were incessantly told that this measure would lead to the longed-for peace. However, things turned out differently. Gaza has become a hotbed of terror. During the last eight years over 8,000 rockets and mortars have been fired on Israel, and cities like Ashkelon and Beersheba were within reach of the barrage. One million Israelis were no longer able to lead normal lives because they had to live near bomb shelters.

The Hamas terrorists felt relatively safe from Israeli retaliation as they hid behind the civilian population. The decision to launch a military operation is never easy. It is even more challenging when soldiers are faced by an enemy that abuses women and children as human shields. The fact that every military action affects civilians was one of the reasons for Israel’s restraint. Unlike the Hamas terrorists who rejoice over every civilian death on the Israeli side, Israel regards every civilian casualty as a tragedy. This is why the leadership of the Israeli army is committed to fully examine every allegation of wrongdoing among its soldiers. For example, when the American Colonel Richard Kemp was asked about Israel’s conduct in Gaza, he said: “I don’t think there has ever been a time in the history of warfare when any army has made more efforts to reduce civilian casualties than the IDF in Gaza.”

The Goldstone report neither mentions Israel’s right of self-defense nor does it condemn the smuggling of weapons into Gaza through hundreds of tunnels. It is entirely based on statements by pre-screened Palestinian witnesses, not one of whom was asked about Hamas terrorist activity or the abuse of schools, hospitals and mosques for terrorist attacks. The report gives credibility to every allegation against Israel and none to even direct admission of guilt by Hamas leaders. Obviously the authors of this “fact-finding mission” had little concern with finding facts. The report is actually part of a political campaign directed against Israel and against every state that is forced to confront terrorist threats. Although the report claims to represent international law it really perverts it by undermining its credibility and enforceability. Moreover, it signals an even more troubling message that the cynical tactics of the Hamas terrorists actually pays dividends.

This is one of the reasons why the words in Psalm 120:7 are highly topical when the psalmist complains: “I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.” Sharing with you the faith in the unerring Judge who will finally bring forward righteousness and truth, I am sending you a warm Shalom,

Fredi Winkler

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