[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 163 (Wednesday, November 4, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2711-E2712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  OPPOSING ANY ENDORSEMENT OR FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF THE 
        UNITED NATIONS FACT FINDING MISSION ON THE GAZA CONFLICT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 3, 2009

  Mr. WAXMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 867, a 
resolution standing against further action on the ``Report of the 
United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict,'' also known 
as the ``Goldstone Report.''
  From its inception, the Gaza report was rooted in an orchestrated 
campaign to delegitimize Israel. It was commissioned by the U.N. Human 
Rights Council, an institution obsessed with condemning Israel. In his 
response to the Goldstone Report, Michael Posner, the Assistant 
Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, noted that the

[[Page E2712]]

UNHRC has ordered more reports and held more special sessions on Israel 
than another country in the world. The Council has also passed more 
resolutions against Israel than for all 191 other U.N. members combined 
and Israel is the only country that is a permanent agenda item at 
Council meetings.
  Those who seek to elevate the Goldstone Report recommendations are 
advancing a campaign to demonize Israel's soldiers, denounce its 
democratic institutions, and undermine efforts to move the peace 
process forward. They feed into a disturbing new wave of anti-Israel 
discrimination including Arab League efforts to invigorate the Arab 
boycott against Israel and a recent Bahraini parliament vote to make it 
illegal for the Kingdom's citizens to have contact with Israelis.
  Some opponents of this resolution have suggested that its motivation 
is to bury the incidents and allegations recorded in the report. This 
assessment is grossly wrong. Israel is already investigating and 
prosecuting reported incidents in Gaza and the United States has 
encouraged the goverment to expand and intensify its efforts. The 
integrity of the Israeli military and the Israeli judicial system 
requires that all credible allegations are thoroughly examined.
  What is buried by the Goldstone Report is the suffering Palestinians 
in Gaza experience every day as hostages to an extremist terror 
campaign fought by Hamas and fueled by Iran. What is largely ignored is 
the deliberate efforts of Hamas to launch attacks from civilian areas 
and the extraordinary efforts Israel took to avoid civilian casualties.
  Others have suggested that Israel's cooperation with the ``fact 
finding mission'' could have avoided its biased outcome. The reality is 
that the mission was fated by a sweeping mandate, the inclusion of a 
judge with admitted prejudice against Israel, and reliance on testimony 
by individuals largely chosen and at times intimidated by Hamas 
officials.
  As a result, the report calls for the International Criminal Court to 
consider charges against Israeli military leaders and politicians and 
supports universal jurisdiction for countries to bring charges against 
Israeli soldiers and diplomats wherever they travel. Yet, Hamas leaders 
and the terrorist state sponsors who sparked the Gaza conflict with 
thousands of rockets face no sanction at all.
  While President Obama works to achieve a breakthrough in the peace 
process, continued action on the Goldstone Report only pushes the 
parties farther apart. As Israel begins to implement unprecedented 
policies to constrain future settlement growth, the virulent atmosphere 
generated by the Goldstone Report can only serve to poison hope for 
progress.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to vote for H. Res. 867. I commend the 
Obama administration for its continued work to oppose any endorsement 
or further consideration of the report and its recommendations.

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