NGOs capitalize on ideological and political antagonism within the UN to bring their anti-Israel campaigns to the international stage. The devastating impact of NGOs is compounded by the institutional bias of UN bodies, such as the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on Palestinian issues, and biased “fact-finding” missions.
NIF-funded groups and their publications were featured centrally in the Goldstone report. Many of these citations referred to speculative issues unrelated to the conflict in Gaza, seeking to brand Israeli democracy as repressive. BTselem, Adalah, ACRI, Gisha, PHR-I, and Yesh Din have continued supporting Goldstone and lobbying governments to legitimize the reports extreme biases and endorse its recommendations. Some NIF grantees campaign against the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish democratic state. Others are active in worldwide boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigns targeting Israel.
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The Goldstone Report apparently documents in detail 36 incidents that occurred during the Gaza War. According to Richard Goldstone, "they appear to represent situations where there was little or no military justification for what happened." A list of these 36 incidents is not published in the report, nor is one available on the Missions website. Neither Goldstone, nor the Mission responded to NGO Monitor requests for this information. The following is a compilation of approximately 30-40 detailed incidents culled from a review of the report.
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Since the beginning of September, NGO Monitor has been investigating questions relating to responsibility for researching and drafting the Goldstone report. The Missions webpage does not provide any information on this issue, and repeated requests by NGO Monitor to both Goldstone and the Fact Finding Mission office were ignored. Staff members from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights who were involved in preparing the report have strong links to NGOs.
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Goldstone is the chair of the Executive Committee of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation. Its Middle East Project to establish a shared history is being conducted in partnership with the Arab Thought Forum (ATF). There is no longer an Israeli NGO partner. ATF employs terms such as Palestinian Holocaust, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and collective punishment, while promoting the boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign.
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Amnesty International has issued 15 statements in support of the Goldstone Mission. Members of the commission and its staff have conflicts of interest involving Amnesty. Diakonia, Trocaire, Amnesty-Europe, FIDH, Adalah, PCHR, and Al Haq have used the Goldstone report to bolster their calls for war crimes cases. Palestinian NGOs press release calling on states to re-evaluate their relationship with Israel. BTselem condemned the Israeli government for not cooperating with the Goldstone mission and provided assistance to the investigative staff.
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The Goldstone report is primarily based on statements, publications, and submissions from highly politicized and biased NGOs, many of which are funded by European governments. Beyond adopting the flawed methodologies and false claims, the funding provided for these NGOs links European governments to the Goldstone report, and its contribution to anti-Israel demonization. European-funded groups PCHR, Al Mezan, Al Haq, and Adalah are also at the forefront of the lawfare campaigns that abuse the universal jurisdiction provisions in the legal codes of a number of Western countries using allegations of war crimes.
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Goldstone relies on statements, publications, and submissions from highly politicized and biased NGOs. This is inconsistent with the claim to have conducted a fact finding mission. By adopting the flawed methodologies, false claims, and distortions of international law from the NGOs, Goldstone renders his entire report and its conclusions invalid. The report includes more than 500 direct citations from NGOs that lack credibility. Goldstone and other members of the commission have conflicts of interest involving close links to HRW, Amnesty International, PCHR.
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