Right of Reply: False accusations in the mirror
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[Excerpt:]
"Ken Roth’s article "Don’t smear the messenger" (August 26) – responding to my critique of the Goldstone mission under the authority of the UN Human Rights Council – reminds me of what is termed the "false accusation in the mirror," where you accuse the "other" of what you yourself are doing. On the eve of the Goldstone report’s release, Roth’s false misrepresentations and ad hominem diatribes warrant a response." "Roth seeks to justify his defense of Goldstone – who deserves a better defense than this – by yet another false accusation, namely that I am "part of an intense campaign by the Israeli government and some of its uncritical supporters to smear the messenger and change the subject." Never mind that I have appeared in Israeli courts and made representations to the Israeli government on subjects ranging from the protection of Palestinian refugees to the status of Ethiopian Jews; never mind that I served as international legal counsel to the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group – until I became minister of justice and attorney-general of Canada – on issues regarding human rights violations in the occupied territories and in Israel; or that I have visited Israel and Gaza more than Ken Roth has, including meeting with Palestinian government leaders and leaders of Palestinian civil society in Ramallah this past August. These are simply "inconvenient truths" that might undermine Roth’s false ad hominem diatribe, which permeates his piece. But even if his smear were true – that I am an uncritical supporter of Israel – it is beside the point. My critique of the Goldstone mission was based on the fact that it was established under the enabling authority of the UN Human Rights Council, which has systematically singled-out one member state in the international community (call it X, since for Roth accusations of war crimes against Israel seem to be a right of passage necessary to engage in international human rights discourse) while the major human rights violators have enjoyed exculpatory immunity."