The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“GOLDSTONE REPORT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S10957-S10958 on Oct. 30, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
GOLDSTONE REPORT
Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, my colleague in the New York State Assembly, Alec Brook-Krasny, wrote two letters regarding the United Nations fact finding mission led by Justice Richard Goldstone, the Goldstone Report. Assembly Member Brook-Krasny represents the significant Russian speaking community of New York. He voiced the concerns of our constituents in writing to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lavrov to raise concerns about Russia's vote in favor of the recommendations in the Goldstone Report. Likewise, he represented the community's views in voicing appreciation of Ukraine's vote along with the United States against adoption of the report's recommendations.
I commend Assembly Member Brook-Krasny for his leadership on this issue. I and a bipartisan group of 31 other Senators sent a letter of concern about the bias and flaws in the original mandate and ultimate recommendations of the Goldstone Report. We commended the State Department's leadership on this issue. As the report moves forward for consideration by the United Nations General Assembly, I believe it is important that the United States continue to do what it can to ensure that the Goldstone Report is not used unfairly and cynically to condemn Israel without looking at all of the facts and events leading to the conflict.
I ask unanimous consent that the attached letters from New York State Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny to Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lavrov and Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Poroshenko, respectively, be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
The Assembly, State of New York,
Albany, NY, October 23, 2009.H.E. Sergey Lavrov,Minister of Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation, Moscow.
Dear Minister Lavrov: First, I would like to note that although foreign relations is not a part of my job description as a member of the New York State Assembly, I found it impossible to ignore an event that has seriously concerned more than ten thousand of my constituents--natives of the former USSR.
I write to you in regards to the recent vote at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Russia has voted in favor of endorsing the conclusions of former South African Judge Richard Goldstone's commission. The report states that antiterrorist operations in Gaza in January 2009 by Israel should be considered as war crimes and deliberate destruction of civilian population. The Goldstone Report mentions some anonymous armed groups, but it says nothing about eight years of the daily firing of rockets at civilians in the south of Israel by Hamas and other terrorists.
I consider the decision of the Russian Government to endorse the Goldstone Report at the UN Human Rights Council deeply troubling. This decision is directed not only against Israel; it significantly reduces Israel's ability to protect its citizens, including the thousands of Russian citizens living today in Israel.
Support of Goldstone's report by the Human Rights Council has surprised and aggravated many people, including one of founders of Human Rights Watch, Robert Bernstein. On October 19, 2009, New York Times published his article in which he condemned this one-sided report. Even Richard Goldstone himself, in a recent interview with the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, has recognized that in his report ``there is no phrase with condemnation of Hamas''.
The decision of the UN Human Rights Council will have a negative effect on the continuation and development of the peace process in the Middle East. In the resolution approved by 25 out of 47 members of Human Rights Council, there is no mention of the criminal and terrorist characteristics of Hamas activity. In addition, nothing is mentioned about the long-term bombardments of Sderot and other cities of Israel from Gaza prior to the IDF operation. During eight years of incessant rocket bombardments of Israeli territory, the United Nations kept silent and never adopted a resolution protecting Israeli civilians. When Israel finally decided to end the bombardment of its cities, the Human Rights Council endorsed a resolution that demonized Israel and its army in the eyes of the international community.
The resolution supported by Russia undermines the interests of those moderate forces in the Palestinian autonomy which would be willing to establish peace with Israel. Goldstone's one-sided report strengthens Hamas's position and sharply weakens the position of the Palestinian government led by Mahmud Abbas. As a result of the Human Rights Council's resolution, the ``Hezbollah-Syria-Iran'' Axis, has gained support, legitimacy and international approval.
Additionally, Goldstone's report has strengthened Israel's belief that all of their attempts to negotiate a peace with the Palestinian Arabs, including voluntary withdrawal from Gaza and other territorial concessions, will always be ignored by the international community. At the same time, reciprocal steps against terrorists will lead to condemnation by the United Nations.
Lastly, approval of Goldstone's report will lead to new problems in the struggle against terrorism. In Gaza, Hamas and Jihad widely applied the tactic of using civilians as a
``human shield''. Thus, the resolution of the Human Rights Council has actually proven this is a successful form of terrorist activity. This resolution will complicate the struggle of civilized countries against terrorist activity. It is surprising that Russia, whose citizens constantly suffer from actions of terrorism, has voted for the resolution, thereby justifying these ``human shield'' tactics.
Russian-speaking Americans have a number of close relatives and friends in Israel. But there is another reason for our anxiety about the unilateral position of the UN Human Rights Council. Israel is a deeply peaceful country, the only democracy in the Middle East, surrounded by autocratic regimes. In Israel, more than 80 human rights organizations freely operate, a free press exists, and the judicial system often rules against other branches of its government. There are many political parties, democratic elections, liberal journalists, a politically active and creative scientific community, and independent courts. This is the country accused of deliberate attacks against civilians and crimes against humanity?
In the last few years Israel has undertaken many steps for rapprochement with Russia, including the canceling of visa requirements for Russian tourists. I was born and raised in Moscow, and still hope that Russia will become a strategic partner of Israel and will not always automatically vote in the United Nations, as the USSR did, for anti-Israel resolutions. We in America hope that the Russian government aspires to achieve peace in the Middle East, instead of creating new problems and conflicts. A country of such great culture and greater human achievements cannot be on a par with rogue countries such as Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, and Syria.
I thank you for your attention to this matter, and I hope to receive a concrete and constructive answer to this letter.
Respectfully,
Alec Brook-Krasny,Member of the Assembly, 46th District.
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The Assembly, State of New York,
Albany, NY, October 23, 2009.H.E. Petro Poroshenko,Minister of Foreign Affairs,Kyiv, Ukraine.
Your Excellency: I am writing to express my deep appreciation to your Government and to you personally, for voting against the one-sided resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council in Geneva early this month. I express this appreciation also on behalf of my constituency, which is comprised of thousands of immigrants from Ukraine to the U.S. who now live in the district that I represent at the New York State Assembly. I am especially satisfied by the principled stance of your government, as I know that the most respected American Jewish organization, AJC, urged your predecessor to take this position at their meeting with the Ukrainian delegation in New York last month.
Regrettably, this harmful resolution was endorsed by the majority of 47 members of the Council, but the vote taken by Ukrainian Government, and other democratic nations, underscores the moral bankruptcy of that resolution. As you know, the resolution endorses the recommendations contained in the Goldstone report, which seeks to set the international community in a comprehensive political campaign against Israel. I trust that Ukrainian Government will continue to oppose attempts to single out and censure Israel in the international arena.
By voting against the endorsement of Goldstone report your government decided to be in the minority rather than forsake its values. We salute your government for adhering to this noble principle.
Respectfully,
Alec Brook-Krasny,Member of the Assembly, 46th District.
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