Goldstone and Gaza

I spent the day at Hebrew University at a conference about international humanitarian law (the laws of war). The line up was extraordinary: judges from the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, professors who wrote the reference books on international humanitarian law, and lawyers who have taken cases before international courts. One of the participants said it was like being at the table with the Al Pacino and Robert Deniro of international law. It was incredibly stimulating and deeply humbling to be in the presence of people who have dedicated their lives to achieving justice for victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Unsurprisingly, the elephant in the room was the recent Goldstone report into the Gaza conflict, which took place earlier this year. The report essentially found evidence that both the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and Hamas committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity, during the Gaza conflict. What has since followed is a massive outcry, either in favour of or against the report's findings.

The majority of speakers at the conference where critical of Goldstone's report. They felt the report confounded human rights and humanitarian law, two separate but related bodies of law, thereby turning humanitarian law on its head. And they were shocked that a fact-finding report saw fit to conclude that war crimes had been committed, without having gone through a thorough legal and judicial investigation.

Personally, I do not like Goldstone's conclusions. I find them incredibly severe and hard to believe. Plus, to deliver it into the hands of the Human Rights Council, a body known for its bias against Israel, just felt all wrong. I think it was a mistake to conduct this investigation under the mandate of the Human Rights Council. I would have much preferred for Israel to carry out its own independent investigations. Israel has done this kind of thing in the past, so it is strange that until now Israel refuses to carry out independent investigations, insisting instead that the IDF internal investigations of its own conduct is adequate.

But, if you strip away all the problems with the report, we are still left with shocking evidence of what happened during that war; evidence that none of us should allow to be buried. According to the report, the IDF bombed the only flour mill in operation in Gaza, destroyed chicken and egg factories, razed 200 industrial sites, and bulldozed thousands of hectares of farmland, without any clear military objective. Mosques, hospitals and schools were also hit. Now, maybe all these targets were legitimate military objectives. But I would like to find out.

The allegations in the Goldstone report must be investigated further--in a thorough, independent and impartial manner. Can we really afford to dismiss all this evidence because we do not like the packaging? Can we ever afford to turn our backs on the truth because it is too hard to stomach?

38 days to go...

Unspoken heroes

Every Shabbat a group of Israeli and Palestinian doctors and nurses join forces to provide healthcare to Palestinians living in the occupied territories. They work as volunteers. I accompanied them on one of their mobile clinics to a rural village just outside Qalqilyah.

The Israeli organisation, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, has 1150 members, over half of whom provide healthcare to people in need. They have an active program in Israel as well, assisting Jews, Arabs, migrants and asylum seekers, who are unable to access adequate health care. The Palestinian organisation, Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), is the largest primary health care provider in the West Bank and Gaza, and has a network of over 40, 000 volunteers.

The Israeli doctors and nurses only treat patients for illnesses that cannot be treated in the occupied Palestinian territories. In this way, their humanitarian efforts do not undermine the Palestinian health care system. This is the kind of aid I like. They want to help people in need, without undermining their ability to help themselves, and without preventing them from developing their own healthcare system. Alongside their humanitarian work, they push for changes to government policies and practices that undermine access to healthcare.

On my mini-bus were two Jewish Israeli nurses, one originally from Egypt and the other one born in Palestine before the creation of the State of Israel, who had studied nursing at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon. The nurses spoke Arabic and acted as translators for the doctors. The two doctors were also Jewish Israelis, one orthopedic surgeon originally from Brazil, and an endocronologist originally from the United Kingdom. I watched each doctor consult forty patients each throughout the day.

These people are the unspoken heroes of this conflict. Every weekend, they choose to push aside politics and ideology to help people in need. Simple acts that change lives, and in some cases, save lives. What greater gift could you give to someone else?

Initiatives like these are the building blocks for peace. I hope they continue to grow and flourish.

47 days to go...

Friend or foe?

It was with caution today that I met a representative from the Red Cross. I have always been skeptical of the Red Cross. I was taught that they turned a blind eye to the concentration camps and gas chambers across Europe, and did nothing while the Nazis killed six million Jews. To a large extent this was true, and the Red Cross has since apologised for its failure to act during the Holocaust. But I also learnt today that the story is more complex, that the Red Cross tried to intervene, in most cases unsuccessfully, and in other cases were forced to remain as bystanders while Jews were transported to death camps.

A big failure of internatonal humanitarian law at the time, was the absence of a convention to protect civilians during war. A direct consequence of the Holocaust was the creation of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949 designed to protect civilians during times of war, armed conflict or under occupation. Since then, the Red Cross has become more effective, for example during the genocide in Rwanda and now in Darfur, Sudan.

The Red Cross also has a strong presence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. They provide humanitarian assistance, visit Palestinian prisoners in Israeli and Palestinian prisons, and monitor the situation of Palestinians affected by mobility restrictions, Israeli settlements and the routing of the security barrier.

The Red Cross operates in a discreet and confidential manner. They enjoy good relations with the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and other Israeli authorities. But many Israelis despise them: the Red Cross was nowhere to be seen when the Jews needed help, but for the Palestinians, they are everywhere.

This short-sightedness frustrates me. While the Red Cross has its limits, it remains the most important organisation protecting and providing assistance to victims of war, armed conflict or occupation. They are often the only ones who remain after all other organisations have been expelled or evacuated from conflict zones. They are able to play this role because of their perceived independence and neutrality.

I am thrilled that the Red Cross is here. I think it shows that we have learnt some of the lessons of history.

54 days to go...