Washington, DC – Following an op-ed released earlier this month by Judge Richard Goldstone in which he wrote that much of his U.N. Human Rights Council-sponsored 2009 Goldstone Report was erroneous and unfairly blamed Israel for deliberately targeting civilians during the Gaza War, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D – Brooklyn and Queens), a longtime critic of the document, and 14 of his colleagues sent a letter to Ambassador Susan Rice calling on the U.N to formally withdraw the report.

The Goldstone Report, commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council, is a controversial account of the Israeli-Palestine conflict in 2009 by South African judge Richard Goldstone. The report has drawn criticism for being biased and unfairly critical of Israel without taking her right to self-defense or Hamas’s actions into consideration.

Last month, Rep. Weiner defended Israel and discussed the biased Goldstone Report at a debate with former Rep. Brian Baird at the New School.

The full text of the letter is below:

April 13, 2011

Ambassador Susan Rice
United States Mission to the United Nations
799 United Nations Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10017

Dear Ambassador Rice:

The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict was mandated by UN Resolution S – 9/1 and created what came to be known as the “Goldstone Report.”  The controversial conclusions that Israel purposely targeted civilians in an attempt to collectively punish the Palestinians were then entered into the UN record and referred to the UN Security Council and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.   Now, the primary author of the report has essentially recanted the primary conclusions of the report.

Since the publishing of the “Goldstone Report,” Justice Richard Goldstone has retracted his allegations of Israel’s intentionality in the killing of Palestinian civilians in an Aril 2, 2011 op-ed published in the Washington Post. His retractions clear Israel of the charge that it violated international law under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The US Mission, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a member of the Human Rights Council, should take immediate action and introduce a resolution expunging the Goldstone Report from the official record of the United Nations.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
 
ANTHONY D. WEINER                                          HOWARD L. BERMAN
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress
 
DAN L. BURTON                                                     STEVE J. ISRAEL
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress  
 
JOSEPH CROWLEY                                                ELIOT L. ENGEL
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress
 
JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY                                   SHELLEY BERKLEY
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress  
 
HEATH SHULER                                                     ADAM B. SCHIFF
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress  
 
JERROLD L. NADLER                                            DANIEL W. LIPINSKI
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress  
 
THEODORE E. DEUTCH                                        ALCEE L. HASTINGS
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress  
 
MICHAEL GRIMM 
Member of Congress

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