Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu to head U.N. rights mission to Gaza

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu has been named to head a United Nations fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, where 19 civilians were killed by an Israeli artillery barrage earlier this month, U.N. officials said Wednesday.

The South African anti-apartheid campaigner and former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town will travel to Gaza to "assess the situation of victims, address the needs of survivors, and make recommendations on ways and means to protect Palestinian civilians against further Israeli assaults," according to the president of the U.N. Human Rights Council, Luis Alfonso De Alba.

The mission will report its findings to the Geneva-based body by mid-December, the statement said.

The shelling, which Israel said was unintended, came after Israeli troops wound up a weeklong incursion meant to curb Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel from the town, which the Israeli army said was a rocket-launching stronghold."

http://www.cjp.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=201433

[UndertheOcean]

1. Great! I wonder what will the Israeli's accuse this anti-aparthied legend with..n/t

n/t

[Scurrilous]

2. ADL slams UN body for making Tutu head of Beit Hanun mission

<snip>

"The Anti-Defamation League on Thursday blasted the United Nations Human Rights Council for appointing Desmond Tutu as head of its fact-finding mission to the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun.

The mission is charged with investigating a botched Israel Defense Forces shelling in Beit Hanun which killed 19 Palestinian civilians.

"The appointment of Desmond Tutu as head of the fact-finding mission to Beit Hanun is an extension of the anti-Israel kangaroo court tactics used by the UN Human Rights Council," said ADL National Director Abraham Foxman."

<snip>

"Tutu, the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, has spoken out against Israel in the past and publicly denounced the Beit Hanun operation.

"It is an outrage that cries out to heaven and we must condemn it unequivocally as we do the atrocities committed by suicide bombers against Israeli civilians," Tutu said."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/794759.html

[bloom]

4. I guess if the The Anti-Defamation League

were not irrelevant before - they are now. Why would anyone pay attention to their group - as if they have some "moral authority" if they are against Tutu heading up such an investigation? I think it's nuts and goes to show how far their credibility has fallen.

[Behind the Aegis]

6. Only irrelevant to some.

They make a great point. Why send someone who has already "condemned" the situation? Why send someone who has already proclaimed Israel guilty? Of course, this is just par for the course for the UN. They couldn't find someone who hadn't made such a declarative statement about the incident?

[IntiRaymi]

7. I think it is quite apropos. Tutu has vast experience dealing with Apartheid.

Too bad that there is an actual movement within the UN to put Israel to justice, eh?

[Behind the Aegis]

9. What is too bad is there an actual movement in the UN...

...to find Israel guilty beforehand, then conduct an investigation headed by someone who has already found Israel guilty. Sounds like normal operating procedures for the UN. As for the "movement within the UN to put Israel to justice"...:rofl:...sure, that's what it is! :eyes:

[IntiRaymi]

11. So care to explain why Israel was allied to South Africa at the time?

Let's see how creative the justifications get.

:popcorn:

For extra credit, try to tie in the remarks that the Israeli Ambassador to Australia said, not too long ago.

[Behind the Aegis]

13. Has nothing to do with what is being discussed.

You seem to think racism is only an issue in Israel.

On edit: However, you do present more information as to why this is not as impartial as it could be, but that doesn't seem to matter to some.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[IntiRaymi]

17. Racism is NOT only an issue in Israel.

Until not too long ago, racism was a major institutional issue in South Africa, as well. There is justice in handing this task to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who had to bear the brunt of a regime that found in Israel & the USA its only backers in the world, in those last few years.

A simple search will turn up several pieces, documenting the cynical & racist nature of Israeli foreign policy.

[Behind the Aegis]

19. It would be good for people to remember that subject line.

There is no "justice" in handing over an investigation to someone who has already found Israel to be guilty. What you are calling "justice" sounds more like "revenge." It is nothing more than a kangaroo court, similar to the one in Iraq.

"A simple search will turn up several pieces, documenting the cynical & racist nature of many countries' foreign policy."

[Tom Joad]

5. The ADL was a major player in opposing the anti-aparthied movement

They spied (with illegal means) hundreds of anti-apartheid movement activists in the Bay area. They also relayed info to the white South African govt. I think they do very much regret the loss of a valuable political and ideological ally to the Israel regime.

They must hate it when people oppose colonialism.

[IntiRaymi]

8. Do you have links?

It would be nice for those that lurk, so that they may educate themselves.

[oberliner]

10. Jewish defense group settles S.F. spying suit

Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/02/23/MN169812.DTL

[IntiRaymi]

12. Thanks!

A foreign power, spying on americans?

They ought to ban the ADL, or at least place it under a judicial consent decree - close inspection of its records, and its activities.

[Behind the Aegis]

15. I am sure you'd like that.

The ADL is not a spy organization. There have been issues in the past. But, they have also done much good, which some are very willing to discard.

[IntiRaymi]

18. They've been caught red-handed before.

I see no reason for believing that they have changed their tactics and/or institutional culture. These things are impossible to eradicate, especially for an organization that has turned into a simple mouthpiece for the foreign policy of the GOI.
...
And, remember that the situation in San Francisco had to do with the ADL sharing information with the FBI. Now, one would have to raise the issue of the nature of the relationship between the ADL and Israel proper to put this in perspective - since a nasty question arises, that being "Was the GOI gathering information on the American Left?"

[Behind the Aegis]

20. It is as I said.

This is nothing more than throwing out the baby with the bathwater. A group that has had problems in the past should always be found guilty. I find that to be repulsive. It is no different than those that hound prisoners after they have served their terms. It is not to say one should use caution, but to automatically dismiss everything is just biased and prejudicial.

[IntiRaymi]

22. The ADL could be doing good things in a less partisan manner:

A few instances of the bang up job that the ADL is doing in destroying the freedom of speech of those that it hates:

(a) Tony Judt speech shut out by the ADL:

http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2006/10/04/tony-judt-speech-shut-down-by-adl/

"The talk was cancelled because the Polish Consulate had been threatened by the Anti-Defamation League. Serial phone calls from ADL President Abe Foxman warned them off hosting anything involving Tony Judt. If they persisted, he warned, he would smear the charge of Polish collaboration with anti-Israeli anti-Semites (= me) all over the front page of every daily paper in the city (an indirect quote). They caved and Network 20/20 were forced to cancel."

(b) ADL Letter to Georgetown University President Libels Finkelstein

Full text of libelous letter here, complete with Prof. Finkelstein's usual efficiency in debunking accusations:

http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=585

Other examples of Pro-Israel media hounding academics that dare speak against Israel:

(c) New York Sun compares eminent historian, Rashid Khalidi, to Louis Farrakhan

http://www.nysun.com/article/7441

"The ADL recently noted a December 11 speech by the leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, in which the minister said "the rudder that is turning America is not your elected officials; it's that small influential group of neoconservatives that are using America's power to destroy the enemies of Israel." How different is that from Mr. Khalidi's statement, in his recent book, that "Perle, Feith, Wurmser, and others" are "part of a group that often seems to have virtually exclusive access to the top decision-makers in the Bush administration"? Maybe Columbia's president, Lee Bollinger, should look into giving Minister Farrakhan tenure. He'd fit right in."

(d) Rabid neocon, Daniel Pipes, and his thought-crimes unit: Campus Watch

http://www.campus-watch.org/

.....

I have to ask something here: Why are so many academes being attacked by pro-Israel groups? Are they, perhaps, afraid that there is a WORLDWIDE CONSPIRACY to besmirch the innocent G.O.I.?

[oberliner]

23. More even-handed description of the Tony Judt incident

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/08/AR2006100800817.html

In N.Y., Sparks Fly Over Israel Criticism
Polish Consulate Says Jewish Groups Called To Oppose Historian

By Michael Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 9, 2006; Page A03

NEW YORK -- Two major American Jewish organizations helped block a prominent New York University historian from speaking at the Polish consulate here last week, saying the academic was too critical of Israel and American Jewry.

The historian, Tony Judt, is Jewish and directs New York University's Remarque Institute, which promotes the study of Europe. Judt was scheduled to talk Oct. 4 to a nonprofit organization that rents space from the consulate. Judt's subject was the Israel lobby in the United States, and he planned to argue that this lobby has often stifled honest debate.

[Behind the Aegis]

24. Actually, they do quite a good job.

However, it seems some will look for anything to "prove" otherwise. The ADL has done much good. Some of their actions may be over-the-top, at times, but, in general, it is a good organization. As for that ludicrous question, perhaps the "attacks" are because so many anti-Semites and rabid anti-Israelis are trying to thrust themselves onto the scene, not unlike Czarist Russia and pre-WWII Germany.

[IntiRaymi]

25. Both Finkelstein & Judt lost many relatives in the Holocaust.

Please do not smear them as antisemites.

[Behind the Aegis]

26. I didn't smear anyone.

Do remember the agreement we had about not presuming to speak for anyone other than yourself! And, here is a newsflash...ANYONE can be an anti-Semite!

[IntiRaymi]

27. Your words, Aegis:

As for that ludicrous question, perhaps the "attacks" are because so many anti-Semites and rabid anti-Israelis are trying to thrust themselves onto the scene, not unlike Czarist Russia and pre-WWII Germany.

(a) ADL attacks both Norman Finkelstein & Tony Judt
(b) You state that these attacks are because so many anti-Semites and rabid anti-Israelis are trying to thrust themselves....
(c) Yes, you did smear them.

Something to note here, concerning this last statement of yours "Anyone can be an antisemite". The situation between Dershowitz and Finkelstein has gotten to that point, where Dershowitz - a person that is showing more and more that tenure ought to be revoked on the basis of personal conduct - has stated that Finkelstein's mother was a 'Kapo' in the concentration camps. This is something else that Professor Finkelstein had to debunk, and he did so with the precision of a surgeon.
The goal, apparently, is to silence critics, and nothing else.

[Behind the Aegis]

28. Don't use my words to say something I didn't!

I didn't say either were anti-Semites, yet you are continuing to try and say I did! You have done nothing but create a strawman. You asked why the ADL was "attacking" and I gave my opinion, and didn't say which group, if either, that those two should be in.

[IntiRaymi]

31. This is the sort of thing that people fall into all the time, Aegis

They do not consider carefully the ramifications of their statements.

[Behind the Aegis]

16. There is very good reason for them to "slam" this sham!

[oberliner]

3. Which Nobel Laureate is heading the U.N. rights mission to Darfur?

U.N. Human Rights Council rejects Darfur resolution holding Sudan's government responsible

GENEVA – The U.N. Human Rights Council rejected on Tuesday an attempt to hold the Sudanese government responsible for halting atrocities in Darfur, opting instead for a less-pointed resolution calling on all warring parties to end abuses.

The council, which took over from the discredited U.N. Human Rights Commission June, is dominated by African and Muslim countries that have sided with China, Cuba and other countries in preventing criticism of any government but Israel.

The council voted 22-20 against a resolution from the European Union and Canada demanding the Sudanese government prosecute those responsible for killing, raping and injuring civilians in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061129.WORLDBRIEFS29-1/TPStory/TPInternational/Africa/

[Violet_Crumble]

30. None, but that doesn't mean Beit Hanun shouldn't be investigated...

What it means is that the UNHRC must investigate and/or speak out against all major violations of human rights. It does not mean that because it is falling down spectacularly in this regard that its criticism of Israel are not valid...

[Andromeda]

21. Now I've heard everything!

:eyes:

[Scurrilous]

29. Tutu still awaiting Israeli entry visa to probe Beit Hanun deaths

<snip>

"A United Nations fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip that was to be led by Desmond Tutu is in doubt because Israel has yet to give the Nobel laureate permission to enter the territory, officials said Friday.

Tutu was to begin leading a six-member team this weekend in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun to investigate the killings of 19 civilians in an errant Israel Defense Forces shelling last month.

But Israel has yet to grant the South African anti-apartheid campaigner and former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town the necessary travel clearance, said three different officials close to the talks between the global body and Israel.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions were continuing, said they had yet to receive any indication from Israel that the mission will take place at all."

more

[Eugene]

32. UN says Tutu mission to probe Gaza deaths delayed (Reuters)

UN says Tutu mission to probe Gaza deaths delayed
09 Dec 2006 18:44:45 GMT
Source: Reuters

GENEVA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - A U.N. mission to investigate last month's
killing of 19 civilians in Gaza by Israeli shells, led by South Africa's
Desmond Tutu, has been delayed because Israel has yet to authorise the
trip, a spokeswoman said on Saturday.

The Nobel Peace laureate, asked to head the team by the Geneva-based
Human Rights Council, had been due to leave for the Middle East at the
weekend, but he would not now leave before Monday, mission spokeswoman
Sonia Bakar said.

"We are still waiting for a sign from Israeli. It (the departure) will not be
before Monday," she told Reuters.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L0974723.htm

[Tom Joad]

34. You would think they would expedite this. Tutu has much respect around the world.

[Scurrilous]

33. The Beit Hanoun Massacre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=251KtLnFuNY&mode=related&search=

[Scurrilous]

35. Tutu mission to probe Beit Hanoun deaths cancelled

UN mission, set to depart to region Sunday, called off due to Israel's refusal to authorize trip, spokeswoman says. Olmert's office responds: 'Commission was sent on premise that Israel targets civilians, did not take into account rocket fire from Gaza'

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3338523,00.html

<snip>

"A UN mission to be led by South Africa's Desmond Tutu to probe last month's deaths of 19 civilians in Gaza under Israeli shelling has been called off because Israel did not authorize the trip, a spokeswoman said on Monday.

The Nobel Peace laureate, who was asked to head the team by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, had other engagements and could not wait any longer for Israeli permission, she added.

"It has been cancelled. We were supposed to go yesterday (Sunday)," Spokeswoman Sonia Bakar said.

The United Nations' top human rights body condemned the Nov. 8 deaths at Beit Hanoun and last month voted to send a mission to investigate the incident."

[Scurrilous]

36. Israeli official 'not sorry' Tutu's Beit Hanun mission canceled

<snip>

"Israeli diplomatic sources said last night they were not sorry that the United Nation's fact-finding mission to investigate Israeli-Palestinian violence in Beit Hanoun was canceled.

The mission, headed by Nobel laureate and former Cape Town archbishop Desmond Tutu, came to investigate the killing of 19 Palestinian civilians in Beit Hanoun at the beginning of November."

The sources said that the six-member delegation was "one-sided and cynical."

Earlier, Tutu said Israel refused to let him enter the Gaza Strip and was also preventing his entrance to Israel. "We find the lack of cooperation by the Israeli government very distressing," Tutu told reporters.

The sources said Israel wanted the mission members to enter as tourists, probably because a tourist status would not oblige Israel to recognize the mission's work. The UN, however, insisted they come as diplomats, i.e., as representatives of the UN. The sources said negotiations were still in progress."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/799703.html

[Scurrilous]

37. MIDDLE EAST: 'RIGHTS VIOLATIONS' IN ISRAELI NOVEMBER ATTACK IN GAZA

<snip>

"The head of a fact-finding mission dispatched by the United Nations Human Rights Council to Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, where an Israeli attack killed 19 Palestinian civilians last November, has said that "significant" human rights violations occurred there and called for an independent probe by national authorities. According to the mission's report, "it is clear that significant human rights violations resulted in Beit Hanoun from the activities of the Israel Defence Force (IDF) on and around 8 November," and that those events must be investigated by an independent, impartial and transparent process, preferably at the national level.

Presenting the report to the Geneva-based Council today, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu said Israeli and Palestinian authorities should end the “culture of impunity and bring to account those responsible” – for the Beit Hanoun attack as well as those who have launched rockets against Israeli towns.

The high-level mission was not able to travel to Beit Hanoun due to the non-cooperation of the Israeli Government and it said its conclusions and recommendations are based on available information.

The people of Gaza must be afforded protection in compliance with international humanitarian law, the report stressed. It added that Israel should indicate, by no later than the Council’s sixth session in September, the steps it has taken to ensure that such an incident does not occur again."

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.425548808&par=