The Samouni Family Response to Goldstone's Reversal

"It Was No Mistake"

By Richard Edmondson

A couple of days ago I posted an article entitled Goldstone's Aerial Flip-Flop in which I discussed South African jurist Richard Goldstone's recantation of parts of his report (the "Goldstone report") on Israeli war crimes in Gaza. In that recantation Goldstone specifically mentioned the Samouni family, and said he now believes the Israeli attack which took the lives of some 29 members of that family was merely an accident, the result of "an Israeli commander's erroneous interpretation of a drone image," as he put it. In the video below you'll see members of the Samouni family responding to Goldstone's op-ed piece in the Washington Post, and refuting particularly the notion that the atrocity committed against them was in any way an accident or mistake.

In the past few days we have seen articles published (see here for example) suggesting that what Goldstone really did was engage in some artful mincing of words, and that his op-ed really wasn't as damaging as it appears on first reading, and certainly not the total vindication that Israeli leaders are making it out to be. This in my view totally misses the point. If Goldstone had the opportunity to hear from the people shown in this video--and I'm assuming he did--how could he bring himself to write an article, even one laced with delicate prevarication, leaving the impression that what was done to them may have been something other than deliberate? After viewing the video below, I have come to the conclusion that what Goldstone is guilty of is a betrayal. For one thing, he has in effect betrayed the Samouni family. Pay attention to the comments of young Mona Talal Samouni, which come at about 12:25 into the video. Listen carefully to what she says. The translation is a little rough, but basically the gist of it is that Goldstone, in his dealings with the family, deliberately conveyed the impression that he was in "solidarity" with them:

Says the translator: "When he came here he told them that he was in solidarity with the Samouni family and he is really appreciate to help them and to prove to the world what's really happened here, but he was lying."

It would also appear (though again the translation is a little difficult to follow) that young Mona provided Goldstone and his committee with her own written report of what she witnessed the night her family members were murdered. What has become of that report? Is it perhaps on file somewhere at the UN? I don't  know, but after reading Goldstone's op-ed piece, it seems difficult for me to believe it made much of an impression on him. Ali Abunimah, of the Electronic Intifada, has noted an escalation in violence between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions in recent weeks and has speculated on the possibility that a major new war in Gaza may be approaching. "Tragically, the biggest contributor to renewed confidence in Israel that it could once again get away with murder in Gaza, may be Judge Richard Goldstone himself," Abinumah concluded.

Should a new war erupt, the very children you see in the video below will once again be in the line of fire. Goldstone, with his op-ed piece in the Washington Post, has in effect betrayed those children. But in a very real sense, it is more than a betrayal of the Samouni family only. When war crimes are whitewashed and the criminals who commit them remain free, it is a betrayal of all humanity. In saying this, I am not saying Goldstone should necessarily be judged harshly. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, as a famous man once said. Goldstone seems to be a reasonably decent fellow who, at least initially, set out to do the right thing. In my last article, I discussed a number of pressures the Jewish judge has been under from his fellow Jews, including threats to disrupt his grandson's bar mitzvah. And that's only what we know about. Given the level of vitriol that has been expressed  publicly, quite likely much worse has been communicated in private. It is truly unfortunate, tragic even, that the judge has had to endure such things, but how does this in any way compare to the genuine tragedy of losing 29 members of your family in a brutal act of savagery committed by an invading army? And if the Samounis were targeted once, what is to prevent them being targeted again? Should something like that happen, I would not want to be in Goldstone's shoes and have to live with myself afterwards.

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