Anti-Israel animosity comes from one party only

By Lawrence W. White MD

Last December, after 7000 rockets were fired from Gaza against Israeli civilians, Israel finally took military action to stop the bombardment. Following a 23 day war, the UN Human Rights Commission, composed of such stellar advocates of human rights as Sudan, Cuba, China, and Saudi Arabia, sent a "Fact-Finding Mission" headed by Richard Goldstone into Gaza. They conducted uncritical interviews with officials of Gaza's Hamas government and militia claiming to be civilians. Their version of events was accepted without corroboration.

The commission then issued a 575-page report accusing Israel of applying disproportionate force, targeting civilians, destroying civilian infrastructure and using human shields in its offensive. The report recommends that the U.N. Security Council require Israel to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the alleged crimes. Failing this, they recommend that the U.N. Security Council refer the report to the International Criminal Court, a war crimes tribunal.

Tuesday, the House of Representatives of the US Congress condemned the U.N. report as "irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called the report "unfair, unbalanced and inaccurate" in its portrayal of Israel's response to attacks from Hamas. On a 344-36 vote, the House passed a resolution urging President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "to oppose unequivocally any endorsement" of the report. Twenty-two representatives voted "present."

The good news is that 344 Representatives or 80% of the House, supported the measure. While it is gratifying that Congress condemned the report by such a large margin, of note is the fact that those who refused to condemn the report, either by voting against it or voting present, overwhelmingly came from one side of the aisle. Of the 36 who voted against it, 33 were Democrats. Of the 22 who voted "present" 20 were Democrats. This means that 91% of those who refused to support the House resolution were Democrats.

This lesson should not be lost on Jewish voters. Nor will it be lost on all voters who are concerned about the morality of failing to condemn those terrorists who would wage war against civilians.