(New Jersey Jewish News) Ronald S. Lauder - Goldstone's retraction tells us nothing that decent, honest, and objective observers didn't know already. That "civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy"? But Israel never targets civilians as a matter of policy. It is not that kind of country. It is a humane, liberal-democracy. It is governed by the rule of law. It is a normal Western country whose people, and soldiers, abide by normal Western values. So why were so many governments around the world so willing to jump on board the anti-Israeli bandwagon that the Goldstone Report represented? Why did so many countries in Europe, countries that call themselves allies of Israel and friends of the Jewish people, give it credence at the UN? Why were so many of Israel's nominal friends so willing to believe the worst about the country? Why were transparently obvious lies and libels not instantly dismissed with the contempt that they so richly deserved? Why was Israel put on the same footing, perhaps even a lower footing, as Hamas, an organization committed to the obliteration of the Jewish state? Let this be a watershed moment in the way the world deals with the Jewish state. Let Israel now be treated by a common standard, and not by a double standard. Let it be a moment where reflexive hostility to the State of Israel is finally put to rest. The Jewish people do not ask for much from the world, but we do ask for this: Treat us as you would like to be treated yourselves. The writer is president of the World Jewish Congress.
2011-04-08 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive