Rabbi Michael Lerner, of Tikkun Magazine, sat down last week with Judge Richard Goldstone, chair of the UN commission investigating the War in Gaza in 2008 and 2009, to discuss Goldstone’s much maligned UN report on the Gaza War. Goldstone calls on Jews to stand up for “Jewish values” and defends the accusations of war crimes contained in his report:
ML: …Is there any way to fight a war against terrorists that would not result in deaths and casualties of civilians, assuming that urban terrorists have located themselves in the midst of the population?
RG: You know, commando actions could have been taken. But in any event, even though Israel might have been entitled to use force, the real point of the report was that it was disproportionate force. Look at the thousands of homes destroyed, the factories, the agricultural land, this is almost impossible to justify militarily.
BW: Also, in your view, in the view of your report, it was deliberate?
RG: I don’t think there is any dispute about it. The Israeli army has very sophisticated weaponry, and I don’t think they make many mistakes as to what they target.
Read the entire interview here.