Just to quickly note, some seem to have thought that the translation of Michael Sfard’s op-ed was mine. It wasn’t. Just don’t want to be taking credit where it is not due.

Attorney Michael Sfard, who works with numerous Israeli human rights groups, published this op-ed in Hebrew in Yediot Ahoronot last week. To the best of my knowledge, it hasn’t been translated on the web, so here it is.

Israel and International Law: The Bullet-Proof Vest Has Been Confiscated

Yedioth Ahronoth – November 5, 2009 – Michael Sfard (op-ed)

The author is legal counsel for the Yesh Din human rights organization.

When the first soldier, officer or Israeli leader is arrested for involvement in the attack on Gaza, Judge Richard Goldstone will not be the only one who can take credit. There are two others who have made a greater legal contribution than he to the process of allowing for judicial procedures against Israelis abroad: Judge Advocate General Brig. Gen. Avi Mandelblit and Attorney General Meni Mazuz.

Attorney Michael Sfard

The Goldstone report is not the first international document that determines that Israel broke international law. Preceding it were dozens of reports, resolutions, statements legal opinions by the UN, investigative committees and committees of international experts, and even by the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Israel ignored all of them, and the statement “It will be all right” proved itself. For now.

So why is there a feeling that the Goldstone report, unlike its predecessors, could really lead to arrests of Israelis? What does it contain that its predecessors did not, and causes hysteria in the corridors of Israeli power? The answer to these questions is hidden in chapter 26 of the report—the chapter that is responsible for the fact that the legal situation of the conflict is measured, and will be measured in future years, in terms of before and after the Goldstone report.

Chapter 26 deals with the procedures of law enforcement, and mainly with the quality of the Israeli investigations, in cases where there is suspicion that soldiers broke the law in their treatment of Palestinians. In recent years, Israeli human rights organizations published extremely bad reports on this subject, but there was not yet any significant criticism by an international professional legal organization of the investigation procedures in Israel. Until today.

It is important to realize that serious and professional local law enforcement, in addition to being a moral and ethical duty, serves as a bullet-proof vest against international law-enforcement procedures. International law recognizes the supremacy of local legal systems and gives them preference over foreign or international investigations and jurisdiction. Over the years, Israel’s law enforcement system has won great admiration and a professional and independent image, sometimes much more than it deserves, and as a result, Israelis enjoyed immunity from prosecution abroad. Seminal events such as the establishment of a state commission of inquiry after the massacre at Sabra and Shatila, which caused the defense minister to leave office, the publicized court-martials of soldiers during the first Intifada and the fact that the Investigative Military Police investigated every case in which a Palestinian had been killed strengthened this image.

When the second Intifada broke out, everything changed. The judge advocate general at the time, Menahem Finkelstein, set a new policy according to which the Investigative Military Police would not begin an investigation of harm done to Palestinians in the territories unless an operational inquiry (which is conducted mostly by officers in the chain of command of the unit involved) had raised suspicion of criminal activity, and the judge advocate general, after consulting with a general, concluded that there was reason to begin an investigation.

Thus the professional investigation was replaced by amateur inquiries that lacked credibility, blocked true clarification, and sabotaged the few judicial procedures that were begun. The incumbent judge advocate general continued this policy, and the attorney general defended it in the Supreme Court. The results were terrible: according to statistics of Yesh Din, only two percent of complaints by Palestinians against soldiers led to criminal charges, most of the inquiries did not reveal what had occurred during the incident, and in the few cases in which it is decided to hold investigations by the Investigative Military Police, the investigations are begun months and even years later, which does not allow for an effective investigation. This bleak truth was exposed by chapter 26 of the Goldstone report, according to which the Israeli investigations do not meet a single one of the criteria that international law has set for a proper investigation: that it be independent, external, immediate and effective. Goldstone has confiscated our bullet-proof vest.

Mazuz, who in the past rejected demands by Israeli human rights organizations to conduct an external investigation of the events in Gaza, supports doing so today. He evidently understands the mistake that he made. The judge advocate general, the chief of staff and the defense minister who oppose it are pushing the IDF troops and themselves into the arms of the foreign legal systems.

Last week, we at B’Tselem told you about a resolution in the House of Representatives that criticized the Goldstone Report quite harshly, while omitting any reference to the Obama Administration’s repeated calls for a credible Israeli investigation into Operation Cast Lead. If you have not already done so, please click here to send an e-mail to your Representative urging him or her to vote “No” on this resolution.

Israeli human rights groups have sent a letter to Congress explaining why this resolution is counter-productive and harmful to our efforts to ensure accountability in Israel for Israeli actions. You can read the letter by clicking here (it requires the Acrobat reader; if you don’t have it, you can download it here for free).

Also, Judge Goldstone has personally responded to the Resolution. In a letter to Congress (which you can see yourself by clicking here, again requiring the Acrobat reader), Goldstone points out the many factual inaccuracies in the Resolution.

The Resolution is expected to get to the floor of Congress tomorrow, and will be voted on then, or soon thereafter. Please take action today.
Mitchell Plitnick
Director of US Office
B’Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

Calls are mounting, both inside Israel and from the international community, for a credible, independent investigation into Israel’s conduct in Operation Cast Lead. But a new resolution in Congress calls on President Obama to do everything he can to bury the Goldstone Report, while giving no support to the Obama Administration’s repeated call for a domestic investigation by Israel. Click here to tell your Representative to vote “No” on H. Res. 867.

From day one, B’Tselem and the broader human rights community have been calling for a comprehensive domestic inquiry into Israeli behavior in Operation Cast Lead. Israelis across the political spectrum are now supporting this call. Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor (Likud), Minister of Improvement of Government Services Michael Eitan (Likud), Minority Affairs Minister Avishay Braverman (Labor), and National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau (Yisrael Beiteinu) have all called for such an inquiry, as has Aryeh Deri, former leader of the Shas party.

Israelis are raising important questions about their country’s conduct in Gaza, and they have a right to answers. The civilian population in Gaza has a right to have their claims heard and addressed.

The Obama administration also supports a credible Israeli investigation, as was repeated by National Security Advisor James Jones at the J Street conference.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clearly been feeling the pressure, and if this momentum continues there is a real opportunity to ensure genuine Israeli accountability – and move beyond the polarized debate around the Goldstone report. This irresponsible bill in the House threatens to derail this momentum.

Click here to send an e-mail to your representative asking that they vote no on this bill.

H. Res. 867 is expected to come to the floor of the House next week. Please take action today, and spread the word as far as possible.

Jessica Montell

Wednesday September 30 at 3:30 p.m. EDT

B’Tselem’s US office is proud to co-sponsor this informative conference call, hosted by Ta’anit Tzedek.
The call will feature Jessica Montell, Executive Director of B’tselem and Fred Abrahams, researcher for Human Rights Watch in Gaza and Israel during and following the war. Jessica will be speaking from Jerusalem and Fred from Geneva where he will be attending the sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Commission.  This conference is open to all participants in Ta’anit Tzedek and to anyone who wishes to join the call.

Fred Abrahams

To sign up for the call, click here.   Space is limited.

This call is also co-sponsored by The Shalom Center and the Tikkun Community. Posted in Uncategorized

This actually matters, and it makes a difference. Call it what you want, the result of political pressure, good will, Palestinian security efforts, whatever. It helps and it must be supported, even by those who bitterly oppose the Netanyahu government.

September 16^th, 2009
16:45                                                                                                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Removal of One Hundred Road Blocks in Judea and Samaria

Today, following the directives given by the Israeli government, the Israel Defense Forces began removing 100 road blocks in the Judea and Samaria region,. The removal of these road blocks will improve traffic between rural areas and villages to the central transportation arteries in Judea and Samaria. The decision to carry out these improvements was made in accordance with the directives of Defense Minister, Mr. Ehud Barak, and in light of security assesments by the IDF Central Command and the Chief of the General Staff , Lietenant General Gabi Ashkenazi.

The IDF will remove road blocks over the next several days, a process expected to end by the Eid ul-Fitr holiday next week. The decision is a continuation of the government policy to improve the economic situation in the region while maintaining the operational flexibility of the Israel Defense Force and security forces.

The IDF will continue to act in accordance with the decisions of the Israeli government and security assessments in order to improve the quality of life of the Palestinian population in the Judea and Samaria region and to secure the safety of Israeli citizens.

In response to the release today of the long-anticipated Goldstone report, nine Israelis human rights groups, including B’Tselem, have issued the following statement:

עברית אחרי האנגלית

Adalah * Association for Civil Rights in Israel * Bimkom * B’Tselem * Gisha * HaMoked * Physicians for Human Rights-Israel * The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel * Yesh Din

Human Rights groups in Israel provide initial response to Goldstone Report:
Israel Must Investigate ‘Operation Cast Lead’

With the publication of the Goldstone Committee report today, human rights organizations in Israel are studying the report and its conclusions, and they call upon the Israeli Government to take the report seriously and to refrain from automatically rejecting its findings or denying its legitimacy.

Already it is clear that the findings of the report – written after gathering extensive information and testimonies from Israeli and Palestinian victims – will join a long series of reports indicating that Israel’s actions during the fighting in Gaza, as well as the actions of Hamas, violated the laws of combat and human rights law.

Human rights organizations in Israel believe that the State of Israel must conduct an independent and impartial investigation into these suspicions and to cooperate with an international monitoring mechanism that would guarantee both the independence of that investigation and the implementation of its conclusions.  The organizations have written to Israel’s Attorney General to demand that he establish such an independent body to investigate the military’s activities during “Cast Lead”, but he rejected their request.

The groups expect the Government of Israel to respond to the substance of the report’s findings and to desist from its current policy of casting doubt upon the credibility of anyone who does not adhere to the establishment’s narrative.

Organizations on this statement: Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Adalah, Bimkom, B’Tselem, Gisha, HaMoked, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and Yesh Din

**********

במקום * בצלם * גישה * האגודה לזכויות האזרח בישראל * הועד הציבורי נגד עינויים בישראל * המוקד להגנת הפרט * יש דין * עדאלה * רופאים לזכויות אדם

דרושה חקירה ישראלית של “עופרת יצוקה”

עם פרסום דו”ח ועדת גולדסטון מודיעים ארגוני זכויות האדם בישראל כי הם לומדים את ממצאי הדו”ח ומסקנותיו, וקוראים לממשלת ישראל להתייחס לתוכן הדו”ח בכובד ראש ולא לשלול את ממצאיו והלגיטימיות שלו מלכתחילה.

כבר עתה ברור כי ממצאי הדו”ח, שנכתב לאחר איסוף מידע וגביית עדויות מנפגעים פלסטיניים וישראליים, מצטרפים לשורה ארוכה של דיווחים המצביעים על כך שפעולות ישראל במהלך הלחימה ברצועת עזה, כמו גם של חמאס, הפרו את דיני הלחימה ודיני זכויות האדם. ארגוני זכויות האדם בישראל סבורים כי על מדינת ישראל לקיים חקירה עצמאית ובלתי תלויה לבירור חשדות אלו ולשתף פעולה עם מנגנון ניטור בינלאומי שיבטיח את עצמאותה של החקירה ואת יישום מסקנותיה. הארגונים פנו ליועץ המשפטי לממשלה בדרישה להקים גוף עצמאי שיחקור את פעולות הצבא במהלך “עופרת יצוקה”, אולם דרישה זו נדחתה על ידו.   הארגונים מצפים מישראל כי תגיב בצורה עניינית לממצאי הדו”ח ושתשנה את מדיניותה להטיל דופי בכל מי שלא מיישר קו עם הגרסה הממסדית.

Ronit Avni, the Executive Director of Just Vision has a very important op-ed in today’s Washington Post. The points she makes about American private support for the settlement enterprise should be taken to heart by all.

I agree with Ronit when she says “I am not suggesting that non-profits should lose their tax advantages simply because they are at odds with American foreign policy. But the settlements are widely considered a violation of international law.” There is certainly a legal question there that should be discussed and decided.

But I’d make another point in addition to that one. There are a great many Americans, Jewish and otherwise, who are concerned about Israel’s future and the human rights of the Palestinians, both of which are seriously threatened by the settlements. And it’s important, to be sure, for those folks to support President Obama and American peace groups.

But it is also important that Americans who care also support those forces in Israel that are working to change the hold the settlements have on the futures of both Israel and the Palestinians. There are many such, including B’Tselem, Peace Now, Gisha, Ir Amim and others. Just as groups here are dedicated to supporting the settlements, and are putting their time, energy and money where their beliefs are, so must those of us with a different vision.

The perception is that, despite repeated polling that reflects the opposition of American and American-Jewish support toward settlements, those majorities are not prepared to put in the same energy as their counterparts supporting the status quo and the settlements.

The facts bear that perception out. As I’ve argued before, that needs to change. Those groups working for a more peaceful and democratic Israel need support from the USA. Money, of course, but they also need to stop being surprised when they come here and find a far larger base of support than they can see from Israel.

It sounds trivial, but it really does matter.

It is my intention to maintain this site as a place where people can comment freely. That does not, however, mean that there are no guidelines.

The subject we deal with here is bound to stir up passions. I do, however, insist that we all keep the conversation to debating, however passionately, the issues and not the characters of others. Please confine your comments to matters of substance and not to your own views of the personalities of other commenters.

I do not believe that, in recent conversations, there has been anything I would call a terrible breach of that guideline, but I’ve been doing this long enough to see when it is starting to veer in that direction. So, this is a pre-emptive caution. If folks cannot keep to matters of substance, I will have to moderate all comments. That’s something I do not find desirable, and something I do not really have time for. If I have to go that route, it opens the possibility that I might then, due to time constraints, be forced to turn off comments entirely.

So let’s keep this an open forum, where we deal with the substantive issues with respect for each other, even when we disagree. We operate under the premise that, whether one supports the Israeli view or the Palestinian one or any shade of grey in between, we do so because we believe that view is right and just. And we therefore argue the issues, not each other’s motivations, character or other personal issues.

Thanks in advance for everyone’s cooperation.

For three years, Gilad Shalit has languished in captivity. That captivity is illegal and both the way it has been managed by Hamas as well as Shalit’s capture itself do not fall within the boundaries of “prisoner of war” status, but rather that of a hostage. Hostage-taking is a blatant violation of international law. Today, as Shalit enters his fourth year of imprisonment, the organization I work for, B’Tselem, has renewed its call for his release.

Noam Shalit holding a picture of his son, Gilad

It often happens that when one discusses Shalit the response is “what about all the Palestinian prisoners being illegally held by Israel?” B’Tselem, of course, does enormous and extensive work on that issue (click here for some of it). But it is important to break the linkage of such issues.

The crimes of one side do not justify crimes on the other side, and that holds true even if the scale or frequency is very different. The issue of Palestinian prisoners must not be linked to Shalit because whether he is freed or not, the issue remains the same. By the same token, whether those Palestinian prisoners are freed (or at least in many cases, tried) or not has no bearing on the need to free Shalit.

It is precisely that principle that is crucial for any hope, in terms of politics or diplomacy as well as human rights, to be realized. Israel and the Palestinians must do what is right, what is demanded by both law and by human decency, for its own sake. Of course, it is true that security concerns and concerns for the protection of people’s rights to land, life and dignity often make this much more difficult to accomplish than to say. But it should remain the goal and, at the least, the idea that one party’s crimes can be used to justify the other side disregarding the law or the norms of human rights must be categorically rejected.

B’Tselem: Hamas must release Gilad Shalit immediately and unconditionally

The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem today (25.06.09) repeats its demand that Hamas release Gilad Shalit immediately. The circumstances of Shalit’s capture three years ago and the behavior of his captors clearly indicate that he is legally a hostage. Hostage taking is absolutely prohibited under international humanitarian law, and is defined as a grave breach of the Geneva Convention.

The leadership of Hamas is obligated to release Shalit immediately and unconditionally. Until he is released, those holding him must grant him humane treatment, allow him to be in contact with his family and allow representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit him.

The denial of Shalit’s right to these visits constitutes a blatant violation of international law, and casts doubt over claims that Shalit’s wellbeing has been maintained.