JONATHAN CHAIT MAY 7, 2010
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Yedioth Ahronoth digs into Richard Goldstone's judicial history in South Africa. (Goldstone is the author of a controversial U.N. report on Israel's incursion into Gaza. Moshe Habertal wrote a nuanced, fair-minded and ultimately very tough critique of the Goldstone Report last November.) Yedioth Ahronoth's headline is that he sentenced 28 black defendants to death, which seems not all that shocking, especially since there's no evidence the defendants weren't guilty. This, on the other hand, seems more problematic:
Even when it came to far less serious offenses, Goldstone sided through and through with the racist policies of the Apartheid regime. Among other things, he approved the whipping of four blacks found guilty of violence, while he acquitted four police officers who had broken into a white woman's house on suspicions that she was conducting sexual relations with a black man – something considered then in South Africa as a serious crime.
In another incident, Goldstone sentenced two young black men merely for being in possession of a video tape showing a speech given by one of the senior officials in Nelson Mandela's party.
This doesn't prove or even suggest that Goldstone is, or was, a racist or an Apartheid supporter. It's morally murky territory -- the ultimate question is whether and to what degree a white South African could take a position such as a judge for a regime that had such despicable laws. I don't think the answer is clear. But it certainly adds some texture to the portrait of Goldstone as a man. (He privately called the UN Human Rights Council "hopeless," then wrote a report vindicating its geopolitical prejudices.) Goldstone seems to be disinclined to make a brave, lonely stand against the prevailing currents.
12 comments
If R. Goldstone were to move to Beijing, no doubt he would be a full-throated supporter of censoring the Internet in China and of tossing dissidents in jail.
- liberal reformer
May 7, 2010 at 2:51pm
Jonathan Chait writes: -- This doesn't prove or even suggest that Goldstone is, or was, a racist or an Apartheid supporter. It's morally murky territory -- the ultimate question is whether and to what degree a white South African could take a position such as a judge for a regime that had such despicable laws. I don't think the answer is clear. But it certainly adds some texture to the portrait of Goldstone as a man. (He privately called the UN Human Rights Council "hopeless," then wrote a report vindicating its geopolitical prejudices.) Goldstone seems to be disinclined to make a brave, lonely stand against the prevailing currents. Of course, Chait would never dream of questioning an Israeli jurist who provides "legal" support to the Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people up to and including supporting its apartheid policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Chait continues to pander - and gets paid to pander - to the vile prejudices that animate The New Republic. He is certainly not one to make a "brave, lonely stand against the prevailing currents" at the magazine.
- ndmackenzie
May 7, 2010 at 3:00pm
MacScumbag vindicates Chait. Anything this anglonazi says is bad has to be by definition good.
- NR114746
May 7, 2010 at 3:08pm
Amazing. Dershowitz even likens Goldstone to Mengele in there, so all bases are covered. I'm satisfied that the man's report is now discredited, or would be if only I could forget that such is not likely to be accomplished via exceptionally uncharitable reading of a lifelong career by partisans desperately seeking to score political points. I'd think it relevant to consider that anyone living and breathing in Apartheid era South Africa could be accused of complicity in its injustice by just the same logic as features in this abortion of a polemic, so maybe we've got a nation of people we should rightfully send to the gallows at Nuremberg. I mean, so long as we're busily redressing The Real Kind™ of injustice. Disappointing seeing this type of thing in this blog. Then again, as we've seen, Marty can be awful impulsive, so I can understand the motivation. Doesn't make me feel any better reading it though.
- I Majorajam
May 7, 2010 at 3:19pm
But even if we accept as true everything the ndmacker says, such a stipulation would not reduce or affect in any way the validity of the analysis of Goldstone's conduct.
- rhubarbs
May 7, 2010 at 3:21pm
This post is hysterical - particularly this part: "This doesn't prove or even suggest that Goldstone is, or was, a racist or an Apartheid supporter. It's morally murky territory --" Yeah because while the whole thing about whether or not Goldstone supported and maybe even embraced racist laws is up in the air, we definitely don't want to suggest that he's a racist. He may have been - or still is - a eager supporter of Apartheid -- there's room for debate on this! -- but posing this question is in no way to suggest that he's a racist. For more on this story, let's go over to Brian Kilmeade ...
- NR851651
May 7, 2010 at 4:17pm
Excuse me majorjam, but my parents (who are older than Goldstone--nice anglicization of the name, by the way) left South Africa almost fifty years ago because they saw the total immorality of Apartheid. They are not exceptional people, but they knew. And yet Godsteon had no qualms about making sure some prisoners were whipped. I'm afraid this really does discredit him.
- MOLLYSIMON
May 7, 2010 at 6:13pm
Super Molly. I nominate your parents to chaperon the six some odd million white Apartheid-era residents of South Africa to the gallows. Your judgment has been passed, all that's required now is the executioner. In the meantime, discredit him or not, this naked smear campaign lays not the anatomical tip of a glove on his report, which is its obvious target. Though it would make Lee Atwater proud.
- I Majorajam
May 7, 2010 at 7:03pm
Majorjam. So you don't have a problem with a man guilty of human rights abuses.
- MOLLYSIMON
May 7, 2010 at 7:38pm
It is very good to see you out here again, my dear MOLLYSIMON. And you have it all over on Majorajam on the matter of Richard Goldstone. I am afraid that Majorajam indulges in ignoratio elenchi in his exchanges with you. If I were teaching a class in informal logic, this is the sort of item that I would copy down as I slathered together examples of fallacious reasoning to present to students.
- liberal reformer
May 8, 2010 at 10:41am
If you were teaching a class on informal logic, liberal reformer, it would evidence such a deficit of empathy for students as to suggest sociopathy. We might even be able to wage a successful smear campaign to discredit you on that basis, so perhaps best to refrain in the event you wind up associated with any politically unpopular documents. Speaking of red herrings, through force of willful obstinacy it appears the gathered, or formerly gathered, are unable to see past theirs. Indeed, the white South African Richard Goldstone was also white and South African 20 years ago. Guilty as charged. It's also probably the case that legions of his boosters or contemporaries whose investigations would've led to similar ends are neither white, nor South African. Of course, in that case, it's likely they're either Arab, or Muslim, or 'radical leftists', or tax cheats, philanderers, missers of child support payments, ex-business partners, shower masturbators, etc., etc. A question for your informal logic inmates libref- is it a red herring if the argument never progresses beyond it? Perhaps Zombie Lee Atwater can shed some light here.
- I Majorajam
May 10, 2010 at 12:31am
Months ago, I posted two blogs at PJM about Goldstone and South Africa. I linked to reports on Goldstone's view while a judge in South Africa, from two different people who knew him well. Both document his actual record, the latter statement by one of these South Africans is substantive. Here are the links: http://www.scribd.com/doc/21359334/Goldstone-V2 http://pajamasmedia.com/ronradosh/2010/02/03/an-incredible-letter-to-richard-goldstone-from-an-israeli-who-knew-him http://pajamasmedia.com/ronradosh/2010/02/16/andrew-sullivan-asks-pjm-to-remove-my-blog-post-and-to-apologize-he-wont-get-one-heres-why If you read my blogs and go to the other links, you will find much material that subsantiates and validates the story that appeared in Yedioth Ahronoth. Ron Radosh
- conservprof
May 10, 2010 at 12:04pm