Lantos Foundation Urges Retraction of Flawed Goldstone Report
April 8, 2011-The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice is urging Richard Goldstone to retract his flawed report to the United Nations condemning Israel’s action during the Gaza War. In an opinion piece written for the Washington Post last week, Goldstone acknowledged that portions of his report about Israel intentionally targeting civilians during the Gaza War of 2008-2009 were not true.
“Many of us believed at the time that the controversial Goldstone Report was issued, that its conclusions were outrageous, slanderous, and without foundation,” said Annette Lantos, Chairman of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. “Given the historic mistreatment of Israel at the hands of the United Nations and its auxiliaries, the Goldstone Report stood as one more example of disturbing bias toward the State of Israel by those who claim to speak for the world community.”
Though admitting that the report contains false information, Goldstone, a former South African Judge says he will not ask the U.N. Human Rights Council to dismiss the report.
Annette Lantos, widow of former Congressman Tom Lantos, the only survivor of the Holocaust elected to Congress and former Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says she joins with others calling on the United Nations to cancel the Goldstone Report.
“While I am gratified that Mr. Goldstone has disavowed his earlier report, the damage caused by the fundamentally flawed Goldstone report cannot be so easily wiped clean,” said Lantos.
Annette Lantos' statement regarding Helen Thomas' remarks about Israel
Helen Thomas' remarks on May 27th have outraged people of good conscience across the globe. My late husband Congressman Tom Lantos and I both lost family members in Europe during the horror of the Holocaust. It was the searing experiences of our youth that led us to our profound commitment to fight for human rights and justice. Through our work in Congress and now through the Lantos Foundation we have worked to shine a bright light on the lingering evils of bigotry, hatred, and anti-Semitism in the often dark corners of the world. I never imagined that same bright light would be shone on the center chair of the White House Press Corps. It is almost inconceivable that the “Dean” of this distinguished group of talented journalists could have made such offensive and profoundly ill-informed comments. Helen Thomas’ deplorable views do nothing to foster peace in the Middle East, but rather encourage the behavior that has caused such misery in the region. Unfortunately, her tepid and evasive apology cannot undo the far-reaching damage that her thoughtless words fuel.