You Cant Report Truthfully on Israel Without Facing Its Wrath
Published on
Tuesday, January 05, 2016
by
Electronic Intifada
You Cant Report Truthfully on Israel Without Facing Its Wrath
by
Richard Falk
Makarim Wibisono says Israel has blocked him from fulfilling his UN mandate
to report on human rights violations in the occupied West Bank and Gaza
Strip. (Photo: Jean-Marc Ferré/UN)
Makarim Wibisono has announced his resignation as UN special rapporteur on
human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, the position I held
for six years until June 2014.
The Indonesian diplomat says that he could not fulfill his mandate because
Israel has adamantly refused to give him access to the Palestinian people
living under its military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Unfortunately, my efforts to help improve the lives of Palestinian victims
of violations under the Israeli occupation have been frustrated every step
of the way, Wibisono explains.
His resignation reminds me in a strange way of Richard Goldstones
retraction a few years ago of the main finding in the UN-commissioned
Goldstone report, that Israel intentionally targeted civilians in the course
of Operation Cast Lead, its massive attack on Gaza at the end of 2008.
I responded to media inquiries by saying that I was shocked, but not
surprised. Shocked because the evidence was overwhelming and the other three
distinguished members of the UN fact-finding commission stuck by the
finding.
I was not surprised because I knew Goldstone a former judge of the South
African constitutional court to be a man of strong ambition and weak
character, a terrible mix for public figures who wander into controversial
territory.
In Wibisonos case I am surprised, but not shocked. Surprised because he
should have known from the outset that he was faced with a dilemma between
doing the job properly of reporting on Israels crimes and human rights
abuses and gaining Israels cooperation in the course of gathering this
evidence. Not shocked, indeed grateful, as it illuminates the difficulty
confronting anyone charged with truthful reporting on the Palestinian ordeal
under occupation, and by resigning Wibisono doesnt allow Israel to get away
with neutering the position of special rapporteur.
It is worth recalling that when Wibisono was selected as my successor,
several more qualified candidates were passed over. Although the selection
guidelines stress expert knowledge of the subject matter of the mandate,
Wibisono gained the upper hand precisely because of his lack of any relevant
background.
I can only hope that now the UN Human Rights Council will redeem its mistake
by reviving the candidacies of Professor Christine Chinkin and Phyllis
Bennis, both of whom possess the credentials, motivation and strength of
character to become an effective special rapporteur.
The Palestinians deserve nothing less.
Honesty
When I met with Makarim Wibisono in Geneva shortly after his appointment as
special rapporteur was announced, he told me confidently that he had been
assured that if he accepted the appointment the Israeli government would
allow him entry, a reassurance that he repeated in his resignation
announcement.
I warned him then that even someone who leaned far to the Israeli side
politically would find it impossible to avoid reaching the conclusion that
Israel was guilty of severe violations of international humanitarian law and
of human rights standards, and this kind of honesty was sure to anger the
Israelis.
I also told him that he was making a big mistake if he thought he could
please both sides, given the reality of prolonged denial of fundamental
Palestinian rights. At the time he smiled, apparently feeling confident that
his diplomatic skills would allow him to please the Israelis even while he
was compiling reports detailing their criminality. He told me that he was
seeking to do what I did but to do so more effectively by securing Israels
cooperation. It was then my turn to smile.
Facing the heat
What I discovered during my six years as special rapporteur is that you can
make a difference, but only if you are willing to put up with the heat.
You can make a difference by giving foreign ministries around the world the
most authoritative account available of the daily realities facing the
Palestinian people. By so doing you have to expect ultra-Zionist
organizations and others to react harshly, including through a continuous
defamatory campaign that seeks by any means to discredit your voice and will
mount accusations of anti-Semitism and, in my case, of being a self-hating
Jew.
What both shocked and surprised me was the willingness of both the UN
secretary general and US diplomatic representatives at the UN to bend in
Israels direction and join the chorus making such denunciations.
Although periodically tempted to resign, I am glad that I didnt. Given the
pro-Israel bias of the mainstream media in the United States and Europe, it
is particularly important, however embattled the position, to preserve this
source of truth telling.
My hope is that the Human Rights Council will learn from the Wibisono
experience and appoint someone who can both stand the heat and report the
realities for what they are.
© 2014 Electronic Intifada
Richard Falk
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You Cant Report Truthfully on Israel Without Facing Its Wrath
Published on
Tuesday, January 05, 2016
by
Electronic Intifada
You Cant Report Truthfully on Israel Without Facing Its Wrath
by
Richard Falk
1 Comments
Makarim Wibisono says Israel has blocked him from fulfilling his UN
mandate to report on human rights violations in the occupied West Bank and
Gaza Strip. (Photo: Jean-Marc Ferré/UN)
Makarim Wibisono has announced his resignation as UN special
rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, the
position I held for six years until June 2014.
The Indonesian diplomat says that he could not fulfill his mandate
because Israel has adamantly refused to give him access to the Palestinian
people living under its military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Unfortunately, my efforts to help improve the lives of Palestinian
victims of violations under the Israeli occupation have been frustrated
every step of the way, Wibisono explains.
His resignation reminds me in a strange way of Richard Goldstones
retraction a few years ago of the main finding in the UN-commissioned
Goldstone report, that Israel intentionally targeted civilians in the course
of Operation Cast Lead, its massive attack on Gaza at the end of 2008.
I responded to media inquiries by saying that I was shocked, but not
surprised. Shocked because the evidence was overwhelming and the other three
distinguished members of the UN fact-finding commission stuck by the
finding.
I was not surprised because I knew Goldstone a former judge of the South
African constitutional court to be a man of strong ambition and weak
character, a terrible mix for public figures who wander into controversial
territory.
In Wibisonos case I am surprised, but not shocked. Surprised because he
should have known from the outset that he was faced with a dilemma between
doing the job properly of reporting on Israels crimes and human rights
abuses and gaining Israels cooperation in the course of gathering this
evidence. Not shocked, indeed grateful, as it illuminates the difficulty
confronting anyone charged with truthful reporting on the Palestinian ordeal
under occupation, and by resigning Wibisono doesnt allow Israel to get away
with neutering the position of special rapporteur.
It is worth recalling that when Wibisono was selected as my successor,
several more qualified candidates were passed over. Although the selection
guidelines stress expert knowledge of the subject matter of the mandate,
Wibisono gained the upper hand precisely because of his lack of any relevant
background.
I can only hope that now the UN Human Rights Council will redeem its mistake
by reviving the candidacies of Professor Christine Chinkin and Phyllis
Bennis, both of whom possess the credentials, motivation and strength of
character to become an effective special rapporteur.
The Palestinians deserve nothing less.
Honesty
When I met with Makarim Wibisono in Geneva shortly after his appointment as
special rapporteur was announced, he told me confidently that he had been
assured that if he accepted the appointment the Israeli government would
allow him entry, a reassurance that he repeated in his resignation
announcement.
I warned him then that even someone who leaned far to the Israeli side
politically would find it impossible to avoid reaching the conclusion that
Israel was guilty of severe violations of international humanitarian law and
of human rights standards, and this kind of honesty was sure to anger the
Israelis.
I also told him that he was making a big mistake if he thought he could
please both sides, given the reality of prolonged denial of fundamental
Palestinian rights. At the time he smiled, apparently feeling confident that
his diplomatic skills would allow him to please the Israelis even while he
was compiling reports detailing their criminality. He told me that he was
seeking to do what I did but to do so more effectively by securing Israels
cooperation. It was then my turn to smile.
Facing the heat
What I discovered during my six years as special rapporteur is that you can
make a difference, but only if you are willing to put up with the heat.
You can make a difference by giving foreign ministries around the world the
most authoritative account available of the daily realities facing the
Palestinian people. By so doing you have to expect ultra-Zionist
organizations and others to react harshly, including through a continuous
defamatory campaign that seeks by any means to discredit your voice and will
mount accusations of anti-Semitism and, in my case, of being a self-hating
Jew.
What both shocked and surprised me was the willingness of both the UN
secretary general and US diplomatic representatives at the UN to bend in
Israels direction and join the chorus making such denunciations.
Although periodically tempted to resign, I am glad that I didnt. Given the
pro-Israel bias of the mainstream media in the United States and Europe, it
is particularly important, however embattled the position, to preserve this
source of truth telling.
My hope is that the Human Rights Council will learn from the Wibisono
experience and appoint someone who can both stand the heat and report the
realities for what they are.
© 2014 Electronic Intifada
