The Goldstone Report
Summary & Analysis of Dore Gold & Richard Goldstone Discussion, Brandeis University
Introduction & Context: On November 5, 2009, hundreds of students, faculty and interested observers gathered at Brandeis University for a discussion between International Jurist Richard Goldstone and former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dore Gold on the recent report by Goldstone concerning the 2009 Israeli military campaign in Gaza. The ‘Goldstone Report,’ released on September 19, 2009, criticized Israel’s conduct during Operation Cast Lead and accused Israel of committing ‘war crimes’ as well as possible ‘crimes against humanity’. Israel, the United States and other countries and NGOs have complained that the report was severely flawed and bias against Israel and ignored the role that Hamas played in the conflict. The discussion, moderated by Brandeis faculty, was not designed as a debate but as an “illumination, not confrontation” and allowed an open forum for discussion of the report. Both Justice Goldstone and Ambassador Gold were given approximately 20-30 minutes to present their cases, followed by a Question & Answer session with the audience.