Jewish Community Relations Council of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Statement on The United Nations Human Rights Council Independent Commission’s Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict

June 23, 2015

The United Nations Human Rights Council Independent Commission’s Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict, released Monday, does not go far enough in holding Hamas accountable for its acts of terrorism. The report unjustly equates the Israeli Defense Force’s self-defensive actions during last summer’s Operation Protective Edge with “Palestinian armed groups’” unyielding rocket attacks on Israeli citizens. There is no moral equivalency between these entities. Moreover, the report fails to adequately verify both Hamas’ use of human shields and its conducting military operations within or in close proximity to hospitals, shelters, religious sites and schools. The commission also equates the Government of Israel with the “State of Palestine” when such a state has not yet been established.

We are concerned that the UNHRC document will be unfairly used by those seeking to further delegitimize Israel. In addition, we implore all people of good will worldwide to study a recent report on the Gaza conflict published by the High Level International Military Group, comprised of generals, senior officers and officials from the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Spain, Italy, Australia and Colombia which concluded:

“…In reality Israel sought to avoid the conflict and exercised great restraint over a period of months before the war when its citizens were targeted by sporadic rocket attacks from Gaza. Once the war had begun, Israel made repeated efforts to terminate the fighting. The war that Israel was eventually compelled to fight against Hamas and other Gaza extremists was a legitimate war, necessary to defend its citizens and its territory against sustained attack from beyond its borders… none of us is aware of any army that takes such extensive measures as did the IDF last summer to protect the lives of the civilian population in such circumstances.”

Resources:
UNHRC Report:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIGazaConflict/Pages/ReportCoIGaza.aspx#report

PM Netanyahu/MFA Statements/High Level International Military Group Report:
http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/PressRoom/2015/Pages/Statement-by-PM-Netanyahu-on-the-UNHRC-Commission-of-Inquiry-report-22-Jun-2015.aspx
http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/PressRoom/2015/Pages/Israeli-response-to-the-UNHRC-Commission-of-Inquiry-22-Jun-2015.aspx
http://blog.unwatch.org/index.php/2015/06/12/key-findings-of-the-high-level-international-military-group-on-the-gaza-conflict/

Organizational Statements:
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/united-nations/un-human-rights-council-illegitimate-inadequate-immoral.html#.VYlqtIvbK74

American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
http://www.aipac.org/learn/resources/aipac-publications/publication?pubpath=PolicyPolitics%2FPress%2FAIPAC+Statements%2F2015%2F06%2FAIPAC+Statement+on+Gaza+Report+by+UN+Human+Rights+Council

American Jewish Committee (AJC)
http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=7oJILSPwFfJSG&b=8478375&ct=14737097&notoc=1

Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA)
http://engage.jewishpublicaffairs.org/blog/comments.jsp?key=477&blog_entry_KEY=7570&t