Goldstone 'barred' from grandson's Bar Mitzvah

[Ken Burch]

www.sajewishreport.co.za/pdf/latest_issue/NJWED00314.pdf

(snip)
"THE AFTER-SHOCKS of the Goldstone Commission into the Gaza conflict continue, this time reaching into the heart of a family simcha. Mr Justice Richard Goldstone is effectively being barred from attending his grandson's barmitzvah, due to be held in Johannesburg early next month.

Following negotiations between the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) and the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol in Sandton, where the event is due to take place, an agreement has been reached with the family. As a result, Justice Goldstone will not be attending the synagogue service.

Some of the role-players were tight-lipped Avrom Krengel, chairman of the SAZF, said: "We understand there's a barmitzvah boy involved - we're very sensitive to the issues; at this stage there's nothing further to say."

While Krengel said the SAZF had "interacted" on the matter with the chief rabbi, the Beth Din and others, his organisation was "coming across most forcefully because we represent Israel"."

(end of snip)

Denying a man the right to see his grandson's Bar Mitzvah because he told the truth about Gaza. What could be more disgusting?
Why would anyone ever feel they had the right to interfere in someone's personal life in such a way?

[elleng]

1. we're very sensitive to the issues

NOT

:cry:

[azurnoir]

2. SAZF had apparently planned a demonstration

if Goldstone had not agreed

from JTA

Jewish groups, including the South African Zionist Federation, had planned to organize a protest outside the synagogue if Goldstone was in attendance, according to reports.

<snip>

Arthur Chaskalson, a retired chief justice of South Africa, said it was “disgraceful” to put pressure on a grandfather not to attend his grandson’s bar mitzvah.

“If it is correct that this has the blessing of the leadership of the Jewish community in South Africa, it reflects on them rather than Judge Goldstone," Chaskalson said. "They should hang their heads in shame.”

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/04/15/1011590/goldstone-barred-from-grandsons-bar-mitzvah

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

9. His family should tell them to FUCK OFF. How can anyone protest a human rights report, FCOL?

What is wrong with people? Are you KIDDING ME?

[shira]

4. Gary Ackerman responds to SAZF attempt at BDS vs Goldstone

April 15, 2010

Mr. Avrom Krengel
Chairman
South Africa Zionist Federation
Johannesburg, South Africa

Dear Mr. Krengel:

As an unapologetic critic of the Goldstone report, and of Judge Richard Goldstone's badly warped perspective on Israel's right to defend itself, I am appalled and utterly disgusted by reports that Judge Goldstone will not be able to attend the bar mitzvah of his grandson due to protest threats by Jewish groups in South Africa.

There is absolutely no justification or excuse for carrying legitimate opposition and criticism of Judge Goldstone's (wretched) professional work into the halls of his family's synagogue, much less the celebration of a 13 year-old Jewish boy's ritual acceptance of responsible membership in the Jewish community.

In response to this outrage, according to the Jewish Telegraph Agency, you said "We understand that there's a bar mitzvah boy involved - we're very sensitive to the issues and at this stage there's nothing further to say."

Actually, there's rather a great deal more to say.

I take a back seat to no one in strenuous opposition to Judge Goldstone's critique of Israel's actions in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. But there is no excuse for what has been reported if it is true. Compelling Judge Goldstone to absent himself from his grandson's bar mitzvah offends me as a believer in civil discourse and the power of debate and argument; it offends me as a believer in the fundamental human right to freedom of worship and belief; it offends me as a defender of the Jewish state and the Jewish people; it offends me as the president of the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians; and it offends me personally as a Jew and a Jewish grandfather.

People are entitled to their views about Judge Goldstone, and mine is that he failed massively and consequentially when it came to his very shoddy work regarding the legal implications of the defensive operation in Gaza in December 2008. But there is no entitlement to vent justifiable anger about his work at either his community or his family, much less an innocent child.

Doing so is an abysmal moral failure, a disgrace deserving the fullest condemnation by every friend of human freedom and all those who love the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

Sincerely,

GARY L. ACKERMAN
Chairman,
House Subcommittee on the
Middle East and South Asia

http://blogs.jta.org/politics/article/2010/04/16/1011618/gary-ackerman-on-the-goldstone-bar-mitzvah

[oberliner]

5. Goldstone cleared for grandson's barmitzvah in SA

FORMER Constitutional Court Judge Richard Goldstone, who chaired a United Nations report accusing Israel of war crimes in Gaza, will be allowed to attend his grandson's barmitzvah in Johannesburg next month, the South African Zionist Federation said today.

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=106477

[Ken Burch]

6. How big of them to "allow" him to do so.

:eyes:

Why the hell was it their business in the first place?

It's as if they were setting themselves up as the arbiters of whether Justice Goldstone actually is a Jew. It's disgusting that they interfered in what should have been a strictly private moment. A Bar Mitzvah is not about politics...or Zionism, for that matter.

They owe the man an apology.

[oberliner]

7. "Contrary to distorted media reports and false blog accusations,

the SAZF states unequivocally that at no time was there any suggestion raised by any party that Judge Goldstone should be 'barred' or 'banned' from entering the synagogue".

The above is quoted from the same article.

[azurnoir]

8. So JTA was being dishonest?

IMO SAZF was embarrassed by some the reaction from such organizations and Rabbi's

[Ken Burch]

10. We posted two sources on the original story

SAZF is bullshitting here because they know they've been "caught out" and they know they fucked up big time.

Of course the schmucks aren't going to come right out and say "yes, we WERE being total assholes about this and we admit we were wrong". Bullies like that never do.

[oberliner]

11. SAJBD confirms no request or bar to Goldstone attending Bar mitzvah

Pursuant to the above the South African Jewish Board of Deputies issued a statement confirming that they have investigated the allegations that Goldstone had been barred from a synagogue for his grandson's bar mitzvah.

In accordance with what they have styled ‘an intensive investigation’ the board found that the allegations were completely untrue. It was never requested and the Judge was never barred or banned from attending his grandson's bar mitzvah.

http://www.newstime.co.za/rs_headlines.asp?recid=4654

[Ken Burch]

12. Oh please. It's CYA time down there.

Nixon always said HE didn't do the stuff either.

And technically, they can say Goldstone wasn't actually "barred" if he agreed to stay away in exchange for no demonstration being held.

Read between the lines. Bullies never admit they did it.

[oberliner]

13. Judge Goldstone is welcome on our premises. No one has asked him not to come.

Harelle Isaacs, office manager at the synagogue, told The AP, "As far as we're concerned, Judge Goldstone is welcome on our premises. No one has asked him not to come.

"We actually don't know where that's coming from," Isaacs said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hNfrdLFjGywLRn0cqfTRD1enm0NQD9F4VD980

[Violet_Crumble]

14. Well, someone sure as hell was trying to keep him away from his grandson's bar mitzvah

Interesting how you picked out that one small line out of that entire article. You do come across as overly very keen to clear these idiots of any wrong-doing. Me, I've got nothing but contempt for anyone who'd try to bar anyone from a family members celebration, or who'd try to disrupt it. It's a time for family and friends, not for zealoted morons...

[oberliner]

15. What is the evidence that someone attempted to bar him from attending the event?

There is no statement from anyone claiming that Goldstone was banned from attending the bar mitzvah (in fact, there are statements to the contrary), nor does anyone claim that any such statement was made.

It seems that a group was planning to protest outside the shul. Distasteful as that may be, it's not the equivalent of barring Goldstone from attendance.

I think there may have been some over-zealous reporting involved here.

[Violet_Crumble]

16. There's no evidence that there weren't attempts to bar him...

It does come across as though there's some people doing damage control, though...

I do find it a bit predictable that you'd come across as though it wasn't possible that pro-Israeli types could be so zealoted and nasty that they wouldn't plan on attempting to bar someone or to disrupt a family event..

fwiw, I find yr idea of what constitutes good reporting or not generally to be dependent on whether it's in support of Israel or its supporters or not and isn't particularly consistant...

[oberliner]

17. There's no evidence that there weren't attempts to buy him a pony either

If I claim that groups were attempting to buy a pony for him, I would think you would want some evidence of that claim.

Similarly, if one claims that groups were attempting to bar him from attending this event, I would think one would want some evidence of that claim as well.

Simply saying there's no evidence that there weren't attempts to bar him is as convincing as saying that there's no evidence that there weren't attempts to buy him a pony.

The onus is on those who claim that something occurred to show that it did.

What possible evidence could be provided that would prove that there were not attempts to bar him?

All the players involved said that they did not attempt to bar him, and the person in charge of the synagogue said that he was not contacted at all regarding this.

[Violet_Crumble]

18. What constitutes evidence to you?

You suddenly seem to be holding news stories to a very stringent standard that I haven't seen you use when it comes to articles that show pro-Palestinians in a critical light. There's more than enough to lead any reasonable person to the conclusion that there were plans to disrupt that family event or to stop Mr Goldstone from attending. I'm sorry, but some rather zealoted types who've said some quite ugly things in the past about Mr Goldstone turning round and going 'I didn't say that!' just isn't as convincing as you find it...

[oberliner]

20. Someone at the synagogue saying they were contacting by groups trying to bar Goldstone?

That would be one example of some kind of evidence.

[Violet_Crumble]

21. Or someone saying they plan to protest the bar mitzvah if Mr Goldstone attends?

That'd be an example of some kind of evidence, I would have thought...

[oberliner]

22. That is evidence of a protest being planned

Planning a protest is not the same as barring someone from attendance.

Code Pink held a protest outside the recent AIPAC conference.

Does that mean that people were barred from attending?

[Violet_Crumble]

23. It's evidence that someone was trying to keep him away...

Which is what I said initially. They were trying to keep him away...

And you are joking, right? You really can't see the difference between protesting at a very important family event and an AIPAC conference?

[oberliner]

24. And what I had tried to show initially was that he wasn't barred

Of course there is a difference between protesting a family event and an AIPAC conference. The only similarity I was drawing is that protesting does not mean barring attendance.

Perhaps we aren't actually disagreeing about anything?

[Violet_Crumble]

19. 'We'll protest if Goldstone changes his mind'

The head of the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) said it still planned to protest Judge Richard Goldstone's presence at his grandson's barmitzvah two weeks from now - if he changed his mind and decided to go.

Last week, it was reported that, following negotiations between Goldstone's family and the Beit Hamedrash Hagadol synagogue in Sandton, it had been decided that one of the world's pre-eminent jurists and human rights lawyers would not attend the ceremony following threats of protest by the SAZF.

The SAZF's chairman, Avrom Krengel, said Goldstone had "definitely not" been barred, but he would also not be receiving a welcome reception if he chose to make it to the barmitzvah.

"We'll exercise our constitutional right to protest," Krengel said.

He said media reports late last week citing threats of violence by Zionist Jews angered by Goldstone's UN-commissioned report into Israel's 2008 incursion on Gaza had been designed to embarrass the SAZF.

"We agreed not to talk about our disagreements because we are sensitive to the family and the issues they have to deal with," Krengel said.

The Open Shuhada Street organisation, which calls for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, slammed South Africa's Jewish community leaders for their part in the fight to keep Goldstone away from his grandson's barmitzvah.

"The SAZF, Chief Rabbi and Beth Din are three of the major communal bodies in the Jewish community.

"Had they collectively decided that, despite their legitimate political differences with Goldstone, his grandson should not be made to suffer on the day of his barmitzvah, they could quite easily have ensured that the barmitzvah went ahead without serious disturbance.

"This is their duty as Jewish leaders. To suggest that they were powerless to stop the 'barrage of protesters' cannot be taken seriously," the TAC's Nathan Geffen said.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=vn20100419041617457C448243

[azurnoir]

25. exactly that was how this was reported last week

Goldstone was told if he attended his Grandson's Bar Mitzvah there would be demonstrations that would also certainly be disruptive to the ceremony and upsetting to the family
The claim that Goldstone was not barred in those words are true but when reported as in simply that form paint a very distorted picture of the real situation

[Prometheus Bound]

26. Update: 21 April - Goldstone barred from family bar mitzvah

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (JTA) – South African judge Richard Goldstone is being barred from attending his grandson’s bar mitzvah.

Following negotiations between the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) and the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol in Sandton, an affluent suburb of Johannesburg where the event is due to take place, an agreement has been reached with the family. As a result, Goldstone will not be attending the synagogue service, scheduled for early next month.

Goldstone was the head of a United Nations-appointed commission that investigated last winter’s Gaza war. The commission’s final report accused Israel and Hamas of war crimes and said there may be evidence of crimes against humanity.

Some of the role-players were tight-lipped when contacted by JTA, with Avrom Krengel, chairman of the SAZF, saying: “We understand that there’s a bar mitzvah boy involved – we’re very sensitive to the issues and at this stage there’s nothing further to say.”

According to reports, Jewish groups had planned to organize a protest outside of the synagogue if Goldstone attended.

Reached in Washington where he is currently based, Goldstone was reluctant to comment save to say: “In the interests of my grandson, I’ve decided not to attend the ceremony at the synagogue.”
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 April 2010 )

http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php/201004212924/Goldstone-barred-from-family-bar-mitzvah.html