Dershowitz Judges Goldstone

Alan Dershowitz has ventured where very few—if any—on either side of the furor over the Goldstone Report have gone: With his virtuoso lawyer’s searching eye he has combed every word of the 500-some-odd pages, the long appendices, and the 1223 footnotes in pursuit of the evidentiary basis for the report’s conclusions. His verdict—there is none:

The Goldstone Report, when read in full and in context, is much worse than most of its detractors (and supporters) believe. It is far more accusatory of Israel, far less balanced in its criticism of Hamas, far less honest in its evaluation of the evidence, far less responsible in drawing its conclusion, far more biased against Israeli than Palestinian witnesses, and far more willing to draw adverse inferences of intentionality from Israeli conduct and statements than from comparable Palestinian conduct and statements. It is worse than any report previously prepared by any other United Nations agency or human rights group.

Read the whole thing. It’s a masterpiece of dismantlement.