The "Russell Tribunal on Palestine"? Epic failure, again.

Elder of Ziyon..
17 March '13..

This weekend was the final session of the "Russell Tribunal on Palestine."

Founded four years ago, the "tribunal" was from the start meant to be a kangaroo court to damn Israel. Using rabid Israel-haters like Roger Waters, Cynthia McKinney, Ronnie Kasrils and a host of others to lend it legitimacy, it would hold sessions in different cities and pretend to call "witnesses" to be evaluated by "jurors" who were all in on the scam from the start.

It held its first session in Barcelona in 2010 and from there went to London, Cape Town and New York, each time receiving less and less coverage.

This weekend, the "tribunal" wrapped up its pre-determined findings in Brussels. What was supposed to be its crowning achievement ended with barely a whisper, as there has been literally no news coverage of its final weekend.

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On Trial in New York - Israel and the Russel Tribunal

Sohrab Ahmari..
Wall Street Journal..
09 October '12..

Those who grew up with Pink Floyd's 1979 double album "The Wall" will remember it as the perfect antidote to the crueller aspects of teenage life. Chronicling the mental breakdown of a pop star, the rock opera rages against suffocating parents, tyrannical teachers and social conformism. The story concludes with the hero hauled before a nightmarish court, where everyone in his life testifies as an adversarial witness. Before the defendant can say a word in his own defense, the judge bellows a guilty verdict: "The evidence before the court is incontrovertible. There is no need for the jury to retire!"

I was reminded of this scene Saturday while attending a session in New York of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, a self-appointed people's court that has met periodically since 2009 to sit in judgment of Israel. Here, too, there was no one to speak for the defendant, the world's sole Jewish state. And here, too, the verdict was never in doubt.

Another reason to be reminded of "The Wall": Roger Waters, Pink Floyd's chief lyricist, was a member of the jury. He was joined by such luminaries as the novelist Alice Walker, former Black Panther Angela Davis and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.

NGO Monitor - The Russel Tribunal on Israel: A Legal Farce and Total Failure

NGO Monitor
10 November '11

It is not a "tribunal." The "evidence" is going to be one-sided and the members of the "jury" are critics whose harsh views of Israel are well known. - Judge Richard Goldstone, "Israel and the Apartheid Slander," New York Times, October 31, 2011

On November 5-6, the Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RToP) held a session in Cape Town, South Africa. The session was convened, under the façade of a legal framework, ostensibly to consider if "Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people fits the international legal definitions of the crime of apartheid."

This PR stunt was a total failure; none of its stated objectives was achieved. The RToP failed to garner positive international media attention other than a single opinion piece placed in the Guardian (not known for favorable pieces on Israel) and coverage in Al-Jazeera. The tone of international coverage was set by Judge Richard Goldstone's scathing op-ed in the New York Times. In addition prominent scheduled witnesses, including South Africans Winnie Mandela and Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, withdrew from the Tribunal before it opened.

NGO Monitor worked closely with the South African Jewish community, including the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, South African Zionist Federation, and FairPlay South Africa, in advance of and during this event to expose the radical political agenda of the organizers and participants. Concrete results included the development of the www.russelltribunal.org website, used widely by analysts and critics, as well as Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and blogs. Additionally, Prof. Gerald Steinberg participated in an hour-long radio debate with RToP "witness" and former UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur John Dugard, forcing the latter to respond defensively.

Abrams - Another Effort to Destroy Israel

Elliott Abrams
The Weekly Standard
05 November '11




http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/another-effort-destroy-israel_607792.html?nopager=1

This weekend marks another milestone in the history of intellectual dishonesty, for the so-called “Russell Tribunal on Palestine” meets in Cape Town, South Africa on November 5th and 6th.

What is the Russell Tribunal? It is the heir to the “International War Crimes Tribunal” to which Bertrand Russell lent his name in 1966. The stated purpose then was “to investigate crimes committed in Vietnam,” or in other words to attack the United States. In those days, the doddering Russell was already in the hands of Ralph Schoenman, the anti-American activist with whom he finally broke in 1969 and who was the driving force behind the “Tribunal.”

The only difference today is that the guns have turned toward Israel. Well, perhaps “guns” is not the right term. What has been turned on Israel is the same torrent of clerical nonsense, virulent bias, and Hollywood-style self-aggrandizement that marked the “Tribunal” in the old days. The 1966 panel was financed in large part by the government of North Vietnam, which no doubt helped assure its carefully balanced neutrality. Back in 1966, the cast of characters included the Soviet fellow traveler Jean-Paul Sartre, Stokely Carmichael, the writers James Baldwin, Julio Cortázar, and of course Simone de Beauvoir, and other worthies. This weekend’s panel is even more impressive. Start with the stars: Israel’s violations of international law will be judged by a group including the eminent experts Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and the Spanish actor Alberto San Juan. Members of the Tribunal’s “Support Committee” include other experts and jurists such as the actress Julie Christie, the fashion designer Agnes B, the great poetess Alice Walker, Cindy Sheehan (the “Peace activist” who at last seems to have abandoned her tent near Crawford, Texas), the British actress Juliet Stevenson, Norman Finkelstein (whose writings on the Holocaust got him denied tenure at De Paul University)—and, of course, Noam Chomsky. Also listed are Harold Pinter, Howard Zinn, and Julio Saramago, whose active support will be harder to arrange as all three are dead. There are also on the list people who should know better and ought to be ashamed of themselves—but won’t.

You are probably already asking yourself “Where is Bishop Tutu?” Never fear. This week he wrote an op-ed for the Guardian in London, supporting the Tribunal on the ground that “We have visited Israel/Palestine on a number of occasions and every time have been struck by the similarities with the South African apartheid regime.” This was in part a response to the op-ed by Judge Richard Goldstone, who is seeking redemption these days by walking away from the “Goldstone Report” and defending Israel from the apartheid charge.

Daphne Anson - Kangaroo Court To Convene In Cape Town With Israel In The Dock

Daphne Anson
20 July '11


http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/07/kangaroo-court-to-convene-in-cape-town.html

As I explained last November, when it sat in London, the Russell Tribunal on Palestine is billed as "an International People’s Tribunal created by a large group of citizens involved in the promotion of peace and justice in the Middle East."

The first Russell Tribunal was convened in 1966 during the Vietnam War by the distinguished leftwing Nobel Laureate, anti-nuclear campaigner, mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), whose phrase “May this tribunal prevent the crime of silence” has become the watchword of subsequent tribunals.

On its website we're told:

"The Russell Tribunal has no legal status but acts as a court of the people, a Tribunal of conscience, faced with injustices and violations of international law, that are not dealt with by existing international jurisdictions, or that are recognised but continue with complete impunity due to the lack of political will of the international community. Today, and in the same spirit, the Bertrand Russell Foundation supports the setting up of a Russell Tribunal to examine the violations of international law, of which the Palestinians are victims, and that prevent the Palestinian People from exercising its rights to a sovereign State.

This Tribunal has been named the Russell Tribunal on Palestine. It will reaffirm the supremacy of international law as the basis for a solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. It will identify all the failings in the implementation of this right and will condemn all the parties responsible for these failings, in full view of international public opinion.

It will thus examine the various responsibilities that lead to the continued occupation of the Palestinian Territories by Israel and the non-application of the United Nations resolutions, from Resolution 181 of the 29th of November 1947, on the partition of Palestine, to Resolution ES-10/15 of the 20th of July 2004, that acknowledges the Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – of the 9th of July 2004 – on the construction of the Wall by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and requests all the UN Member States to acquit themselves of their legal obligations as defined by the ICJ Opinion. The responsibilities of Israel and also of other states, particularly the United States and the Member States of the European Union, the Arab States and the international organisations concerned (United Nations, the European Union, the Arab League) will be scrutinised.

The Tribunal also aims, through this approach, to contribute to the mobilisation and the involvement of civil society in all the states concerned on the question of Palestine.

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine is composed of eminent people from all states, including Israel, which will be one of the states investigated. The legitimacy of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine does not come from a government or any political party but from the prestige, professional interests and commitment to fundamental rights of the Members that constitute this Tribunal. "http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/

This coming November, this kangaroo court will convene in Cape Town, opened by that inveterate eenemy of Israel Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

It's the third session of the tribunal, and will sit "to determine [whether] the treatment of Palestinian people by Israel meets criteria of the UN convention against the crime of apartheid".

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, that well-known supporter of human rights (you may recall that she's on record as having endorsed the brutal practice of "necklacing" and was sentenced to six years' impisonment, later reduced to a fine, for her alleged involvement in an unsavoury crime) as a star witness.

She , according to a newspaper report, "is expected to testify about the tools the apartheid government used against her, including bannings, detentions and house arrest."

The report continues:

'Two veteran Israeli human rights lawyers, Michael Sfard and Leah Tsemel, will also testify, along with South African international law professor John Dugard, who was until recently the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Palestine.

Kasrils joins Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire, Spanish Supreme Court Judge Jose Antonio Pallin and globally acclaimed author Alice Walker [of recent flotilla infamy] on the jury.

Kasrils said that the ANC government must follow Cosatu's lead and take "stronger measures" against Israel.

"We've applauded governments in Latin America and one in Africa. Those were the governments that actually decided to sever ties with Israel," said Kasrils.'

Read more: http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2011/07/20/people-s-court-to-put-israel-in-the-dock

And for the London session last November see:
http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2010/11/judahs-lion-told-to-hop-it-by-kangaroo.html
http://richardmillett.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/russell-tribunal-on-palestine-presents-ken-loach-at-amnesty/
http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/sessions/london-session/video-of-proceedings

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Judah's Lion told to Hop It – by a Kangaroo Court! The anti-Israel Russell Tribunal swings into action

Daphne Anson
09 November '10

‘Tis getting towards what’s commonly called “the season to be jolly”, but for many of Israel’s implacable foes in the UK – those incorrigible types who obtain their jollies by berating and defaming the Jewish State – that season has come early, for this month sees in London what Jonathan Hoffmann of the Zionist Federation has aptly dubbed an anti-Israel “Hatefest from the Red/Green Alliance of As-A-Jews, Communists and Islamists” in the guise of the Russell Tribunal.

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine is billed as “an International People’s Tribunal created by a large group of citizens involved in the promotion of peace and justice in the Middle East.” The first Russell Tribunal was convened in 1966 during the Vietnam War by the distinguished leftwing Nobel Laureate, anti-nuclear campaigner, mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), whose phrase “May this tribunal prevent the crime of silence” has become the watchword of subsequent tribunals.

“The Russell Tribunal has no legal status but acts as a court of the people, a Tribunal of conscience, faced with injustices and violations of international law, that are not dealt with by existing international jurisdictions, or that are recognised but continue with complete impunity due to the lack of political will of the international community”, we learn from the present tribunal’s website.

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Amnesty blocks Zionist from anti-Israel kangaroo court meeting

Elder of Ziyon
09 November '10

From TheJC's Jonathan Hoffman:

Last night was the introductory meeting for the Hate Israel Kangaroo Court that is laughingly called the "Russell Tribunal". It took place at Amnesty International, London. Speakers included Dr Ghada Karmi; Ken Loach; Paul Troop; Ewa Jasiewicz; and Frank Barat.

The "Russell Tribunal" is composed of known Israel haters and has effectively found Israel guilty before it has even started. No witness has been summoned to defend Israel.

How very telling that on turning up, I was barred from entry. The welcoming party included Krystian Benedict (Amnesty's Campaigns Director) and a security guard. When I protested that I was being censored, Benedict summoned four policemen in from outside.

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