I World Goldstone Rapped House vote discredits post-Gaza war report. Washington T At Regent Street I have found lasting friendships, good service and have enjoyed cultural events that I never would have experienced in my own home" -Rose Bennett Visitors welcome! Call or stop by today. GENT STREET ASSISTED LIVING Maw% Ornando 4460 Orchard Lake Rd. West Bloomfield, MI 48323 0141.0 Located next to Comerica Bank Created to care for our family, devoted to serving yours. www.re =entstreehvestbloonifieid.corn 22 . 15416r, he U.S. House of Representatives voted over- whelmingly to condemn the Goldstone report. Seven members of the Michigan Congressional Delegation were among the signatories, including Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills, who was an early critic of the Goldstone Report, blasting its findings in a speech given from the Floor of the U.S. House in September, well before the matter became a promi- nent national issue. Peters also spoke out in support of the Israeli Defense Forces last January while Operation Cast Lead was occurring and reiterated the need for America to support the State of Israel and the Jewish state's right to defend itself. He then co-sponsored H. Res. 867, which also calls on President Obama and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or fur- ther consideration of the Goldstone Report. The report accuses Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians during the nation's Operation Cast Lead earlier this year. That operation was launched to stop relentless rocket and mortar attacks by Hamas and other foreign terrorist organizations in Gaza against civilians in southern Israel. The Nov. 3 vote, urging the Obama administration to keep the report accusing Israel and Hamas of war crimes in last winter's Gaza war from advancing through the U.N. system, passed 344 to 36 with 22 voting "pres- ent." Joining Peters in voting yea were: Peters, Bart Stupak, D - Bay City; Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek; Mike Rogers, R-Brighton; Candace Miller, R-Harrison Township; Thaddeus McCotter, R- Livonia; Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak; and Peter Hoekstra, R-Holland. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which lobbied hard for the nonbinding resolution, said it "strongly applauds" its passing. The resolution was introduced by U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Howard Berman, D - Calif., its chairman The resolution asserts that "the man- date of the 'fact-finding mission makes no mention of the relentless rocket and mortar attacks, which numbered in the thousands and spanned a period of eight years, by Hamas and other violent militant groups in Gaza against civil- ian targets in Israel, that necessitated Israel's defensive measures." "Congress is sending a strong mes- sage that the United States will not agree to turn the victim into the perpe- trator; AIPAC said. "The assertion that Israel deliber- ately targeted civilians is outrageous:" said Rep. Peters. "This report is clearly biased and overly focused on the actions of the Israeli Defense Forces without any con- sideration of the ongo- ing attacks of Hamas, which launches mortars on a regular basis and which provoked an Israeli response last winter. "The report ignores the larger context of Israel's just actions and typifies the practice of singling out Israel from all other nations for con- demnation and that must stop. "When I was in Israel last August, I met with families in Sderot who suf- fer from daily rocket attacks from the terrorists living within Gaza, who use innocent Palestinian children to hide behind as shields. Israel has a right to defend herself and her citizens." The resolution "calls on the President and the Secretary of State to continue to strongly and unequivo- cally oppose any endorsement of the `Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict' in multilateral fora, including through leading opposition to any United Nations General Assembly resolution and through vetoing, if necessary, any United Nations Security Council resolution that endorses the contents of this report." Li "The assertion that Israel deliberately targeted civilians is outrageous" Please share your thoughts at: www.thejewishnews.com/community.