Following an opinion piece in the Washington Post earlier this month in which South African Judge Richard Goldstone recanted allegations Israel had deliberately targeted civilians during its 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, and admitted his eponymous 2009 report to United Nations Human Rights Council would have been different if he had written it today, Congressmen Anthony Weiner and 14 of his colleagues, have set a letter to US Ambassador Susan Rice calling on the U.N to formally withdraw the report.

Weiner has been vocally opposed to the Goldstone Report and publically defended Israel against its allegations.

The letter reads:

April 13, 2011

Ambassador Susan Rice
United States Mission to the United Nations
799 United Nations Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10017

Dear Ambassador Rice:

The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict was mandated by UN Resolution S – 9/1 and created what came to be known as the “Goldstone Report.”  The controversial conclusions that Israel purposely targeted civilians in an attempt to collectively punish the Palestinians were then entered into the UN record and referred to the UN Security Council and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.   Now, the primary author of the report has essentially recanted the primary conclusions of the report.

Since the publishing of the “Goldstone Report,” Justice Richard Goldstone has retracted his allegations of Israel’s intentionality in the killing of Palestinian civilians in an Aril 2, 2011 op-ed published in the Washington Post. His retractions clear Israel of the charge that it violated international law under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The US Mission, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a member of the Human Rights Council, should take immediate action and introduce a resolution expunging the Goldstone Report from the official record of the United Nations.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

The following representatives were signatories to the letter:

  • Anthony D. Weiner
  • Howard L. Berman
  • Dan L. Burton
  • Steve J. Israel
  • Joseph Crowley
  • Eliot L. Engel
  • Janice D. Schakowsky
  • Shelley Berkley
  • Heath Shuler
  • Adam B. Schiff
  • Jerrold L. Nadler
  • Daniel W. Lipinski
  • Theodore E. Deutch
  • Alcee L. Hastings

Ambassador Rice already informed Congress she intends to push to have the UN jettison the report.

The United States has been highly critical of the Goldstone report and described it as "deeply flawed" since its initial publication.