The South African archbishop, forthright in his comparisons of Israel to the former apartheid regime in South Africa, was chosen by the international body to establish whether Israel purposely or criminally shelled a home in Gaza on November 8th.
The shelling of the home was accidental, according to the IDF. The artillery was fired in response to scores of Kassam missiles fired from the same area of Beit Hanoun toward Isareli towns in the western Negev, particularly Sderot.
In the past, Tutu has expressed the opinion that Zionism itself is racist, and complained of “Jewish influence” in the West. He was reported by the Hartford Courant as having said that apartheid is inherent to Judaism, as "proven" by the structure of Jewish service in Jerusalem’s Holy Temple.
The former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town will travel to Gaza “in order to assess the situation of victims, address the needs of survivors and make recommendations on ways and means to protect Palestinian civilians against further Israeli assaults," said UN Human Rights Council President Luis Alfonso De Alba.
Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman condemned the appointment of Tutu, calling it “an overwhelming failure" of efforts to reform the UN Commission on Human Rights. Foxman said it proved that the commission remains a political tool of its Arab and Muslim majority. “The new UN Human Rights Council has ignored the world's worst human rights atrocities and instead has pursued Israel for political gain," Foxman said.
The 47-member council replaced the UN’s Human Rights Commission, which was widely seen as beyond rehabilitation in terms of its selective definition and condemnation of countries such as Israel and the US, while ignoring the abuses of Arab and Muslim regimes.
The new Commission on Human Rights, however, seems to be following in the footsteps of its predecessor. "From the day it opened for business, the UN Human Rights Council has never operated with any moral authority," Foxman said Tuesday.
When the Beit Hanoun shelling occurred, the Council condemned it and ordered an on-site investigation by UN Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour – despite the fact that Kassam missiles had been fired from Beit Hanoun for over a year, with not so much as a denunciation from the UN body.
When Arbour visited Sderot last week, she and her entourage were almost hit by a Kassam missile fired from Beit Hanoun. The rocket barrage killed one man and injured another.
"Closing in on six months since its first meeting, the Council has held one regular session and three special sessions and has yet to address a single state besides Israel," Foxman concluded.
Even UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan took notice of the commission’s Israel fixation, declaring earlier this month that the body seemed to lack the concept of “fair play” by focusing its energies completely on Israel and ignoring the genocide being committed by Muslims in Darfur, Sudan.