The Previous Apartheid Goldstone Reference

That Ynet story on Goldstone's apartheid judge history was known partially earlier:-

...At university you belonged to NUSAS showing that you cared about racial discrimination. In 1978 you accepted an appointment from Jimmy Kruger, Minister of Justice, to be a temporary judge to the Transvaal Supreme Court. Jimmy Kruger was often called the Himmler of apartheid. You were not forced to accept this appointment which was made permanent in 1980. When queried why you accepted to be an apartheid judge, you replied that you preferred to try and change things from within. I have to deduce at this stage:

1. You are a brilliant man to have been made a judge at such an early age.
2. You wanted to advance your career.
3. Perhaps you had changed your mind from NUSAS days.
4. You did not tell the truth about changing things from within, because you knew full well that any statement against apartheid with people like Jimmy Kruger and p.W. Botha around, would have led to immediate dismissal.

After 1980 your career advanced extremely rapidly in the apartheid regime. You were appointed to the Appellate Division of the S.A. Supreme Court which was a top position in the apartheid hierarchy. You are known to have mixed socially with the Afrikaner leaders. You are known to have assisted P.W. Botha to cover up what was going on during the state of emergency which made you an accomplice to apartheid policy.

After Nelson Mandela was released from jail, and De Klerk still had a strong influence, De Klerk appointed you to head a commission to investigate the causes of violence in the country. You helped to protect De Klerk’s image by a verdict that Sithole committed suicide in spite of evidence to the contrary. You also exonerated all the security forces from any guilt during the violence. You found no evidence of the operation of a third force.

Some time before the General Election in 1994, you started to change your report which ended up confirming the existence of a third force of government forces committing atrocities against Blacks. You also refused to investigate reports of ANC violence against Whites despite evidence of it’s existence. You had deserted De Klerk and became an ANC hero. Mandela was grateful to you and appointed you to the newly formed Constitutional Court. Now my deductions will lead to finality:

1. The above indicates that you have a brilliant ability at twisting and turning in order to best serve your own personal interests. It proved that you could not have supported apartheid in your heart but you certainly convinced the Afrikaans leaders that you did.

2. Your maneuvering to support and then deceive De Klerk is mesmerizing. Your feat in becoming an ANC hero after a past of being an apartheid judge is more than mesmerizing...

ROY CHWEIDAN
NETANYA