Statement by the World Jewish Congress on the UN General Assembly Vote

/PRNewswire/ -- The World Jewish Congress condemns Thursday's vote by the United Nations General Assembly as being flawed from the start. The vote calls upon both Israel and the Palestinians to conduct "independent and credible" investigations of the alleged war crimes during the Gaza conflict of December 2008 within a period of three months, or the UN will then send the matter to the Security Council.

At the same time the resolution already prejudges the outcome by endorsing the Goldstone Commission's Report, and calls upon the Secretary General to send it to the Security Council. The United Nations has once again undermined its credibility and its waning effectiveness to uphold the lofty goals established at its creation.

Is there any point in responding to this ultimatum? That is a decision for the Israel Government to make and we will stand by Israel either way. It is questionable that it will make one scrap of difference to the final outcome. The World Jewish Congress hopes that, if and when this issue comes up for a vote at the Security Council, it will be dispatched in short order through a veto by some of its permanent members.

It is ironic that this vote at the General Assembly took place just one day after the Israel Defense Forces intercepted an Iranian weapons ship headed for Syria containing 3,000 rockets, a number equal to 75 percent of all rockets the terrorist group Hezbollah fired on Israel during the Second Lebanon War. These weapons were almost certainly destined to reach Iran's proxies, as was the case when the Santorini was intercepted from Beirut in 2001, the Karine A in 2002 from Iran to Gaza, and now the Francop to Syria.

In the meantime, the international community is negotiating in good faith with the perfidious Iranian Government on its nuclear file, and Israel is accused of war crimes for defending itself against the very same weapons captured only this week.

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Ahmed Ghailani Transferred From Guantanamo Bay to New York for Prosecution on Terror Charges

/PRNewswire / -- The Justice Department today announced that Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian national who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility since September 2006, arrived early this morning in the Southern District of New York to face criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the Aug. 7, 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya.

After a thorough review of his case by the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force, Ghailani was recently referred for criminal prosecution in the Southern District of New York pursuant to a March 12, 2001 superseding indictment against him.

Ghailani was transferred from the custody of the Department of Defense to the Southern District of New York by the U.S. Marshals Service. He is currently in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, which has housed numerous terror suspects over the years during their prosecutions in the Southern District of New York. Ghailani is expected to make his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court later today.

Ghailani faces 286 separate counts in the March 2001 superseding indictment. Among other violations, the superseding indictment charges him with conspiring with Usama bin Laden and other members of al-Qaeda to kill Americans anywhere in the world, as well as separate charges of murder for the deaths of each of the 224 people killed in the U.S. Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya and various other offenses related to the bombings.

"With his appearance in federal court today, Ahmed Ghailani is being held accountable for his alleged role in the bombing of U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and the murder of 224 people," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "The Justice Department has a long history of securely detaining and successfully prosecuting terror suspects through the criminal justice system, and we will bring that experience to bear in seeking justice in this case."

The chart below details the charges against Ghailani and the statutory maximum penalties. The public is reminded that the charges and allegations contained in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Count(s) Description of Charge Maximum Penalties
Counts 1 - 6: Conspiracies to Murder, Bomb, and Maim

1 Conspiracy to Kill U.S. Nationals
Life
2 Conspiracy to Murder, Kidnap, and Maim At Places Outside the
United States
Life
3 Conspiracy to Murder
Life
4 Conspiracy to Use Weapons of Mass Destruction Against U.S.
Nationals
Death or life
5 Conspiracy to Destroy Buildings and Property of the United States
Life (mandatory minimum of 20 years)
6 Conspiracy to Attack National Defense Utilities
10 years

Counts 7 - 286: The Africa Bombings

7 Bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya
Death or life (mandatory minimum of 20 years)
8 Bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Death or life (mandatory minimum of 20 years)
9 Use and Attempted Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction Against U.S.
Nationals in Nairobi, Kenya
Death or life
10 Use and Attempted Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction Against U.S.
Nationals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Death or life
11-223 Murders in Nairobi, Kenya
Death or mandatory life
224-234 Murders in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Death or mandatory life
235-275 Murder of U.S. Employees in Nairobi, Kenya
Death or mandatory life
276 Attempted Murder of U.S. Employees in Nairobi, Kenya
20 years
277-278 Murder of U.S. Employees in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Death or mandatory life
279 Attempted Murder of U.S. Employees in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
20 years
280-281 Murder of Internationally Protected Persons in Nairobi, Kenya
Death or mandatory life
282 Attempted Murder of Internationally Protected Persons in Nairobi,
Kenya
20 years
283 Attempted Murder of Internationally Protected Persons in Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania
20 years
284 Using and Carrying An Explosive During the Commission of A Felony
10 years consecutive
285 Using and Carrying A Dangerous Device During the Bombing Of the
U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya
30 years consecutive
286 Using and Carrying A Dangerous Device During the Bombing Of the
U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Life or 30 years consecutive

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