A San Francisco rabbi has invited Judge Richard Goldstone to have his grandson’s barmitzvah in California, after Judge Goldstone agreed not to attend the barmitzvah in South Africa.
Rabbi Michael Lerner, of Beit Tikkun Synagogue in Berkeley, the founder of Tikkun Magazine, said that both Judge Goldstone and his grandson would be honoured at the barmitzvah in San Francisco.
Judge Goldstone authored the controversial UN report into Operation Cast Lead, finding both Israel and Hamas guilty of war crimes. He agreed not to attend his grandson’s barmitzvah because of possible protests.
The South African Zionist Federation and Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Synagogue in Johannesburg reached an agreement with the family that he would not attend.
