Atlas Shrugs

Australia Pulls Out of Jew-Hatefest, Annihilationist Durban III -- Why is Germany Still in?

Australia has pulled out of the United Nations Durban III conference because it is an Islamic supremacist hatefest, a Jew-hating orgy of racism and blood libel. I am not sure why they waited so long, but better late than never.

The first UN anti-racism conference held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001 was one Nazi short of a Wannsee conference. It was pro-racism, a Judeophobic, bloodthirsty carnival. Attendees passed out  fliers with Hitler’s photo, that said “What if I had won? The good things: there would be no Israel.”

The US walked out on the notorious Durban I conference because of its unbridled attacks on Israel, led by Iran and a number of other Muslim countries.

Durban II was worse. The star of that bloody freak show was Iranian President and holocaust denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. So foul was his stench that  early on, he prompted a walk-out by many Western envoys who despicably attended, because of his virulent anti-Israel tirades.

Durban III is scheduled to be in New York shortly after the tenth anniversary of the 911 attacks in the cause of Islam. That is no accident. Durban III is an Islamic supremacist victory lap in NYC on September 22.

We will be protesting this grotesque display of hate and genocidal dreams at the AFDI/SIOA 911 Freedom Rally, where we will defend Israel against the defamation it is relentlessly subjected to at Durban.

Australian Prime Minister Gillard's spokesman said that Australia had remained involved in the early stages of consultations on the High Level Meeting in order to oppose attempts to endorse extreme language or explicit references in the text of the Durban Declaration. Obviously the level of hateful posion and propaganda was so bad that Australia could not tone down the language, so they had to bolt.

Defending Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s decision to walk away from the Durban III event on Tuesday, her spokesman said: “We have not been convinced that the high-level meeting will avoid unbalanced criticism of Israel and the airing of anti-Semitic views.”

Not that Australia should have to defend its boycott. Attending the Durban hate-fest is what is indefensible.

Australia now is part of the anti-Durban camp, which includes Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Israel, the United States, and the Czech Republic.

Germany is still signed on to what amounts to this century's Nazi campaign to destroy the Jewish people.

Germany’s Jews called on Merkel to boycott Durban III. The Head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany said that Germany oought to not give this campaign of hate the appearance of legitimacy.

BERLIN – Dieter Graumann, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, called on Berlin Monday to stay away from the slated September UN anti-racism conference, Durban III, because the event spreads hatred of Jews.

Graumann told the DAPD wire service that the “German government has up until now remained silent,” and the Durban III conference is a “festival of hostility toward Jews.” He said “Germany ought to not give this campaign of hate the appearance of legitimacy.”

Germany, with its monstrous history, should have been the first to denounce and pull out of the conference.

Sacha Stawski, who heads the pro- Israel NGO Honestly Concerned in Frankfurt, told the Post on Tuesday that “Australia is out, just like Canada, the Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States, so why is Israel’s supposed ‘best friend’ still vowing to attend a conference at which the holocaust-denying Iranian president is going to be speaking? “For me, there is absolutely no excuse for Germany still not to have withdrawn its participation in Durban III.

Props to Austalia.

Australia pulls out of Durban conference Herald Sun

AUSTRALIA has pulled out of the United Nations Durban conference to combat racism on grounds that it would likely to be a repeat of the initial racist and anti-semitic event.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Australia had decided not to attend the High Level Meeting on the Durban Declaration and Plan of Action scheduled to be held in New York on September 22.

Referred to as the Durban conference after the original event held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, the meeting was aimed at combating global racism. However, it was marred by anti-Semitism.

Australia and many other countries walked out of the first meeting while the Kevin Rudd government subsequently boycotted the second conference in 2009, which saw Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad deliver a long tirade against Israel.

Ms Gillard's spokesman said Australia remained involved in the early stages of consultations on the High Level Meeting in order to oppose attempts to endorse extreme language or explicit references in the text of the Durban Declaration.

Cartoon passed out at Durban.
 

Protest Durban/Wannsee Conference at 911 Freedom Rally at Ground Zero

On September 11th, AFDI/SIOA is holding a Freedom Rally at Ground Zero in defense of liberty and in opposition to the Ground Zero mosque and Durban III. The UN-sponsored Durban III, an obscene Islamic-driven hatefest boycotted by decent and free nations, is holding its wannabe Wannsee Conference on September 22 (11 + 11 = 22) in New York City. I am surprised they are not holding it on 911 in the Ground Zero mosque -- it's only a matter of time. The very idea of Islamic supremacists descending upon Manhattan around the same time as the tenth anniversary of the 911 jihadi attacks is nothing short of a victory lap. This cannot stand.

The Durban III conference follows upon two previous conferences that scapegoated and demonized the state of Israel in service of Islamic jihad and Islamic supremacist interests. The rally will defend Israel against the defamation to which it will be subjected at this conference. It will also call upon the city to remove roadblocks to the reconstruction of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which was destroyed on 9/11 and since then mired in bureaucratic red tape that has prevented its rebuilding – in stark contrast to the help Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials have given to the Ground Zero Mosque project.

AFDI/SIOA is one of America’s foremost organizations defending human rights, religious liberty, and the freedom of speech against Islamic supremacist intimidation and attempts to bring elements of Sharia to the United States.

U.N. 'Anti-Racism' Conference Bringing Unseemly Characters to New York  by Anne Bayefsky, The Weekly Standard.

Plans for the U.N.’s “anti-racism” event known as Durban III, which will be held in New York City on September 22, 2011, just got a whole lot uglier. A new draft of the final declaration that U.N. organizers hope will be adopted by over a hundred world leaders, who will be on hand for the annual opening of the General Assembly, is now circulating. And a coalition of extremist non-governmental organizations has announced plans to spend four days in New York around the time of the event to champion a pointed message: Zionism is racism, which fits with the Durban Declaration, adopted in South Africa in 2001 that charged Israel – and only Israel – with racism.

The United States and Israel walked out of the notorious 2001 anti-Semitic hatefest, and ever since, the U.N. has been trying to legitimize it. Durban II, held in Geneva in April 2009,
“reaffirmed” the Durban Declaration but was boycotted for that reason by the United States, Canada, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands.

Durban III is intended to be the resurrection campaign. Hence, the draft political declaration states: “We, heads of State and Government…stress that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action [DDPA] adopted in 2001 as well as the Outcome Document of the Durban Review Conference in 2009, provide the most comprehensive United Nations framework and solid foundation for combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.”

Orwellian doubletalk for Islamic Jew-hatred, ethnic cleansing and Islamic imperialism.

The United States, Israel, Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, and the Netherlands have already pulled out of Durban III. But, surprisingly, many other countries, such as Germany, are still sitting on the fence. At the last round of negotiations over the wording of the final declaration, which took place in July, the German representative made a commitment: He promised that singling out individual countries or “reaffirming” the declaration or outcome of Durban I and II would be “clearly unacceptable.” Now we wait to find out if Germany has the courage of its alleged 21st century convictions. Poland should make up its decision now, too, for similar reasons. Australia, desperately seeking a seat on the Security Council, is trembling off-stage knowing that Canada was defeated at the last vote for Council seats because of its refusal to be intimidated by the powerful Islamic front at the U.N. And the United Kingdom and France have run out of excuses.

The diplomatic chicanery has left the field wide open for Durban III fans. Which explains why a “Durban + 10 Coalition” of at least 32 non-governmental organizations is busy planning events surrounding the conference in New York “to honor the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the DDPA.” Their self-described intention is to “stand opposed to the slander…against the DDPA...by the United States, Canada, Israel and several members of the European Union…to suppress the rights and demands of the many groups protected by the Durban Declaration, including…the Palestinian people.”

The 2010 General Assembly resolution authorizing Durban III says the theme of the event will be “victims of racism.” The final draft declaration demands that participating countries “proclaim together our strong determination to make the fight against racism…and the protection of the victims thereof a high priority for our countries.” And the Durban Declaration maintains that Palestinians are victims of Israeli racism.

Hence, the “Durban + 10 coalition” includes such “human rights” exemplars as the “U.S. Palestinian Community Network” and the “International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.” The website of the former NGO declares, “Israel is an apartheid state.” The latter’s website says, “Zionism, in all its forms, must be stopped.... We pledge to: oppose Zionism and the state of Israel. Zionism is racist…Israel makes common cause with Christian fundamentalists … It continues a long history of Zionist collusion with repressive and violent regimes, from Nazi Germany to the South African Apartheid regime…” Jews become Nazis, in this twisted frame of reference.

In other words, for those states still pretending that the Durban Declaration and its progeny, including Durban III, are the right venue to commit themselves to the fight against racism, there is no wiggle room left. Are they in or out? For or against anti-Semitism?

Not coincidentally, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be speaking at the U.N. General Assembly on the same day as Durban III. The Iranian president was the only head of state to attend Durban II. His enthusiasm for the Durban Declaration is something of a stumbling block to U.N. legitimatization plans. So, interestingly, U.N. officials are apparently attempting to juggle the timing of Ahmadinejad’s speech by inserting another event into the General Assembly hall at his expected speaking time. If the announced speakers stick to the schedule, it will likely force him into a slot later in the day.

So what suitable meeting did U.N. folks decide should precede Ahmadinejad? A “high-level meeting on nuclear safety and security.” Too clever by half. Now a rabid racist who is bent on acquiring nuclear weapons will grace the scene of the Durban III festivities and likely mount the podium shortly after a U.N. spectacle billed as saving the planet from nuclear catastrophe.

Nobody should be laughing, especially when one considers that this debacle will take place shortly after the ten-year anniversary of September 11, 2001.

Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance - a pragmatic primer for patriots, get it. Commit it to memory.

AFDI/SIOA Documentary: The Ground Zero Mosque: The Second Wave of the 911 Attacks

U.S. to Boycott Durban III Racism Conference UPDATE: But US Will Attend Second, Racist U.N. Human Rights Council event in Geneva "in the context of the tenth anniversary of the Durban Declaration.”

I applaud the Obama administration's decision to boycott the racist, antisemitic Islamic conference sponsored by the UN.

We will be protesting Durban as part of our 911 rally at Ground Zero. Clearly Durban scheduled their conference in NY very close to the tenth anniversary of the Islamic attack on America on September 11th. Durban is their victory lap.

AFDI/SIOA Announces Worldwide Protest of Racism Hatefest Durban III Set for NYC, Sept 2011

U.S. to Boycott Durban III Racism Conference - Nicole Gaouette
The U.S. has announced it won't attend the 10-year commemoration of the UN Durban conference on combating racism on Sep. 21 in New York. Acting Assistant Secretary of State Joseph Macmanus said that the U.S. voted against the UN resolution establishing the 2011 event because the so-called Durban process "included ugly displays of intolerance and anti-Semitism and we did not want to see that commemorated."  (Bloomberg)
    See also Conference of Presidents Lauds Administration Decision Not to Participate in "Durban III" Conference (Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations)

UPDATE: Anne Bayefsky provides the backstory on the US pull-out:

With President Obama’s anti-Israel hostility becoming an increasing liability for Democrats, the administration finally decided Wednesday to pull out of the U.N.’s upcoming Israel-bashing extravaganza known as “Durban III.” Believe it or not, the notorious U.N. world summit on racism is coming to New York City in September with the purpose of “commemorating” the ten-year anniversary of the racist “anti-racism” conference held in Durban, South Africa in 2001.

Mr. Obama's latest lead-from-behind foreign policy move comes seven months after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government first declared “we will not be part of this event, which commemorates an agenda that promotes racism rather than combats it.”

The decision appears to be a clear reaction to the negative political fallout surrounding Mr. Obama's recent veiled attempt to shove indefensible borders down Israel’s throat.

During Obama’s speech to the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC on May 22, he specifically referred to his decision not to attend the “Durban II” or “Durban review conference,” which was held in Geneva in 2009. But he made no mention of of U.S. participation in the 2011 Durban III event, though it would have been an ideal audience for such an announcement had he already reached a decision on it.

In 2009 President Obama decided -- just 36 hours before the meeting began -- that there was something wrong with a conference on xenophobia and intolerance headlined by Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

It was a costly delay, which saved the U.N. from even more embarrassment, as many other states would have acted in tandem with the United States and boycotted Durban II with sufficient planning.

Evidently, on May 22 the president still thought he could pull the same dawdling stunt again.

But with Democrats scrambling to recover from the president’s profound alienation of large numbers of voters deeply sympathetic to Israel, the June 1 announcement was made and dressed up as a response to a letter “from Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.” The old letter from last December was actually signed by 9 Democrats, 8 Republicans, and 1 independent, and post-dated a boycott call of the racism summit made by Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in November.

The better-late-than-never decision is not as simple, however, as it seems.

First, the U.N. General Assembly is currently negotiating a resolution on the “modalities” of Durban III. In plain English, there has been a difficult and protracted debate behind-the-scenes about the organization of the summit. The European Union, in particular, is looking for procedural dodges that will help it avoid the split that occurred during Durban II, when some EU states boycotted and others did not.Unfortunately for EU pencil-pushers, there is no escaping that the substance of the meeting is irrevocably poisoned.

By virtue of a 2010 General Assembly resolution, the purpose of Durban III is to celebrate a world conference that reveled in anti-semitism and to adopt a final declaration that reaffirms the original Durban Declaration. That’s the Declaration supposedly to combat racism, xenophobia and related intolerance but that somehow manages to charge just one of the 192 UN members with racism, namely, Israel.

The Obama administration has given no indication that it will encourage EU allies to break ranks and boycott Durban III, by insisting on a vote on this resolution and voting against.

Second, the U.N. Human Rights Council is poised to hold an event in Geneva on June 15 also “in the context of the tenth anniversary of the Durban Declaration.” With the Obama administration on the Council it appears set to attend events over there hoping nobody will notice over here.

But the Council and U.N. High Commissioner Navi Pillay – a native of Durban and chief champion of the Durban Declaration – have planned a three-hour panel discussion featuring seven carefully-selected speakers. They include, for instance, extremist Mireille Fanon-Mendes. As recently as April 25 of this year, Fanon-Mendes told the “Electronic Intifada” that Israel was an apartheid state and she supported the first and second Palestinian intifadas as well as blockade-running flotillas and the international prosecution of Israelis as war criminals.

The Durban illness runs deep. The U.N. human rights system, led by the High Commissioner and Human Rights Council, has perverted the fight against racism into a fight against the Jewish state, a democratic freedom-loving home to more than a million Arabs and a bulwark against the ravages of anti-semitism for all Jews.

Remember that the streets of Durban pulsated with signs reading “for the liberation of Quds, machine guns based on FAITH and ISLAM must be used” and “the martyr’s blood irrigates the tree of revolution in Palestine,” while the gross intolerance inside the Durban meeting halls ended on September 8, 2001. Given the inextricable connection between hate and violence, shunning Durban III on September 22 in New York City just days after the tenth anniversary of 9/11 was a no-brainer.

Now comes the hard part. U.N. demonization of Israel serves to justify Palestinian rejection of negotiations and coexistence, which in turn fuels U.N. support of a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood.

The cycle will only be broken if Palestinians and their U.N. enablers are made to face real consequences for attempting to reap the rewards of hate-mongering.

DURBAN II UPDATE: GERMANY, HOLLAND BOYCOTT .... ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF BRITAIN IS GOING TO HATEFEST

England is finished. It cannot stand for itself, how could it stand against jihad? It can't stand against the jihad in its own country. I am proud of the US, thankful that Obama did the right thing. America stood against genocidal annihilationists and the world followed suit. Which is why it was so important that the US take such a stand. Canada pulled out in January 2008.

In the struggle between good and evil, the lines are drawn.

 

The US walked out on Durban I. This is worse.

The Durban conference became notorious for its unbridled attacks on Israel, led by Iran and a number of other Arab states.

This time, a number of countries are awaiting a final decision by America — which has agreed to send a delegation to Geneva for an organisational meeting in the next few days — before they clarify their position. Jewish NGOs held an informal meeting on Sunday before the start of the conference to agree their strategy.

They were waiting for the US -- the Brits didn't have the spine to stand up. They live on their knees.

Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch-Brown said on Tuesday: “If we can’t go forward now, we will withdraw. I was at the first conference. I have never seen such a disgraceful event in quite a long international life.”

And they are going!

Later, he said: “There are red lines that need to be made for us to participate. The US is in the same position as most of Europe. We are not going to stand idly by and allow this racist stuff to get through and be seen as acceptable. We are not going to have it.”

At a dinner for delegates on Monday night, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said: “We will not send an Italian delegation [if it is the same as Durban 2001], but we will try to harmonise our position with other countries who are the friends of Jews. But we will leave a decision until the last minute.”

Italy is out.

Britain Will Attend Durban 2, Germany and Holland Will Not

(IsraelNN.com) Holland and Germany announced Sunday that they will boycott the ‘Durban 2’ conference in Geneva. The Dutch and Germans join Israel, the U.S., Canada, Australia and Italy in boycotting the United Nations event that will be opened on Monday with a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Caricature handed out at Durban 1 conference (from eyeontheun.org)

Related:

Sweden and US Will Not Attend Racist Anti-Racism Conference Durban II UPDATE: Australia joins Boycott

UPDATE: There's one in every crowd: As the United States and other world leaders pull out of Durban II Conference, Swiss President chooses to meet with Holocaust denier Ahmadinejad

The United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, Israel and the Netherlands have pulled out of the 2009 Durban Review Conference to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday April 20 – Friday, April 24.

 Other nations such as Germany are waiting until the last moment to decide whether to participate or not.  U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday that the United States had decided to boycott the conference because the draft for the summit risked declaring "hypocritical allegations" against Israel.  The text affirms in total the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action from 2001. This text singled out Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians as racist.

The conference is chaired by Libya with Iran and Cuba serving as the vice chairs. [10] The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is one of the few world leaders who are scheduled to address the gathering.

President Ahmadinejad has threatened to “wipe Israel off the map” and denies the Holocaust.[13] Iran is a major supporter of the terrorist organizations Hamas  and Hezbollah [15] and defied the international community by refusing to end its enrichment program. 

Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz is meeting with Ahmadinejad tonight, Sunday, April 19, 2009

JIHAD JEWISH LEADERSHIP: "DURBAN DUPLOMACY"

The Jewish lay leadership has, for years, been failing, misinforming and deceiving the Jewish American diaspora. I am thrilled that Glick, Phillips and Bayefsky have finally called these assclowns on their complicity with Jew haters. I have been railing on these kapos for years. They have been selling their brothers down the river for years (Mort Klein not included in this motley crew of craven sellouts.)

Durban II Alert
A Response to David Harris (AJC)

By Caroline Glick, Melanie Phillips and Anne Bayefsky (J Post)

It stands to reason that that David Harris would be sensitive to criticism of the AJC's participation in planning "Durban II." [David Harris blog, "Durban Diplomacy", March 15, 2009] After all, by taking part in the Durban II planning process on a US government delegation, AJC contemptuously ignored repeated calls from Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Minister Isaac Herzog for the United States government to stay away and announce it will not participate, period. Israel's priority, and the priority of much of the American Jewish community was to delegitimize the hate-fest, not place an AJC representative on its planning committee.

The fact of the matter is that the only reason the US made a tactical retreat from the process was the pressure created by criticisms such as ours, along with protests made by Israel, Canada, and other American Jewish organizations and leaders.

For more than a year, the AJC has conducted an extensive lobbying campaign of the American government and of foreign governments to stay in Durban II.

On December 11, 2008 Harris told The Jerusalem Post: "We can't afford to declare Durban II lost without more focus on diplomacy." On January 12, 2009 the AJC's human rights arm, the Blaustein Institute, wrote to Secretary Clinton and UN Ambassador Susan Rice: "The Durban Review Conference provides an opportunity to review states' progress in the implementation of their commitments to combat racism made in 2001... While some organizations are calling for a US boycott, we believe that is the wrong decision at this time." As recently as February 22, 2009 Harris told the Post: "Our position on Durban II is clear. We have publicly praised France and the Netherlands, among other countries, for insisting on clear red lines and threatening to withdraw if they are breached."

If they are breached? The AJC's own UN monitoring body, UN Watch, reported the breach had occurred on October 28, 2008, in a report aptly called "Shattering the Red Lines: The Durban II Draft Declaration." Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice-chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations told the Post on December 11, 2008: "We clearly see that all the red lines that have been enumerated by the Europeans have been violated."

Under the guise of ever-shifting red lines (that in any incarnation Israel and the rest of the Jewish world understood were crossed long ago), AJC has caused great damage to Israel's diplomatic standing.

Contrary to much misinformation, the fact of the matter is that the Obama administration has not made a final decision about whether it will attend Durban II. Its recent departure from the planning sessions in Geneva left the door open for cosmetic changes to the text of the conference declaration that, if made, would allow its negotiators to claim a spurious victory.

The key point which Harris chooses to ignore is that the agreed objective of Durban II is to reaffirm and implement the 2001 Durban Declaration. That document singles out Israel for censure and says that Palestinians are victims of Israeli racism. Consequently any attempted sanitizing of the latest text will be worthless, since by definition the new Declaration will re-affirm the 2001 singling out and demonization of Israel.

Then too, Harris's claim that the US's tactical withdrawal from the planning sessions will make other nations more likely to walk away from Durban II is both incorrect and misleading. The ambiguity of the US's current position has held back the Australians and the British from withdrawing since they do not want to be double-crossed by an Obama administration that eventually attends. Absent a clear American stand, the French and the Germans are putting enormous pressure on Italy and the Netherlands not to break ranks with the rest of the EU - which have no intention of leaving. Initial suggestions by both countries that they would not go are now in doubt.

Worse still, as a quid pro quo for its tactical retreat from Durban II, the US is on the verge of announcing that it will run for a seat (election is a foregone conclusion) on the UN Human Rights Council - a move strongly advocated by none other than the AJC's human rights institute. In the words of an AJC press release January 29, 2007: "The human rights arm of the American Jewish Committee is urging the United States to seek membership on the UN Human Rights Council." The Council has adopted more resolutions and decisions condemning Israel than all other 191 UN member states combined. By joining the UN Human Rights Council, the Obama administration will be legitimizing a body dedicated to the delegitimization of Israel.

It is shameful that the AJC has chosen to join this cynical and sinister process, whose outcome can only be to weaken Israel and strengthen her enemies. And it is outrageous that the AJC has sought to defend its participation in the process by attacking those who point out the consequences of its actions.

No one knows whether the Obama administration or other Western governments will finally stand their ground against pro-Durban, anti-Jewish and anti-democratic forces. What is certain, however, is that if the Obama administration, European countries or Australia do decide to stay out and the West thus finally says no to the substance of Durban I, it will be through the efforts of all those who have tried to delegitimize the process rather than those whose actions have effectively helped an unconscionable exercise come to fruition.

OT but related: Jewish Organizations Are Failing the Jews

Anti-Semitism sweeps across the West and most Jewish groups are more concerned about glad-handing and global warming.

PRESIDENT HUSSEIN BARES HIS TEETH: HELPS TO PLAN GENOCIDAL CONFERENCE DURBAN 2

DURBAN WATCH
I did not think such blatant anti-semitism was possible by an American President -   Jews were warned. Canada is boycotting the conference and Israel's Foreign Ministry has tried in recent months to convince European Union countries to also avoid participating.

The first Durban conference: The Durban Conference held in 2001 was supposed to help the international fight against racism.

Instead, it degenerated into an Israel-bashing session and the U.S. delegation, as you know, walked out.

Colin Powell, who was then Secretary of State, had it right when he said, “You do not combat racism by conferences that produce declarations containing hateful language, some of which is a throwback to the days of ‘Zionism equals racism’; or supports the ideas that we have made too much of the Holocaust; or suggests that apartheid exists in Israel; or that singles out only one country in the world, Israel, for censure and abuse.”

U.S. fends off Israeli pressure, decides to help plan 'Durban 2 Haaretz hat tip jane

The Obama administration said late Saturday it would participate in planning a United Nations conference on racism, despite concerns the meeting will be used by Arab nations and others to criticize Israel.

The U.S. will decide later whether to participate in "Durban 2," the second UN-sponsored World Conference Against Racism.

The State Department said it would send diplomats next week to participate in preparatory meetings for the World Conference Against Racism, which is set to be held in Geneva, Switzerland in April and which some countries including Israel have already decided to boycott.

In a statement released late Saturday, the State Department said the U.S. delegation to the planning discussions would review current direction of conference preparations and whether U.S. participation in the conference itself is warranted.

Officials in Jerusalem expressed concern that Israel and Barack Obama's administration are on a collision course over the U.S. decision to participate in the conference.

The Foreign Ministry has sought to block efforts by senior U.S. officials to convince Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to alter American policy set during the Bush administration not to attend the conference, which is regarded by Israel as a forum of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli vitriol.

Israel is boycotting the conference because a declaration equating Zionism with racism is expected to be made there. In addition, it is expected that the organizers and participants will charge that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians, and, like before in Durban, will make anti-Semitic statements.

The Bush administration agreed with Israel last year that the U.S. would not participate unless it received guarantees that the conference would not become a stage for anti-Semitism and one-sided criticism of Israel, as occured during the first Durban meeting in 2001.

Canada also announced that it was boycotting the conference and the Foreign Ministry has tried in recent months to convince European Union countries to also avoid participating.

The Foreign Ministry received confidential telegraphs from Israel's embassies in Washington, the United Nations and Geneva, about a possible change in the policy of the new U.S. administration regarding "Durban 2."

"Iran and Arab countries will once more take over the conference, and if the U.S. participates in 'Durban 2,' it will be a major blow," a senior Israeli diplomat told Haaretz. "This will pull the rug from under us and will lead to the participation of many more countries in the conference."

In one of the telegrams, a number of Obama officials reportedly pressed Secretary of State Clinton to announce the U.S. would participate in the conference.

One of the leading officials pressuring Clinton on "Durban 2" is the new U.S. ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, who was Obama's close campaign adviser.

Rice is also pushing for the U.S. to join the UN Human Rights Council, which is based in Geneva. The body had been boycotted by the U.S., in part because of its one-sided criticism of Israel.

President George Bush had accused the HRC of opting to focus on Israel instead of dealing with the genocide in Darfur.

The other official pushing for American participation in "Durban 2" is Samantha Power, another Obama adviser at the National Security Council.

Anne Bayefsky wrote:

Iranian-led Durban II "anti-racism" negotiations end in total disgrace:

Zionism is racism, apartheid Israel and questioning the Holocaust
are now on the Durban II negotiating table

 

Intensive negotiations last week in Geneva have resulted in a new version of the "Draft Outcome Document" for Durban II - released yesterday. Iran - a Vice-Chair of the executive committee for Durban II - played a leading role in the drafting process, speaking more often than any other single state. The result? Now on the negotiating table: Jewish self-determination or Zionism is racism. Israel is guilty of apartheid and the number of Jews murdered in the Holocaust is questionable.

Anne Bayefsky, Editor of EYEontheUN, commented: "this "anti-racism" manifesto is much worse even than its predecessor. Islamic and other rights-abusing states had a field day preparing for Durban II. European states were totally unable to introduce the modifications necessary to protect human rights standards or change the clear intent of the conference."

Here are some of the features now part of negotiations according to the new draft:

• the "law of return" - the core of the self-determination of the Jewish people or Zionism - is racist
• Israel is guilty of crimes against humanity and "a contemporary form of apartheid"
• Israel's security fence is a "segregation wall"
• a provision condemning Israel's actions in Gaza
• while Israel is repeatedly condemned, not one of the other 191 UN states is mentioned
• a proposal to delete reference to the numbers of Jews murdered in the Holocaust - on the grounds that it is questionable
• a claim that "religions" - as opposed to individuals - can be "defamed"
• provisions curtailing free speech - "abuse of freedom of expression"
• efforts to limit and govern the media by "a code of ethical conduct"
• creation of a hierarchy of victims, with Muslim minorities on top - "most disturbing phenomenon is the intellectual and ideological validation of Islamophobia"
• efforts to trump universal rights and freedoms by references to cultural diversity, "cultural particularities," religious and cultural "identities"
• undermining counterterrorism activities by alleging they increase racism
• challenges to any responsibility for the trans-Saharan slave trade and the slave trade in the Indian Ocean
• introducing "anti-Arabism" as intolerance against a religious minority
• attempting to introduce laws against "projecting negative, insulting and derogatory images of religions and religious personalities"
• calls for new laws endangering rights and freedoms, such as, laws on "respect for human rights and reputation, public morals, and incitement to racial and religious hatred and freedom of expression".

The snail's pace of negotiations prompted the drafting committee to add still more preparatory meetings. Meetings now scheduled, in Geneva, are the Intersessional Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group: 16-19 February + 6-9 April 2009, the Preparatory Committee - Third Session: 15-17 April 2009; and Durban II: 20-24 April 2009.

The continued participation of the European Union and Australia in the Durban II forum is legitimizing a global discussion of the veracity of the Holocaust, the legitimacy of a Jewish state, and broad restrictions on freedom of expression - all in the name of "human rights".

President Obama, it is time to announce the United States will stay away from Durban II, together with Canada and Israel.