Obama makes shameful decision to boycott UN anti-racism conference

by on April 19, 2009 25

It's official, the Obama administration has decided to boycott the Durban Review Conference being held this week in Geneva. This is a shameful decision from an administration whose election provided such an important milestone in the United States' own journey to reconcile its history of racism, slavery and white supremacy.

The conference is a follow up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa in 2001. The US walked out of that conference due to criticism of Israel and Zionism (and pressure over reparations for slavery also allegedly played a role). The State Department has said the US is boycotting the review conference for the same reasons. There was a concerted effort by Israel and the Israel lobby here in the US to pressure the US to boycott and they are wasting no time in celebrating the victory:

Israel's ambassador to the UN Geneva headquarters, Aharon (Ronny) Leshno-Yaar:


The United Nations conference has been left
devoid of any moral validity, now that prominent nations have decided
not to attend it. . . . [Leshno-Yaar believes other nations will follow and that it would be] "a great victory for Israel."

American Jewish Committee:

"We applaud the principled stance of the United States," said AJC Executive Director David A. Harris. "The Obama Administration correctly concluded that the reaffirmation of the 2001 Durban Declaration in the final declaration effectively singles out Israel for condemnation. That is an outrage.”

And by far the most Orwellian of the bunch, AIPAC:

President Obama's decision not to send U.S.
representation to the event is the right thing to do and underscores
America's unstinting commitment to combating intolerance and racism in
all its forms and in all settings.

Ironically, much work had been done to edit the official language of the review conference to remove all references to Israel and Zionism in an effort to persuade the US and others to participate. In addition, the UN banned any side events dealing with Israel/Palestine from the official program. Doesn't seem to have mattered. In the end, the UN sacrificed the message of the conference without gaining any international support.

The Obama administration has repeatedly said it hopes to restore the US's standing in the world, but this is most definitely a step in the wrong direction. This will only reconfirm for many that when it comes to Israel/Palestine – one of the clearest examples of inequality, intolerance and racism in our time – the US continues to stand on the wrong side.

About Adam Horowitz

Adam Horowitz is Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East

{ 25 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. Richard Witty says:
    April 19, 2009 at 1:19 pm

    In addition, the UN banned any side events dealing with Israel/Palestine from the official program.

    The link that was included there did not refer to side events at all.

    I wish the US found a way to go.

    The statement by the Israeli minister stated that the formative document DID include references to Israel not directly, but by including language that affirmed conclusions from the 2001 meeting.

  2. Jacqueline_Hyde says:
    April 19, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    The UN is the most abused and traduced institution in the world. Its representatives are regularly murdered with complete impunity. Its decrees ignored by all sides. It depends on the fickle charity of its wealthiest members whose self-interest trumps any concern for "unity".

    And yet one and all declare: We are One People on One Planet. Go figure.

  3. Adam says:
    April 19, 2009 at 1:33 pm

    Re: side events. From the IPS article:

    However, two weeks ago, the UN High Commissioner's office unilaterally cancelled all side-events pertaining to Palestine issues. Ingrid Jarradat- Gassner, director of the BADIL Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights in Bethlehem, one of several Palestine-based organisations attending the Durban Review conference, tells IPS that BADIL and the other NGOs had organised a side-event specifically about how and why they see Israel as a "regime of institutionalised racial discrimination on both sides of the Green Line."

    "As Palestinian NGOs and other NGOs working on the issue of Israel and its violations against the rights of the Palestinian people, we were expecting that there would be a possibility for us to organise these side-events during the official Durban review conference in Geneva," Jarradat-Gassner says. "We were informed by the UN itself that this would be possible."

  4. Kevin Keene says:
    April 19, 2009 at 1:39 pm

    President Obama promised he'd talk with leaders and countries he disagreed with. To open a dialouge, a debate. He has done so with Chavez and Cuba. But this decision shows a total absence of leadership and a shift away from his campaign promises. This is a shameful lack of leadership that we can not ignore.

  5. MRW. says:
    April 19, 2009 at 2:07 pm

    You ought see the comments on HuffPo about this. The ADL probably got up this AM and sent out an email blast to the anointed with talking points.

  6. Susie Kneedler says:
    April 19, 2009 at 2:18 pm

    NPR just now repeated the canard that Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be wiped off the map.

  7. anon 0 says:
    April 19, 2009 at 2:25 pm

    when the boss commands…

    5ds

  8. anon 0 says:
    April 19, 2009 at 2:31 pm

    from some 'news' service

    Pirate crew hunted down
    NATO warships and helicopters pursued the pirates after their attack on a tanker failed. a mr david brooks leads the charge of the light brigade in pursuit of muslim pirates.

    now hunt down the real pirates(at least what movies have told us pirates are) – wall st, k st, jerusalem-of-the-jews.

    how much cleaner and better and more equal the world.

    5ds

  9. otto says:
    April 19, 2009 at 2:31 pm

    Many of the MSM practice what might be called "casual Zionism" when reporting on this conference.

    Take the FT's piece on the run-up to the conference – link and first two paras below. There's no voice at all given to anyone justifying why such a conference might have a special focus on Israel, even though of course it's common practice for newpapers to offer at least a snippet of direct quotation of both sides' public statements in any controversies, even when it's a side which the newspaper is unsympathetic too.

    And note that the FT is actually better on Palestine than many other newspapers — it even wrote editorials to defend Walt and Mearsheimer's views in part. But it can't help normalising casual dismissal of the possibility of genuine harsh criticism of Israel – of jewish colonialism – on anti-racist grounds.

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/494fe5c0-2bba-11de-b806-00144feabdc0.html

    "A United Nations conference on fighting worldwide racism and xenophobia opens in Geneva on Monday with the US still undecided as of Friday about whether or not to attend.

    The controversy over US participation in the so-called Durban Review Conference has seen Barack Obama, US president, come under pressure from pro-Israel groups to boycott a rerun of what was branded an anti-Semitic “hate-fest” at a previous summit in South Africa in 2001."

  10. anon 0 says:
    April 19, 2009 at 2:49 pm

    when the boss commands, its lackeys obey

    and

    the troops march:

    Ynetnews 03.04.09, 09:11

    The International March of the Living has announced that precisely while many countries will be convening in Geneva for the Durban II gatherings, 10,000 youths—Jewish and non-Jewish—will be at the gates of Auschwitz on Tuesday, April 21, to give the next generation a strong platform to "Say No to Hatred Today."

    "no to hatred". better to look deeply into your mirror

    5ds

  11. Richard says:
    April 19, 2009 at 3:20 pm

    Durban II is a joke. Just look at what the mostly 3rd world countries who voted for it. Then their at THEIR human rights record. Durban is about those counties that are the biggest abusers of human rights co-opting the already corrupt UN.

    Need help doing your research. Just go to. link to un.org
    and look at the resolutions and who voted for and against them.

    Durban is a scam and fool of political agendas. And its a shame as I believe the subject is important and good people are involved. But get real.

  12. otto says:
    April 19, 2009 at 3:25 pm

    The human rights record of many African countries that criticised Apartheid was also poor. But they were still right to make Apartheid South Africa the centerpiece of international criticism.

    The same applies to Israel.

  13. shoot and cry says:
    April 19, 2009 at 3:27 pm

    I, too, was disappointed by the article in the FT, which, as Otto notes, is generally better than US newspapers on I/P matters (and everything else).

    I sent this email to the journalist but received no reply:

    Dear Mr. Morris,
    I was pleased that in your short article referenced above you were able to make space for a paragraph devoted to Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre. (The scary photo of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad was also a nice touch.) I looked in vain, however, for a statement from the Palestinian side as to whether they regard their treatment at the hands of Israel as racist.

    As for the “book-length” 2001 Durban Declaration “aiming to categorise Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians as racist”, while it was indeed prolix at 62 pages in length I was able to find mention of Israel only on p.13 and p.48. www.unhchr.ch/pdf/Durban.pdf). Perhaps you are referring to a different version.

    May I take it from your article that the primary issue is not that the Occupation and Siege of the West Bank and Gaza are racist in nature (not to mention that splendid little “war” a few months ago) but rather any criticism of Israel is inherently anti-Semitic? A most curious article.
    Kind regards,
    ……

  14. Jack Brown says:
    April 19, 2009 at 3:28 pm

    George Washington on Israel

    “A passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification.” ~George Washington, ~page 269 of The 5000 Year Leap.

    “The nation which indulges toward another habitual hatred or habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interests." ~ George Washington

    "Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none." ~ Thomas Jefferson

  15. Citizen says:
    April 19, 2009 at 3:30 pm

    It's clear from this thread that Jews are immune from is asked of the rest of the world.

  16. Margaret says:
    April 19, 2009 at 3:46 pm

    Thanks for the quotes, Jack.

  17. anon 0 says:
    April 19, 2009 at 4:45 pm

    another attachment that needs removing:

    in tough times such as present, a good place to cut waste of tax dollars is the jewish museum in dc and every where else it exists. doubly funded by gentiles via direct tax dollars and tax deducted private donations

    5ds

  18. D. says:
    April 19, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    having trouble following the subject of this thread, 5ds?

  19. anon 0 says:
    April 19, 2009 at 7:08 pm

    racism conference and how to be an anti semite held daily at jewish museum in dc and others(there are 4 at every intersection).

    defunding would be an act of anti racism and a humane act.

    5ds

  20. anon 0 says:
    April 19, 2009 at 7:09 pm

    others s/b and other jewish museums elsewhere

    5ds

  21. ... says:
    April 19, 2009 at 8:04 pm

    Jacqueline_Hyde.. i agree with you completely… the usa made that their unofficial policy from sometime prior to the invasion of iraq and it still persists… no surprise the usa will not be going to this conference… it will imply a level of objectivity they are still incapable of…

    otto 3:25pm… excellent point, lost on the wittys of the world…

  22. Joe Schick says:
    April 19, 2009 at 10:19 pm

    Amazing that the MSM ignores The Lobby's ability to get Sweden, Italy and Germany to boycott Durban II.

    Can't those Jews stick to controlling America?

  23. Joe Schick says:
    April 19, 2009 at 10:21 pm

    By the way, is Richard Witty Jewish? If so, he seems like a nice reasonable Jew, albeit a bit misguided due to his race. I think we should exclude him from the majority of Jews.

  24. D. says:
    April 20, 2009 at 10:31 am

    “The word Zionism personifies racism that falsely resorts to religion and abuses religious sentiments to hide their hatred and ugly faces.” (Ahmadinejad speaking at the conference today)

  25. rykart says:
    April 20, 2009 at 4:26 pm

    Bravissimo, Ahmadinejad!

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