Obama makes shameful decision to boycott UN anti-racism conference

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:

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.