No anti-Semitism at Durban II: 

Canada should end its boycott of Durban II

Last month, I attended the U.N. Preparatory Conference for the Review of the UN World Conference Against Racism (WCAR), popularly called "Durban II", scheduled for April 2009 in Geneva. As a Jew, I went to assess the validity of the Canadian government's charges that Durban II is anti-Semitic.   I found it was not.  Instead, I witnessed delegates of the world's nations responsibly hammering out an inspiring call to end racism worldwide.

The 2001 WCAR in Durban, South Africa, was a ground-breaking event bringing together over 150 countries (including Canada) and thousands of NGOs, to end racism "in all its forms."  For the world's victims of racism, it raised unprecedented hope that the world's governments would finally commit to end their oppression.  The only states which refused to participate, to their shame, were Israel and the United States. 

The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) focused on concerns of African descendants, Aboriginal people, the Dalit ("untouchables"), Roma, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and many more.  Condemning slavery and human trafficking, it called for reparations. It demanded action on the underlying causes of racism: poverty, war, and global inequality. Among these many issues, it also condemned discrimination against Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation.  At the 2001 NGO pre-conference, a few participants distributed offensive anti-Semitic material, but overwhelmingly other NGOs rejected their message. The UN High Commissioner rejected the entire NGO submission, because of the few anti-Semitic entries. There is literally nothing anti-Semitic in the DDPA.  Out of its 180 pages, only 250 words address concerns of Israel or Palestine, all of which scrupulously respect Jews and Israel.

In the aftermath of Durban I, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the World Jewish Congress' World Jewish Diplomatic Corps (WJDC) mobilized over 20 well-funded pro-Israel lobby groups to discredit and derail Durban II. They characterize WCAR as an "anti-Semitic hate fest" and label any attention to the valid concerns of Palestinians as "anti-Semitic". They defend Israeli discriminatory practices, and condemn the "use of human rights language to discredit a state" (i.e. Israel).  They argue for "freedom of expression," that is, the "freedom" of media to attack Muslims and Islam. They object to the term "Islamophobia," because, they say, religions aren't protected, as though targeting Muslims for being Muslims is less offensive than attacking Jews for being Jewish. And they support anti-Arab racial profiling in the name of fighting "terrorism".

Large pro-Israel delegations attended the African, Latin American, and EU pre-conferences and attempted to block resolutions related to Palestinians, rights of refugees, racial profiling, and Islamophobia. The World Zionist Congress and its national affiliates heavily lobbied Western countries to boycott Durban II. 

On February 5, pro-Israel groups held an unpublicized meeting with Durban II lawyers and José Dougan-Beaca, head of the U.N. Anti-Discrimination Unit responsible for Durban II. Threatening to get key countries to withdraw from Durban II, they successfully pressured Dougan-Beaca to downplay Palestinian concerns.

Pro-Israel groups deluged foundations and the UN, which had funded Durban I NGO participants, with threats to denounce them as anti-Semitic and jeopardize their charitable status if they funded NGOs to go to Durban II. As a result, funding for NGOs has almost evaporated. The Review Secretariat didn't even inform many NGOs about the pre-conference meetings or the Review process.   Some E.U. delegates boasted to me that they had managed to get the Review conference moved from Durban to Geneva in order to reduce the number of NGOs participating.  As a result, only about 35 NGOs (including many pro-Israel lobby groups) observed the Review conference. At the Preparatory Conference, I saw over 20 pro-Israel groups lobbying.  Eye on the UN posted You Tube clips denouncing mild diplomatic concerns about Palestinians and racial profiling as "anti-Semitic."

Last January 23, Canada announced it would boycott Durban II, and since then, Israel and the US have also withdrawn. This boycott damages our country's reputation and betrays the world's (including Canada's) victims of racism. Only the Bloc stood firm against the Israel Lobby's lies and threats. I found no substance to allegations of anti-Semitism at WCAR.  Independent Jewish Voices urges the Conservatives, Liberals, and NDP to rejoin the Durban Review Conference and stand up against racism.

Dr. Ralph is a Coordinator of Independent Jewish Voices (Canada) and an Associate Professor of Social Work at Carleton University. 

Contact:

Diana Ralph, Ph.D.
Coordinator, Independent Jewish Voices
P.O. Box 23088
Ottawa, Ontario K2A 4E2
e-mail - ijv@magma.ca,

www.independentjewishvoices.ca