(JNS) Anne Bayefsky - The "Durban Declaration," adopted three days before 9/11 at the UN hate-fest in Durban, South Africa, encourages the hatred of Jews. Israel is the only state mentioned in the entire manifesto, which claims that Palestinians are "victims" of Israeli racism. At the UN Human Rights Council on March 19, 2021, the U.S. representative spoke of "recalling the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action" that paints the Jewish state as a racist state. Prior to this, no American administration would have paired a call to combat racism with "recalling the Durban Declaration" or marking a Durban "anniversary." The American delegation at Durban in 2001, led by Holocaust survivor Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), walked out of the conference, together with Israel, fully supported by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Under former President Barack Obama, the U.S. boycotted successive attempts to resuscitate Durban with "Durban II" in Geneva in 2009 and Durban III in New York in 2011. Durban IV, to take place in New York in September, needs to be publicly shunned - not recalled, reaffirmed, and celebrated. The writer is director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, and president of Human Rights Voices.
2021-04-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive