Israel follows Ottawa boycott of anti-racism forum

By Steven Edwards 
February 25, 2008
Canwest News Service 
Original Source: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=332277
UNITED NATIONS - Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni spoke yesterday of Canada's courage as she announced Israel will follow Ottawa's lead in boycotting a major anti-racism conference the United Nations is planning for next year.
Jason Kenney, Multiculturalism secretary of state, announced last month Canada will not attend UN's Durban II Conference, saying it is shaping up to be as anti-Semitic and anti-West as the controversial 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa.
The UN is billing the follow-up gathering as a significant event on its calendar, but a departure of leading countries will detract from its legitimacy.
I expect other countries to make the same decision, and I believe that, if anything, Canada's withdrawal has given more leverage to those who are combating the voices of intolerance - voices that once more seem to have hijacked the Durban process, Mr. Kenney said in an interview.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned this month Washington could boycott the new conference, saying the United States has no intention of participating in something like Durban I.
Insiders say Britain and Germany could also pull out if planning, taking place at several key meetings this year, doesn't start to produce a more balanced agenda.
We're particularly pleased with the fact that Canada is leading what I suspect will be a growing trend, Mr. Kenney said.
Ms. Livni announced Israel's boycott as she opened a two-day international gathering in Jerusalem focused on battling anti-Semitism.
The Canadian decision, at this early stage, undoubtedly will shake the entire foundation of those wishing to repeat the 2001 Durban Conference once again, she told the Global Forum for Combatting Anti-Semitism, whose 350 delegates include former Canadian justice minister Irwin Cotler among world parliamentarians and representatives of major Jewish organizations and moderate Muslim groups.
She called Durban I a travesty that cannot be repeated.
Arab-and Muslim-led verbal attacks on Israel at the 2001 conference were so dominant that the United States and Israel walked out in protest.
There was also an African-led effort to demand massive reparations from the West for its involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Iran, whose leadership has called for Israel's destruction, sits on an executive planning committee for the 2009 conference, while Libya occupies the chair. Among proposed agenda items is one called Islamophobia, which Arab and Islamic countries define as a rise in anti-Muslim discrimination around the world.
But critics say it's code for both attacking the West's antiterrorism efforts and diluting the horrors of the Holocaust by stating Muslim Semitic peoples are the new anti-Semitism victims.
Israel will not participate “unless it is proven that the conference will not be used as a platform for further anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic behaviour, Ms. Livni said.