Largest U.S. Jewish body urges EU to take Obama's lead, skip Durban
By Natasha Mozgovava
March 1, 2009
Haaretz
Original Source: http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1067776.html


The biggest Jewish body in the United States on Sunday lauded the decision of the Obama administration not to participate in a United Nations anti-racism summit which it fears will be used as a forum to criticize Israel. 

Alan Solow, Chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman, of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said they greatly appreciate the decision of the Obama administration not to participate and urged the European Union to follow its lead.

It was clear from the preparatory meetings that this conference was again being hijacked by those who want to have a repetition of the first Durban conference, which focused almost singularly on Israel and was the occasion for vile and bigoted declarations and manifestations, Solow and Hoenlein said.

We had extensive discussions with the Obama administration, particularly over the last days, and it became clear that the assessment of the U.S. delegation that attended the February preparatory meetings in Geneva recognized where the conference was headed and the need for the United States to take a stand at this time, they said.

The Durban Review Conference is a follow-up to the contentious 2001 conference which was dominated by clashes over the Middle East and the legacy of slavery. The U.S. and Israel walked out midway through that eight-day meeting over a draft resolution that singled out Israel for criticism and likened Zionism - the movement to establish and maintain a Jewish state - to racism.

Urging European countries to follow the U.S. lead and boycott the conference, Solow and Heinlein said the absence of these important democratic countries sends a clear message to those who seek to politicize the conference and turn it into a propaganda platform. The blueprint for much of what we have witnessed in recent years was put forward at the Durban conference, including the attempts to delegitimize and demonize Israel.