Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations have called for a walkout when the president of Iran speaks in Geneva next week.
The Jewish community’s umbrella group on foreign affairs issued the call in advance of the appearance by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Durban Review Conference, known as Durban II.
Delegations should “absent themselves or walk out when Iran’s radical president” speaks, the conference said in a statement issued April 13. The inclusion of Ahmadinejad “is a manifestation of the hypocrisy and distortion of principle that has characterized the Durban process,” the statement added.
The United Nations confirmed April 14 that Ahmadinejad will attend the conference, a follow-up to the 2001 U.N. World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa. Jewish groups have organized a series of events to protest the conference, which is expected to focus extensively on Israel.
The conference will be held April 20 to 25. At least 35 nations have confirmed participation, U.N. spokeswoman Marie Heuze said.
The U.S. and European countries have threatened to stay away if Muslim countries turn the meeting into an attack on Israel and free speech. Another round of negotiations aimed at easing those concerns was scheduled to start April 15 and end Friday, April 17, European diplomats said.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration was said to be reconsidering its planned boycott of the conference, the State Department said April 13. Although the Washington Post reported that the administration appears to be standing by its decision to boycott, the United States is likely to wait until the last moment before making its final decision, according to diplomatic sources.
The State Department said the administration was pleased by a diplomatic push to revise an objectionable document that the meeting will adopt and suggested it could attend the meeting if the efforts succeed.
“This is very disturbing news for American Jews and others who support Israel,” the Republican Jewish Coalition said in statement April 14. “Durban II … is expected to be a venue for the same kind of anti-Israel, anti-Semitic and anti-Western tirades that led President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell to withdraw the U.S. from the first [Durban] conference.”
The American Jewish Committee sent a letter to the Obama administration last week opposing participation, the Jerusalem Post reported. And the director of U.N. affairs for B’nai B’rith, David Michaels, told the paper, “We’re hopeful that the administration would continue to remain firm on principle and stand by allies like Canada, Italy and Israel.”
In February, the Obama administration said it would not attend the U.N. meeting unless its final document was changed to drop all references to Israel and the defamation of religion. Conference opponents claim the push against defamation of religion is a blow to freedom of speech.
The preliminary document — initiated by Iran, Cuba and other third-world countries — ran 45 pages and called for reparations for slavery, condemned the “validation of Islamophobia” and asserted that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians is grounded in racism.
Although specific references to Israel subsequently were deleted, the document retained language affirming the findings of the 2001 conference that many believed were anti-Semitic. The United States and Israel walked out of that conference over a draft resolution that singled out Israel for criticism and likened Zionism to racism.
The news this week that Ahmadinejad had formally announced his intention to attend only fed the fears that Durban II would be a repeat of the 2001 event.
Israel, Canada and Italy have announced their intention to boycott. Australia and Germany were among other countries this week considering a pullout. Moreover, Israel has lobbied hard for the U.S. to stay away from the conference.
Prominent members of the Jewish community and human rights activist Natan Sharansky — and a coalition of some 40 human rights groups from around the world are expected to attend a number of events that will be held on the sidelines of the conference.
In advance of Durban II, a two-day anti-Israel NGO conference is scheduled to meet over the weekend. An anti-Israel rally is also scheduled in Geneva for Saturday, April 18.
JTA, the Associated Press, jpost.com and ynetnews.com contributed to this report.