No subject

dinejad=E2=80=99s speech - coordinated in both the General Assembly and the=
 NGO auditorium. Some 200 pro-Israel activists then attempted to block the =
entrance to his press conference. Similar disruptions of side events frustr=
ated attempts to discuss Islamophobia. And large well-publicized panels and=
 carefully-orchestrated rallies that featured famous Zionist celebrities we=
re sympathetically reported by a compliant Western corporate media. Even wi=
thin the U.N. OHCHR, at least one press officer gave pro-Israel statements =
to the press.[5] All this made many non-Zionist participants feel that pro-=
Israel forces had hijacked the conference with military-like planning and p=
recision.=20



By the second day, NGO advocates for reparations, land for the landless, th=
e rights of Dalits, self-determination for the Palestinian people and a myr=
iad of other anti-racist demands began to regroup. But suddenly, the U.N. O=
HCHR announced that the =E2=80=9COutcome Document of the DRC=E2=80=9D would=
 be approved by consensus before the close of the second day of the five-da=
y conference. There would be no opportunity to repair the damage done by th=
e U.N. OHCHR=E2=80=99s appeasement of the U.S. and Israel=E2=80=99s demands=
.=20



Nevertheless, a group of African and African Diaspora NGOs, progressive Isl=
amic NGOs and those in solidarity with the Palestinians, migrants and many =
others continued to meet informally and strategize. They vowed to continue =
the struggle for recognition of their demands in other venues - including, =
perhaps, a Durban 2010. Anti-Zionist Jewish organizations[6] - whose presen=
ce at the conference was totally eclipsed by the pro-Israel forces - had me=
t earlier and were heartened by the growing strength of the BDS movement to=
 press for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.=20



Setback and encouragement for anti-racist movements=20



At least 145 U.N. member states endorsed the Outcome Document by consensus.=
 The very first paragraph reaffirmed the Durban Declaration and Program of =
Action as it was adopted at the World Conference against Racism in 2001. Mo=
reover, delegate after delegate reiterated the praise that the South Africa=
n Foreign Minister and spokesperson for the Africa Group gave to the DDPA:=
=20



=E2=80=9CThe DDPA is viewed as an inspiration that would define the 21st ce=
ntury as the century that restored to all their human dignity. It provides =
a solid and concrete basis for every country to develop its own measures to=
 combat all forms of racism, and to strengthen the protection regime for vi=
ctims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.=
=E2=80=9D=20



In the end, only 10 countries - all European or European-settler states - b=
oycotted the DRC. At least 17 state delegates[7] expressed disapproval of t=
he boycott in their official statements. In the language of diplomats, they=
 denounced the boycott as revealing a lack of commitment to overcoming raci=
sm. More than 100 remaining delegates implicitly criticized the boycott orc=
hestrated by Israel and the U.S.=20



Yet, pressure from the U.S. and Israel did succeed in preventing serious st=
rengthening of the 2001 DDPA. For example, most delegations from Africa and=
 the Africa Diaspora had been working for the DRC to adopt measures to prov=
ide effective tools for implementing a commitment to reparations[8] and est=
ablishing a =E2=80=9Cracial equality index=E2=80=9D and timetables by which=
 specific progress could be assessed. They also called for a Permanent Foru=
m for People of African Descent, not simply a =E2=80=9Cpanel of experts.=E2=
=80=9D=20



But in the end, perhaps in order to prevent the majority of European countr=
ies from following the boycotters, the Outcome Document was silent on these=
 issues. Moreover, Ban Ki-Moon and Navi Pillay explicitly repudiated Ahmedi=
nejad=E2=80=99s speech, which had affirmed Palestine=E2=80=99s right to sel=
f-determination. Pillay admitted in her press conference on April 24 that s=
he believed her denunciation of Iran was the price the EU demanded not to j=
oin the boycott. Except for Argentina, the 15 countries that explicitly den=
ounced Iran were all European.[9]=20



Some 18 countries - none of them European - explicitly supported the Palest=
inian people=E2=80=99s right to self determination and criticized to varyin=
g degrees Israel=E2=80=99s denial of Palestinian rights.[10] Most of these,=
 plus Azerbaijan and Pakistan, were among the 15 that called for stronger m=
easures against Islamophobia. Finally, 16 countries - all except Japan from=
 the Global South - expressed concern for protecting migrants against racis=
t attacks and the final Outcome document included protections for migrants =
that most European countries had opposed.[11] In sum, about half the delega=
tes took definite stands in their speeches on the most controversial issues=
 of the conference. Their stands demonstrate the endurance of North-South o=
ppressor-oppressed relations.=20



Israel is a bastion of =E2=80=9CEuropean civilization,=E2=80=9D a settler c=
olonial state, on the edge of the African continent. To survive as a Jewish=
 state - by definition an apartheid state - Israel is perpetually consolida=
ting and expanding its narrative that turns the reality of its racist colon=
ial project on its head. The global hegemony of U.S.-led imperialism is cra=
cking. U.S. and European complicity with Israel demonstrates how white supr=
emacist states will increasingly join forces and circle the wagons when thr=
eatened.=20



The U.N.=E2=80=99s Durban Review Conference once again dramatized a lesson =
many learned long ago: Appeasing settler colonial, neo-colonial and imperia=
list powers only emboldens them. The Palestinian Authority and other Muslim=
 States (including Iran) agreed to a =E2=80=9Cconsensus=E2=80=9D document t=
hat omitted any mention of Israel or Palestine. The African and Caribbean S=
tates signed onto a =E2=80=9Cconsensus=E2=80=9D document that omitted menti=
on of reparations.=20



But the U.S. never compromised in its unconditional support for Israel and =
opposition to reparations. Hopefully those NGOs and others who argued, =E2=
=80=9CLet=E2=80=99s just focus on our issues. The Palestine-Israeli conflic=
t is just a distraction from the real struggle against racism,=E2=80=9D lea=
rned from Israel=E2=80=99s campaign to destroy the conference. Just as the =
U.S., Europe and those bribed by them are united in their project to mainta=
in their hegemony, African and African Diaspora people, Asian and indigenou=
s people - all colonized and formerly colonized people - need unity.=20



Endnotes=20



[1] www.worldjewishcongress.org identifies the WJC as an international orga=
nization which represents organizations in 80 countries from Argentina to Z=
imbabwe. It has headquarters in New York City, a research institute in Jeru=
salem and affiliate offices in Brussels, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Geneva, Jo=
hannesburg, Moscow, Ottawa, Paris and Sydney. The WJC Office in Geneva host=
ed the =E2=80=9CInternational Jewish Caucus at the DRC=E2=80=9D even though=
 it had called for states to boycott the conference at its January 2009 Ple=
nary.=20



[2] Diana Ralph. =E2=80=9CNo Anti-Semitism at Durban II: Canada Should End =
its Boycott.=E2=80=9D Outlook Magazine. Vol 47 #1, Jan/Feb 2007, pp. 17-18.=
=20



[3] From Africa, the vice chairs included representatives from Cameroon, So=
uth Africa and Senegal; from Asia: India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey=
; from South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile; and from Europe: Armenia, C=
roatia, Estonia, Russia, Belgium, Greece and Norway.=20



[4] Some of the Zionists organizations with delegates in Geneva were World =
Jewish Congress, American Jewish Congress, European Jewish Congress, Austra=
lia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, Canadian Jewish Congress, Internatio=
nal League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, The Simon Wiesenthal Center, B=
=E2=80=99nai Brith Canada, B=E2=80=99nai Brith International, International=
 Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, Human Rights First, Rabbis for =
Human Rights, Hadassah, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Jewish Council f=
or Racial Equity, Union of Jewish Women of South Africa, Institute for Adva=
ncement of Human Rights, American Jewish Committee.=20



[5] Pierre Hazan, a staff member of the Office of the High Commissioner for=
 Human Rights, author of a pro-Israel book on the Six Day War and fellow of=
 the Congressionally-funded U.S. Institute of Peace, mocked the DRC as =E2=
=80=9Can immense ritual of collective atonement and social purification.=E2=
=80=9D (quoted by www.news24.com April 17, 2009)=20



[6] There may have been others, but this author is aware of representatives=
 of Neturei Karta, an Israeli-based group of orthodox Jews who believe Zion=
ism is antithetical to Judaism (see www.nkusa.org), Independent Jewish Voic=
es based in Canada (ijv at magma.ca) and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist=
 Network-IJAN that identifies Israel as a settler colonial state. (http://w=
ww.ijsn.net/home/)=20



[7] Brazil, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Organization of Islamic Councils, Indones=
ia, Iran, Lesotho, Namibia, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, T=
anzania, Uganda and Uruguay. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, U.N. High =
Commission for Human Rights Navi Pillay and a number of others explicitly c=
riticized the boycott.=20



[8] Twelve countries explicitly advocated for Reparations: Angola, Barbados=
, Cuba, Guyana, Haiti, Iran, Jamaica, Libya, Namibia, Suriname, Tanzania an=
d Zimbabwe. Many others suggested that former colonial countries had the re=
sponsibility to ease poverty, forgive debt and assist in the economic devel=
opment of the Global South.=20



[9] Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxem=
bourg, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United K=
ingdom.=20



[10] Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, League of Arab =
States, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nicaragua, Palestine (PLO), Qatar, Saudi A=
rabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates=20



[11] Argentina, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Ecuador, Greece, Haiti, Honduras, Japan=
, Jordan, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, Tanzania and Tu=
rkey.=20



Arlene Eisen is a writer based in San Francisco, who, since the 1960s, has =
been active in anti-imperialist struggles. Most recently she edited Second =
Lines, the newsletter of the Peoples=E2=80=99 Hurricane Relief Fund, travel=
ed to South Africa where she joined a project to document the Black Conscio=
usness Movement and participated in the United-Against-Racism-U.S.A. delega=
tion to the U.N. Durban Review Conference in Geneva. She can be reached at =
arlene_eisen at sbcglobal.net .