Stupid Stunt to Silence Meaningful Debate

The truth never suits Israel's flag-wavers and stooges. They have to twist it or strangulate it.

When Mr. Ahmadjinedad got up to speak at the UN racism conference the British Ambassador, Peter Gooderham, was among those who walked out in the worst show of diplomatic bad manners this century. Gooderham is reported to have said that "such inflammatory rhetoric has no place whatsoever in a United Nations conference addressing the whole issue of racism and how to address it.

"As soon as President Ahmadinejad, started talking about Israel, that was the cue for us to walk out. We agreed in advance that if there was any such rhetoric there would be no tolerance for it." Referring to the Iranian leader's accusation of Israeli racism he added: "That is a charge we unreservedly condemn and so we had no hesitation at that point in leaving the conference hall."

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Israel's Right Not to be Critisised

How serious can the international community's commitment to eliminating racism be taken when it succumbs to Israeli pressure to boycott the Durban II conference, asks Amira Howeidy.

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Will Obama Attend Durban 2 Conference?

One of the first foreign policy issues facing Barack Obama when he takes office in January will be to decide whether the United States will participate in a United Nations conference on topics close to his heart: racism and discrimination.

The Bush administration has indicated that American diplomats would not attend the so-called “Durban II” review conference, scheduled for April in Geneva. The current administration has expressed concern that the conference would turn into an anti-Israel event, just as the first U.N. conference on the subject did seven years ago in the South African city of Durban.

In mid-November, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the United Jewish Communities General Assembly that Israel has decided to skip the Geneva conference after reviewing a draft statement issued following a preparatory meeting. The draft accuses Israel of “practices of racial discrimination against the Palestinians,” saying that its policies constitute “a new kind of apartheid, a crime against humanity [and] a form of genocide.”

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