The Smearjob On the Durban World Conference Against Racism →
In 2001, the United Nations convened the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa, to deal with a range of issues related to racism and its legacies, including the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, the appropriation of the land and resources of the world’s indigenous peoples, and the human rights of the Palestinians.
The government of Israel responded to the anti-Semitic actions of a few marginal NGOs which participated in Durban by branding the entire WCAR – widely seen as a high water mark in the international battle against racism – as an anti-Semitic “hatefest.” This became the pretext for Israel and its allies to walk out of the conference in an attempt to prevent Israel’s behaviour vis-à-vis the Palestinians as well as other vitally important matters from being addressed.
The U.S. government, which had been adamant in its refusal to address the legacy of the slave trade and the attendant call for reparations long before the Durban conference was convened, seized the opportunity and joined the Israeli walkout.
