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Last update - 09:02 07/02/2008
Senator: U.S. to boycott UN anti-racism meet due to anti-Israel agenda
By The Associated Press
Tags: Israel, Racism, UN, Durban

A U.S. senator says the United States has decided not to attend next year's follow-up to the 2001 United Nations World Conference on Racism because the panel seems certain to repeat anti-Semitic and anti-Israel positions of the original gathering.

The United States and Israel walked out of that conference, which ended two days before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States. A State Department spokesman, Karl Duckworth, said Wednesday no decision had been made whether to stay away from the second conference.

Word that the United States would reject the conference again came from Republican U.S. Senator Norm Coleman. In a news release, Coleman said the decision came in response to a letter he and 26 fellow senators wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
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"The U.S. walked out of this conference after the anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli activities reached such an intolerable level that it was beyond repair," the letter said. It called the conference "yet another example of a seemingly noble UN agenda item being hijacked by member states to spew anti-Semitism."

Canada already announced it is boycotting the conference, known as Durban II for the South African city hosting it. In announcing the decision last month, Canada's secretary of state for multiculturalism and Canadian identity, Jason Kenney, said, "We'll attend any conference that is opposed to racism and intolerance, not those that actually promote racism and intolerance."

The Bush administration showed its distaste for the conference in December by refusing to accept a consensus vote on a preliminary UN budget for 2008-2009 and demanding a recorded vote. The vote was 141 to 1, the no vote coming from the United States.

A separate recorded vote on including the Durban II language in the budget also passed, but the United States, Canada and 38 other countries voted against it. Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland abstained.

In the letter, Coleman and the others had particularly bitter words for governments and people being appointed to run Durban II. "Libya was appointed to chair the Executive Committee of the Preparatory Committee; a vice chairman is Iran, despite the fact that this country's leader has called for the destruction of Israel and been a leader on one of the most despicable forms of racism - Holocaust denial."

In 2001, Rice, then President George W. Bush's national security adviser, explained on television why the Americans and Israelis had walked out: Participants spent far too much time trying to condemn Israel and single it out, and I think the United States made the right decision to leave.


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      1.   Per Ahlmark (former Swedish Deputy Prime Minister) 07:06  |  Joseph . E 07/02/08
      2.   With the Exception of Many & Mostly the Brave U.S. Citizenry , 07:14  |  Joseph . E 07/02/08
      3.   YET Another UN function hijacked & destroyed by the hate machine. 07:53  |  PETER SM 07/02/08
      4.   A specious pretext 07:55  |  JW 07/02/08
      5.   zionism is racism no matter how you try to sugarcoat it 08:20  |  Steve Katz 07/02/08
      6.   The Roots of Arab Anti-Semitism 08:25  |  Joseph . E 07/02/08
      7.   Zionism Is Heresy, False Judaism 09:04  |  Satmar Hasid 07/02/08
      8.   Norm Coleman, another Senator working for Israel 09:17  |  Clickfool 07/02/08
      9.   shame on Europe; shame on the UN 09:22  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 07/02/08
      10.   Have no idea why the UN is given the funding!! 09:23  |  Jo 07/02/08
      11.   Proud to be an American 09:32  |  James 07/02/08
      12.   Any body notice this? 09:43  |  Mohammed 07/02/08
      13.   UN is a disgrace 09:49  |  MarkC 07/02/08
      14.   once more AIPAC 09:50  |  samos 07/02/08
      15.   America and Israel should have an opposing meeting 10:00  |  Natallie Durson 07/02/08
      16.   #3, no, another US Senator working for justice 10:13  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 07/02/08
      17.   But I am sure that the British and EU members will attend 10:20  |  Binyamin Dissen 07/02/08
      18.   Reality Check 10:28  |  Dan Fandango 07/02/08
      19.   It is pointless to ignore the message 10:31  |  Leser 07/02/08
      20.   ANOTHER UN body hijacked&destroyed by Moslems&syncophants 10:39  |  PETER SM 07/02/08
      21.   LESER the message is what MOON said about the UN " Human Rights` 10:51  |  PETER SM 07/02/08
      22.   #7 Dan Fandango 11:00  |  Daybreak 07/02/08
      23.   #7 PETER SM 11:29  |  Leser 07/02/08
      24.   To the Haters 11:50  |  Zen 07/02/08
      25.   To #5 "steve katz""Is your real name Mohamed Islam by any chance? 12:23  |  SLAVO 07/02/08
      26.   Hi Daybreak 12:42  |  Dan Fandango 07/02/08
      27.   and who commits murder if not israel? 12:50  |  shunwhat? 07/02/08
      28.   shunwhat?Re murder.How many peple murderedby Islamists worldwide? 13:12  |  PETER SM 07/02/08
      29.   US and Canada, 13:31  |  Lynn 07/02/08
      30.   # 17 Dan Fandango 13:46  |  Lynn 07/02/08
      31.   MOVE THE UN TO SAUDI ARABIA 14:17  |  Petra 07/02/08
      32.   #22 Don Fandango 14:20  |  Daybreak 07/02/08
      33.   UN Durban conference 14:21  |  Sam 07/02/08
      34.   Lynn the lynn 14:32  |  Canadian 07/02/08
      35.   What This Is Really About 14:35  |  Yaakov Sullivan 07/02/08
      36.   Clickfool, a hypocrit 14:36  |  Ahmed, a British Pak 07/02/08
      37.   Durson, a U.S. embarassment 14:41  |  Sam 07/02/08
      38.   Lynn The Lynn,One Canadian Voice Drowned OUT By Many, HA 14:57  |  Other Canadian 07/02/08
      39.   blinders 15:01  |  remove them! 07/02/08
      40.   # 32 Canadian from Vancouver 15:06  |  Lynn 07/02/08
      41.   # 32 Canadian from Vancouver 15:09  |  Lynn 07/02/08
      42.   # 26 PETER SM 15:15  |  Lynn 07/02/08
      43.   Ahmed the Fake # 34 15:17  |  Clickfool 07/02/08
      44.   Yaakov ideas - very misguided 15:24  |  Sam 07/02/08
      45.   141 to 1 with abstentions (total in UN ~200) 15:27  |  spyguy 07/02/08
      46.   to# 10 15:29  |  kader 07/02/08
      47.   IV International - Intisemit-Intern 15:34  |  17 07/02/08
      48.   #10.James. We should have our own U.N. assembly. 15:40  |  Antonio 07/02/08
      49.   Abolish the UN 15:47  |  Mitch 07/02/08
      50.   You are wrong Mr sullivan 15:52  |  zody 07/02/08
      51.   Imperialists are supporting devious racists again 16:06  |  Hamid 07/02/08
      52.   Dan Fandango - do you have any concept of reality? 16:15  |  Ben 07/02/08
      53.   Zionist policies are consitant with Talmud teaching!! 16:19  |  Moise 07/02/08
      54.   Cyrus King of Persia, where are you? 16:36  |  DRS 07/02/08
      55.   UN in 1948 is not UN in `67. isr/us accepts 16:38  |  bozhidarevski 07/02/08
      56.   Leave it to Yaacov to stand up for the anti-Semites 16:55  |  Jacob Blues 07/02/08
      57.   the explusion of Israel from the UN 17:03  |  whoopsie 07/02/08
      58.   yaakov screams ignorance day after day 17:05  |  SHIMON 07/02/08
      59.   US always attended anti-racism events 17:09  |  john 07/02/08
      60.   22 countries filled with arab thugs - the NEW Durban II 17:14  |  smarter then Sully 07/02/08
      61.   Israeli non-diplomacy at its finest 17:35  |  Ibrahim 07/02/08
      62.   "Yaakov" 17:42  |  Danite 07/02/08
      63.   No reason to attend - They are working with a marked deck 17:44  |  * BEN JABO 07/02/08
      64.   # 32 Canadian of Vancouver..... 17:49  |  Lynn 07/02/08
      65.   Ibrahim 17:56  |  Danite 07/02/08
      66.   Nathalie`s airheadedness yet again 17:59  |  Michael 07/02/08
      67.   Canadian 18:00  |  Michael 07/02/08
      68.   # 39 Ibrahim....you live in the States 18:02  |  Lynn 07/02/08
      69.   Ibrahim #39 - forgive israel for not trusting the arab league 18:04  |  SHIMON 07/02/08
      70.   # 4 JW....US and racism 18:10  |  Lynn 07/02/08
      71.   Nothing ever gets done 18:14  |  Sheldon 07/02/08