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Arafat Hijacks U.N.

Washington
Geneva starting July 30, one month
asser Arafat, who flew onto
before Durban convenes.
the world scene with some
Israel is the only country singled out
dramatic hijackings several
for criticism in the draft, which
decades back, is planning a
revives the discredited old shibboleth
spectacular sequel with the help of
equating Zionism with racism.
some of his friends. The plan is to
The draft declares Israel guilty of a
turn a U.N. Conference on Racism in
"crime against humanity" for its treat-
Durban, South Africa, into a hate-
ment of Palestinians, accuses it of
spewing, Israel-bashing orgy.
"ethnic cleansing of the Arab popula-
Coming on the heels of revelations
tion in historic Palestine," issues a call
of a U.N. coverup of, and possible
"to bring the foreign occupation of
complicity in, the
Jerusalem by Israel together
Hezbollah kidnapping of
with all its racist practices to
Israeli soldiers last fall, it
an end," defines Israel's Law
further erodes the interna-
of Return as "racial [and] reli-
tional body's dissipated
gious discrimination" and lib-
credibility in the Arab-
erally tosses around terms like
Israeli conflict.
genocide, apartheid and
The Arab and Moslem
racism.
countries have long com-
It also includes a lame
manded enough Third
attempt to differentiate
World votes in the General
between anti-Semitism and
DOUGLAS M.
Assembly to distort U.N.
anti-Zionism
by pairing the
BLOOMFIELD
policy and trivialize the
former
with
"Islamophobia"
Special
international debating soci-
while branding Zionism a
Commentary
ety. The Arafat-engineered
"racial and violent move-
hijacking of the Durban
ment." References to the Nazi
meeting and the kidnapping coverup
Holocaust have been removed, gener-
also make it malevolent.
alized to lower case "holocausts," and
After months of denial, the U.N.
in one instance replaced, reportedly at
last week admitted its troops had
Egyptian insistence, with "Holocaust
videotaped Hezbollah terrorists who
of Palestinians."
are believed to have masqueraded as
This is not unique. Arab and
UNIFIL peacekeepers to snatch the
Moslem states have tried to turn pre-
three Israelis. But they never told
vious U.N. conferences on housing
Israel. Their excuse: they didn't want
and women into political assaults on
to appear to be taking sides.
Israel, as well as two prior human
U.N. officials reluctantly agreed to
rights gatherings, which Israel and the
show Israelis the tape but only with
United States boycotted. The target is
the guerrillas' faces obscured.
not settlements or territorial borders
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Anan
or Palestinian rights but the very exis-
denies knowing anything about the
tence of Israel and the Jewish people.
tape. If he did know, he should resign;
To reject the Holocaust, ignore the
if not, heads should roll, big time.
scourge of anti-Semitism and deny the
Jewish people any right to a homeland
is the essence of racism.
Attack On Israel
The hijacking of the Durban - con-
Any way you slice it, it takes another
ference is part of the Arab and
huge gash out of the stature of an
Moslem campaign to delegitimize
organization that insists on playing a
Israel and even Judaism itself It goes
role in mediating Arab-Israeli peace-
with the new Palestinian denial that
making.
there never was a Jewish Temple on
The Durban meeting is billed as the
the Mount in Jerusalem, and with
U.N. World Conference Against
attempts to have Prime Minister
Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Sharon declared a war criminal.
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance,
but if the Arab and Moslem states
Harm i ng U.N.
have their way, it will be just the
opposite.
It would make sense to fight for an
The final draft of the conference
American boycott of the conference.
declaration will be hammered out in
But complicating matters is the
importance put on the event by
Douglas M. Bloomfield, a former
African Americans, who want the con-
executive director of the American
ference to- jump-start their campaign
Israel Public Affairs Committee, is a
to win reparations from countries
writer and analyst in Washington.
involved in the AtlantiC slave trade.

7/13
2001

28

Ironically, the Arabs were among
the most prolific slave traders of the
18th and 19th centuries, but there is
no mention made of that in the
drafts. The main target is the United
States.
This presents a dilemma for Jewish
groups, who fear blocking U.S. par-
ticipation will exacerbate Black-
Jewish tensions and make working
together more difficult in the future.
The Jewish groups, which have a
long record of working for civil rights,
are sensitive to the importance of a
major conference on the African con-
tinent, and specifically in South
Africa. They also support raising con-
cerns like racial profiling, economic
injustice and banking biases.
Another complication is the fear of
triggering a new bout of U.N.-bash-
ing on Capitol Hill among conserva-
tive lawmakers who would welcome
any excuse to downgrade U.S. sup-
port for the United Nations.

Powell 's Presence

Secretary of State Colin Powell has
warned that reparations and anti=
Israel themes could "derail" the con-
ference and make it harder for the
United States to participate. He is
withholding his decision on whether
to lead the U.S. delegation as a bar-
gaining chip to force changes
Washington wants.
His presence is doubly important
since he is not only the secretary of
state, but also the highest-ranking
African American in this or any U.S.
government. His absence would be a
stinging rebuke to organizers.
This is a legacy issue for President
George W. Bush. The infamous 1975
resolution equating Zionism with
racism was repealed in 1991 thanks
to the leadership of his father's
administration. Today, the second
Bush government is working hard to
prevent reinstatement.
Palestinian leaders have been pri-
vately warned by White House offi-
cials that nothing could be more
damaging for U.S.-Palestinian rela-
tions than what they're doing to the
Durban conference.
If this Arafat-engineered hijacking
is permitted to succeed, it could also
be a potential turning point for the
U.N. The conference may give
racists, anti-Semites and their spite-
ful sort cause for celebration, but it
will mark a genuine setback for the
real battle against racism and for the
integrity of the world body itself.
But maybe that's just the kind of
wake-up call that is needed. ❑

am going to stay home." But checks
do not stop bombs and wars. It
takes people standing up and saying
they are not afraid.
If things get worse in Israel and it
becomes a full-fledged war, what
will American Jews do? Are we
going to write more checks and
hope others will defend our Jewish
homeland for us? Or are we finally
going to take the wishes of thou-
sands of Jews who died fighting for
this small area of land and turn
them into reality — by showing
support and solidarity through
deeds, as well as gifts of money?
Members of the Detroit Jewish
community must go to Israel and
support the economy there as
tourists and become volunteers in
our Partnership 2000 region. Going
will show that we care and are not
afraid.
I have traveled all over the world,
and no matter where I've been,
Israel is my favorite place. It is
where I will always want to return.
And that has never changed since
my first trip at the age of 12. My
reasons for moving to Israel for 10
months are many, but one stands
out — I believe that my being there
is going to make a difference.

❑

Otzma participants stand in front of a
Star of David sculpture in stone on Mt.
Herzl in Jerusalem. They are Melissa
Ellstein, 22, of East Lansing, Jennie
Allan, 24, of Ann Arbor, and Sharone
Blue, 23, of Atlanta, Ga.