Ambassador Ron Prosor
Speech to Anti-Durban Conference
22 September 2011
Ladies and Gentlemen: thank you for being here. This crowd is an extraordinary sight. You are assembled from all over this country and, indeed, from many corners of the globe. The message echoing from this hall is clear:
We will not stand idly by. We will be counted. We will be heard.
It is my honor to open the only conference taking place in New York City today that is solely dedicated to the fight against racism. Many distinguished leaders have gathered. They will have important insights and observations to share.
Yet, the facts about the Durban Declaration speak for themselves. The international community has eaten this meal before. We know what it tastes like. Indeed, you don’t have to be a human rights activist or a Harvard Law professor to understand that the Durban Declaration has been contaminated by the taint of racism that it claims to fight.
The original Durban Conference became a vehicle for advancing some of the most extreme prejudices against the Jewish people and the Jewish state. Its declaration gave demonization of Israel another official UN stamp. Its affiliated NGO forum turned into one of the largest anti-Semitic pep rallies since the time of the Nazis.
Durban’s follow-up conference in Geneva followed suit. Iran’s President – the world’s leading Holocaust denier – was offered an international platform to spread his views under the banner of fighting racism. Israel again was singled out – and held to the most outrageous of double-standards.
The UN is commemorating this legacy today in New York. It will hold an official meeting of international representatives to celebrate Durban’s history – and adopt a plan for carrying out its Declaration into the future. The UN has welcomed NGO’s to (quote) “organize and support high-visibility initiatives to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration.”
What the UN has made less visible are the NGOs that are participating. Many are legitimate groups. Others might raise a few eyebrows— like the Organization for Defending Victims Violence, a direct offshoot of the Iranian Government. Even in hiding, Qaddafi has managed to send his personal NGO: North South XXI.
Some may miss this absurdity. Today’s Durban Commemoration is kind of like launching an anti-Crime initiative in New York City based on rules written in Riker’s Island Penitentiary – and then entrusting members of the Mafia to publicize it.
As the Middle East’s only democracy and the homeland of the Jewish people, Israel wants to be a partner in any legitimate effort to fight racism. Our history calls on the Jewish people to move to the forefront of this cause.
Yet, we cannot – and will not – ignore such a willful misuse and abuse of the United Nations. We know well that the distortion of language and values can lead to hate. It can lead to violence. It can cause views once considered marginal or extreme to drift dangerously close to the mainstream.
Many of the world’s free nations are joining Israel in refusing to give legitimacy to today’s meeting at the United Nations. Eleven nations are boycotting the event outright. This sends a message.
Yet, the asterisk now affixed to today’s meeting is not enough. The dangers posed by the Durban Declaration remain. As Churchill once said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”
Today each of you is taking action to ensure that the truth is heard. You are raising your voice and making a difference. On behalf of the State of Israel, I pledge to work alongside you forcefully, passionately, and with conviction. Together we must continue in the struggle against intolerance – and for moral clarity at the United Nations and beyond.
Thank you.
