Danny Rubinstein of the Israeli Haaretz newspaper editorial board used the World Zionist Organization to fly himself to a UN conference yesterday in Brussels where, according to a UN summary, he accused Israel of being “an apartheid State.”
Rubinstein was billed as the top speaker tonight at a Zionist Federation event in London, part of a series celebrating Israel’s upcoming 60th anniversary. According to British community insiders, the World Zionist Organization paid for Rubinstein’s return travel from Tel Aviv and — unaware of the remarks he would make — for his stop-over to address the UN event in Brussels. In addition, the London federation was reportedly to pay him an honorarium of U.S. $1500. It was suddenly announced this afternoon, however, that Rubinstein’s appearance has now been canceled.
The quote from Rubinstein’s remarks was confirmed by several sources attending the 2-day conference organized by the UN’s Palestinian division at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the UN conference describes itself in innocent language but in fact promotes a hardline agenda that runs contrary to the balanced principles of the Middle East peace process-whose Quartet sponsors, ironically, include both the European Union and the United Nations.
That a leading Israeli journalist—presented by the UN as a member of the Haaretz editorial board—would participate and grant legitimacy to a Soviet-era enterprise born out of the “Zionism is Racism” canard, whose sole aim is to assault Israel morally, legally and financially, was disturbing enough. But that he would full-throatedly join the jackals, calling Israel an “apartheid state,” is a scandal.
Islamic Agenda Dominates Geneva Preparations for UN’s “Durban Review” Anti-Racism Conference
Diplomats gathered in Geneva today concluded a week-long session in preparation for a series of UN anti-racism meetings culminating in a major world conference in 2009. Islamic countries dominated the debates with their campaign to reopen the Durban 2001 package and introduce new accusations against the West for allegedly “defaming religions” with cartoons and persecuting Muslims in other ways.
As we go to press, with the meeting drifted into Friday evening, the Islamic bloc defied EU efforts and won a victory for its agenda by successfully implicating the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion—through whom they will try to insert the defamation of Islam accusations—into the process. A dispute over rules of procedure continues.
The conference began ominously on Monday with Libya elected as chair, and Iran and Cuba among the 19 vice-chairs. All the way to 2009, the Holocaust-denying Iranian regime will be a key player in the planning of Durban II. Click here for our comment on the elections.
Belying the apologists who claimed the election was strictly “personal”—of the ambassador but not the country—was the Libyan ambassador herself. She expressed her profound thanks to all member states of the UN “for the confidence you placed in my country.” Score another propaganda coup for Khaddafi’s benighted Libyan regime.
Also on the conference’s first day, Egypt on behalf of the African Group immediately singled out Israel by complaining about “continued occupation of Palestine and violations arising therefrom [which] have been subject of condemnation from the international community.” Egypt also invoked the “new and dangerous incitement against religion” from the Danish cartoons.
The 57-strong Islamic group declared its intentions from the start: “The Conference should move the spotlight on the continued plight of Palestinian people…” The OIC speech quoted from a Boston Globe op-ed by UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer, and complained of a “smear campaign” against the Durban Review Conference. (Stop smearing the smearers, you see, and, as they told Ban Ki-moon, stop singling out the singling-outers.) The OIC also introduced new accusations, not appearing in the original Durban program, of “defamation of religions.”
Syria said that 9/11 opened the door to new forms of racism and associated intolerance against “Semitic” people. This brings us right back to the pernicious subversion of language that surrounded Durban I, where the word antisemitism — the term coined in coined in 1879 by German agitator Wilhelm Marr to designate persecution of Jews — was gutted of all meaning. Recall article 46 of Durban’s NGO Declaration: “…Anti-Arab racism is another form of anti-semitism and Islamaphobia.” And article 79: “Arabs as a Semitic people have also suffered from alternative forms of anti semitism, manifesting itself as anti-Arab discrimination and for those Arabs who are Muslim, also as Islamophobia.” Like so is the common word for Judeophobia simply dissolved.
Activist groups who wish to prevent the anti-discrimination agenda from being hijacked once again must speak out — immediately, before it is too late, before we are back to the darkest days of Durban I.
Read more (UN Watch blog)
