And it came to pass that all of the righteous, correct-thinking, compassionate nations of the world decided to hold a great conference of nations to address the problems of racism and bigotry in the human society of peoples. This great conference was to be sponsored by the United Nations, a self-proclaimed bastion of fairness to all and of peaceful works.
The city of Durban in South Africa was chosen as the venue of this conference in order to illustrate the triumph over racist apartheid. Since the evils of racism, and the definitions of the term itself, are many and varied, all sorts of weird ideas and agendas were promulgated for debate and decision. Demands for reparations for slavery, for open immigration into all countries of the world and national self-determination for all minority groups wherever they reside were some of the proposals introduced at the conference. But the center piece of the conference was to be the condemnation of Israel, and, not so subtly, of all Jews, as being racist, because of Israel's refusal to commit national suicide and give in to the continuing Palestinian violence, satisfying the demands for its very own destruction.
In order to insure that the anti-Israel resolution would receive a fair hearing, the world was treated to an anti-Semitic barrage of propaganda that preceded the conference. Israel tried to have the language of the resolutions "softened" and many nations, led by the United States, attempted to achieve this noble objective. However, the Arab states, led by that arch-partner for peace and fairness, Yasser Arafat, remained adamant in maintaining the scurrilous language of the anti-Israel resolution. Even such noted conciliators as Jesse Jackson and Koffi Anan were unable to accomplish much. Jackson, however, was treated to a first-hand demonstration of the joys of dealing with Arafat when he left his meeting with Arafat confident that the Palestinians would moderate their language and stance on the anti-Israel resolution, only to later hear Arafat spew additional vitriol, lies and hatred against Israel in his speech made before the assembled nations. Koffi Anan had the same ashen look on his face as did Shimon Peres at Davos a few months ago when, at another conference called for peaceful progress in the world, he was forced to listen to Arafat's ridiculous diatribe. Yet Arafat, who is certainly a racist, a murderer, a terrorist, a liar and a thief, can get away with all of this because he is not battling Denmark or Sweden or Finland, but Israel.
And it also came to pass at Durban that many demonstrators, looking for their moment of fame on CNN or BBC, came to the conference as well. These people, who apparently do not have to work for a living, were interviewed, photographed and made to sound important by the media hosts that also gathered at Durban for the conference. There were interviews with naive Jews who proclaimed that they still loved the Arabs, no matter the suicide bombers. However, the Arab interviewed on CNN was much more perceptive, if not even more honest, when he said "I hate the Jews!" The starry-eyed Leftist youngsters, many of them Jewish by birth, also proclaimed their sympathy for the Palestinian cause, sensing that somehow that is the currently "correct" stance to take until they move on to their next anti-globalization city-wrecking foray.
The requisite number of screwballs, dressed in haredi Jewish costume, but who are also only Jews by birth, joined the Arabs in protesting the existence of a Jewish state. What a disgrace! It is a delusion of the highest order to think that Arafat does not mean Neturei Karta or the radical peace camp (strange bed fellows, eh?) in Israel. But then, there were Jews who believed that Hitler did not mean them, either.
Any conference blessed by the presence of those noted peace-lovers and democratic rulers, Fidel Castro and Yasser Arafat, plus an assortment of African leaders who have set new standards for tyranny, oppression of their own people and rank corruption, must reek of hypocrisy, evil and malevolence. No matter, so is the world today even after all of the centuries of "civilizing" that it has endured.
The main problem with this whole surrealistic fable is that it is not a fable. If the nations of the world wish to end racism, bigotry, violence, terrorism and the other ills that plague us in this vale of tears, the conference in Durban was definitely not the way to go. Israel, like all nations and peoples and individuals, bears room for improvement, but it should be seen by the rest of the world as part of the solution and not as the problem.
Shabat Shalom.
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Rabbi Berel Wein, noted author and lecturer, is founder of the Destiny Foundation, dedicated to educating Jews about their historical and ethical heritage (JewishDestiny.com ).
The city of Durban in South Africa was chosen as the venue of this conference in order to illustrate the triumph over racist apartheid. Since the evils of racism, and the definitions of the term itself, are many and varied, all sorts of weird ideas and agendas were promulgated for debate and decision. Demands for reparations for slavery, for open immigration into all countries of the world and national self-determination for all minority groups wherever they reside were some of the proposals introduced at the conference. But the center piece of the conference was to be the condemnation of Israel, and, not so subtly, of all Jews, as being racist, because of Israel's refusal to commit national suicide and give in to the continuing Palestinian violence, satisfying the demands for its very own destruction.
In order to insure that the anti-Israel resolution would receive a fair hearing, the world was treated to an anti-Semitic barrage of propaganda that preceded the conference. Israel tried to have the language of the resolutions "softened" and many nations, led by the United States, attempted to achieve this noble objective. However, the Arab states, led by that arch-partner for peace and fairness, Yasser Arafat, remained adamant in maintaining the scurrilous language of the anti-Israel resolution. Even such noted conciliators as Jesse Jackson and Koffi Anan were unable to accomplish much. Jackson, however, was treated to a first-hand demonstration of the joys of dealing with Arafat when he left his meeting with Arafat confident that the Palestinians would moderate their language and stance on the anti-Israel resolution, only to later hear Arafat spew additional vitriol, lies and hatred against Israel in his speech made before the assembled nations. Koffi Anan had the same ashen look on his face as did Shimon Peres at Davos a few months ago when, at another conference called for peaceful progress in the world, he was forced to listen to Arafat's ridiculous diatribe. Yet Arafat, who is certainly a racist, a murderer, a terrorist, a liar and a thief, can get away with all of this because he is not battling Denmark or Sweden or Finland, but Israel.
And it also came to pass at Durban that many demonstrators, looking for their moment of fame on CNN or BBC, came to the conference as well. These people, who apparently do not have to work for a living, were interviewed, photographed and made to sound important by the media hosts that also gathered at Durban for the conference. There were interviews with naive Jews who proclaimed that they still loved the Arabs, no matter the suicide bombers. However, the Arab interviewed on CNN was much more perceptive, if not even more honest, when he said "I hate the Jews!" The starry-eyed Leftist youngsters, many of them Jewish by birth, also proclaimed their sympathy for the Palestinian cause, sensing that somehow that is the currently "correct" stance to take until they move on to their next anti-globalization city-wrecking foray.
The requisite number of screwballs, dressed in haredi Jewish costume, but who are also only Jews by birth, joined the Arabs in protesting the existence of a Jewish state. What a disgrace! It is a delusion of the highest order to think that Arafat does not mean Neturei Karta or the radical peace camp (strange bed fellows, eh?) in Israel. But then, there were Jews who believed that Hitler did not mean them, either.
Any conference blessed by the presence of those noted peace-lovers and democratic rulers, Fidel Castro and Yasser Arafat, plus an assortment of African leaders who have set new standards for tyranny, oppression of their own people and rank corruption, must reek of hypocrisy, evil and malevolence. No matter, so is the world today even after all of the centuries of "civilizing" that it has endured.
The main problem with this whole surrealistic fable is that it is not a fable. If the nations of the world wish to end racism, bigotry, violence, terrorism and the other ills that plague us in this vale of tears, the conference in Durban was definitely not the way to go. Israel, like all nations and peoples and individuals, bears room for improvement, but it should be seen by the rest of the world as part of the solution and not as the problem.
Shabat Shalom.
-----------
Rabbi Berel Wein, noted author and lecturer, is founder of the Destiny Foundation, dedicated to educating Jews about their historical and ethical heritage (JewishDestiny.com ).