Israeli leaders have reacted strongly to the anti-Israel resolutions passed at the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa. President Moshe Katzav said, \"We can serve as a model of democracy and civil rights to many of the countries that voted for these resolutions. The attacks upon Israel are nothing more than a blatant expression of racism and anti-Semitism.\" Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said that Israel may well quit the conference, as the resolutions passed there are \"more of an embarrassment to those who passed them rather than to Israel.\" Peres said, however, that despite Arafat\'s inflammatory words against Israel, it is still important for him to meet the PLO leader. [Diplomatic efforts by Egyptian, Italian, Saudi and other elements to facilitate such a meeting continue to take place.]
Will the anti-Israeli resolutions passed in Durban have practical significance for Israel? Ha\'aretz correspondent Ya\'ir Sheleg explained to Arutz-7 today that while only the UN Security Council can pass resolutions with practical applications, \"the fear is that the [anti-Israel] expressions [used by the Conference] will become part of the official lexicon about Israel - such as the reference to Israeli control of [Judea, Samaria and Gaza] as ‘ethnic cleansing’, or the demand for Israel to repeal ethnically discriminatory laws, including the Law of Return, etc. The fear is that these issues will continue to be discussed in various committees... and that they may lead to investigations of Israelis along the lines of those being pursued in Belgium and Denmark, etc.” Furthermore, “there could be an effect on economic investments in Israel... if Israel is officially recognized as a pariah state as a result of the decisions taken at the Conference.”
On the other hand, while the Conference is most definitely a “celebration of anti-Israeli sentiments,” as one Israeli newspaper headline put it, the main issue confronting the participants of the Conference is a demand by African states and expatriates for reparations from Western states that were involved in colonialism and the slave trade. However, from a media point of view, Sheleg noted that the anti-Israeli aspects of the conference definitely garner more attention.
A representative of the South African Board of Jewish Deputies at the conference related to Arutz-7 that although about 30 Jewish organizations were present, \"they officially decided to refuse to discuss the Middle East... In the midst of [the very anti-Semitic atmosphere of Palestinian flags, kefiyas, posters, etc.] we were 20-25 students [who] stayed up all night making posters and the like and [feeling as if we were] representatives for world Jewry. The feeling of unity was amazing... 25 Jewish students vs. The World. That is how it was.\"